• Got the Contributing Memberships stuff finally worked out and made up a thread as a sort of "How-To" to help people figure out how to participate. So if you need help figuring it out, here's the thread you need to take a look at -> http://www.corvetteflorida.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3581 Thank you, everyone! Rich Z.

C5 Tiger Shark front bumper

Rich Z

Rich Z

Internet Sanitation Engineer
Staff member
Well the Tiger Shark bumper I got off of Ebay came in today. Really doesn't look in too bad of shape at all.

tiger_shark_bumper_01.jpg


tiger_shark_bumper_02.jpg


tiger_shark_bumper_03.jpg


No cracks that i can see, and all the mounting tabs look OK. But even if my C5Z were black, it would probably need to be repainted anyway.

But looking from it from the back, obviously the paint applied there wasn't meant to last long at all, as it is curling up and flaking off.

tiger_shark_bumper_04.jpg


tiger_shark_bumper_05.jpg


tiger_shark_bumper_06.jpg


tiger_shark_bumper_07.jpg
 
And it looks like I'm going to have to fix some of those screens, particularly the rubber molding around the edges of them.

tiger_shark_bumper_08.jpg


tiger_shark_bumper_09.jpg


tiger_shark_bumper_12.jpg


tiger_shark_bumper_11.jpg


Looks like the splitter, if I decide to put it on the car, is going to need to be fixed too. Looks like it might have gotten pushed up a bit on the passenger side, as it appears bowed in the pictures at the beginning of this thread.

tiger_shark_bumper_10.jpg


I'm trying to figure out who manufactured this bumper, but this is the only sort of identifying number or any sort I can see on it.

tiger_shark_bumper_13.jpg


Well, I'll scrape what paint I can get off of the back of the bumper and fix anything that I think I can tackle to have it ready for whenever I want to face the paint job. I'm still playing around with the paint on the blue car, and having pretty good luck with the results I'm getting from my efforts. But I think the hood cracks will be the deciding factor as to whether I get the entire car repainted or just try to get the TS bumper painted to match the rest of the car. Still waiting for some stuff to come in before I tackle trying to fix those cracks. Having never done this before, I don't have a clue about what to expect.
 
TIGERSHARK

Hi,I also bought a used tigershark ,the same one that you bought.In fact the paint was pealing off the back.
I use a compresser with a air gun.It removed 80% of the pealing paint.Then I used scotch bright pads to scrub off the rest.A orbital sander will go threw it very easily.
If you don't want to have a disaster when you paint the bumper be sure to sand off all the paint and primer as it is most likely the same crap as on the back.
Then prim it .with bumper primer.
ps be sure to have cold beer on hand as you will need a few.

Cheers Darren
 
europlateconcepts said:
Hi,I also bought a used tigershark ,the same one that you bought.In fact the paint was pealing off the back.
I use a compresser with a air gun.It removed 80% of the pealing paint.Then I used scotch bright pads to scrub off the rest.A orbital sander will go threw it very easily.
If you don't want to have a disaster when you paint the bumper be sure to sand off all the paint and primer as it is most likely the same crap as on the back.
Then prim it .with bumper primer.
ps be sure to have cold beer on hand as you will need a few.

Cheers Darren
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips. I'm not going to remove the paint from the front of the bumper, but will instead leave that for whoever I get to paint it for me. I'll just take the garbage off of the back and tidy up whatever I can.

BTW, I contacted Starcraft and asked them if they could identify the bumper for me from the pics I took. Here's the reply I got.
On 3/7/2013 4:05 PM, Cheryl Pauff wrote:
> Rich,
>
> Yes this does appear to be a genuine Tiger Shark front fascia. It was
> manufactured in Troy Michigan.
>
> Thank you,
> Cheryl Pauff
> Starcraft Distribution
> 28255 Charlotte Ave Bldg 1
> Elkhart IN 46517
> (574) 970-5597
> www.starcraftparts.com
Click to expand...
 
The black rubber molding around the screens was tougher to work with than I thought it would be. It's very rigid plastic, not rubber at all, and the slit for the screen to go into is razor thin and tight. I had to use a thin flat bladed screw driver to pry the edges open while trying to shove the screen in one wire at a time. Meanwhile the wire is pretty darn sharp, so I got jabbed a few times in the process. All in all this was a bugger to work on. I would imagine trying to do this with the bumper still on the car would have been pretty much impossible to do. Having it sitting on my workbench was tough enough doing it. I wire tired the moldings to the screen, so hopefully I won't have to do this job ever again.

Also found that the front of the turn signal lamps weren't bolted into the mounts for them at all. The mounting holes on the lamps don't reach the tabs on the bumper, so I just wire tied them in place. Maybe whoever I get to do the mounting and painting of the bumper can fix that for me.

