TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sat Sep 20, 2008 4:31 pm

I picked up a set of front and rear conversion brackets (front set and rear set) for my 1970 beetle so I could mount blade bumpers (