The black paint on the inside was just falling off while I was working on those screens, so I guess it won't be very tough at all getting it all off. If I felt like cranking up the pressure washer it would probably make short work of getting that crap off.
 
Yeah, I thought maybe heat would make it more pliable, but then I couldn't see how you would be able to handle that hot plastic. It's too fine of work to use gloves with.

Well, it's done now anyway. But thanks for the suggestion.
 
Kind of looks funky from the back with all the wire ties, but hopefully it will hold those moldings onto the screens so they don't come loose again.

tiger_shark_back_01.jpg


tiger_shark_back_02.jpg


tiger_shark_back_03.jpg


tiger_shark_back_04.jpg


The splitter is pretty messed up. It's definitely warped on the passenger side. And the urethane has separated from the foam core on that side as well.

ts_splitter_01.jpg


ts_splitter_02.jpg


ts_splitter_03.jpg


ts_splitter_04.jpg


ts_splitter_05.jpg


Then I had to wire wrap the fronts of both of the side turn signal lights to the tab on the bumper, since they don't mate up properly. Not sure of what sort of permanent fix could be done.

ts_front_side_light_01.jpg


ts_front_side_light_02.jpg


Hopefully whoever I can find to do the painting of at least the bumper can fix some of this stuff for me to make it look right when it gets mounted on my car.
 
2 suggestions.......first, go around the edges of the wire/plastic molding with some
black RTV sealant. That will probably eliminate the need for ZIP ties. Second,
maybe a "U-BOLT" of the proper size with a piece of flat metal on top to use
on the front of the turn signal lights. :shrug01:
Looks like you've been doin' some work on it though, and it's getting better
and better. Get some before and after shots of the front of the C5Z, cause
I want to compare looks. I think it will look better in my opinion. Anything to
get rid of the front license plate mount.........UGH!
Andy :wavey:
 
navy2kcoupe said:
2 suggestions.......first, go around the edges of the wire/plastic molding with some black RTV sealant. That will probably eliminate the need for ZIP ties.
Click to expand...

Heck, those moldings are pretty tight as they are on the screens, but they are also stiff enough that I'm afraid they might come loose just because they are being forced around those curves. Especially when they are pulled off to paint the bumper itself. I had originally thought of putting some sort of adhesive into the molding itself and then put the screens into them to hold them together, but they really are a bugger bear to work with. So I would be playing beat the clock to try to get the screens in before the sealant hardened up on me. I don't think the wire ties are going to be visible from the front at all, so this will probably be fine for me.

navy2kcoupe said:
Second, maybe a "U-BOLT" of the proper size with a piece of flat metal on top to use on the front of the turn signal lights. :shrug01:
Click to expand...

Yeah, I can visualize what you mean. I could probably fabricate something myself on the milling machine. Thanks for the idea. I'm thinking I might need to just pull those lamp assemblies out and LOOK at them. Might be a fixable reason why those mounting holes aren't lining up properly.

navy2kcoupe said:
Looks like you've been doin' some work on it though, and it's getting better and better. Get some before and after shots of the front of the C5Z, cause I want to compare looks. I think it will look better in my opinion. Anything to get rid of the front license plate mount.........UGH!
Andy :wavey:
Click to expand...

Been working on the paint job on the hood of the C5Z lately, so this bumper is mostly just on the back burner right now. But it is taking up a good chunk of real estate on my work bench. I need to figure out if I will have to get the whole car painted, or if I'll be able to squeeze a couple more years out of the current paint job before really needing to do that. If that works out hopefully I can get someone to do a real good color match when painting and installing that tiger shark for me. I'm also hoping they can fix that front splitter too. I'd be tempted to try gluing it back together myself, but I'm afraid I might just make matters worse by not knowing what the hell I am doing. Does urethane become more pliable when heated so I could bend it back in shape? And how close is the bendable stage of heating to the MELTING stage? :ack2:

If I ruin this one, it's going to probably be pretty darn tough to find a replacement.

Heck, maybe when mounted that will pull the shape back the way it should be enough so that it doesn't matter. :shrug01:

Yeah, I will be taking pics. Don't I usually? :lmao:
 
Someone might also be able to fabricate a "stiffener" for the area that's sagging/
slightly bent. Like the ones they sell for the inside lower end of the rear fascia.
Just thinking out loud here........ OR .......
get in touch with the Tiger Shark people and ask them if they know of anyone
that could (or is capable of) doing something like that.
Andy :wavey:
 
I'm hoping this will just be a no-brainer for a good body shop. I'm sure they run into accident damage similar to this that they fix all of the time. Too bad we don't have any sort of professional around here on this site that could chime in with an opinion.
 
Nah, not really. It doesn't eat much and I've got it up on a shelf out of the way.

I really do intend to install it one of these days.
 
What I meant was the brake ducts separately from the bumper kit. I didn't see them on their website.
 
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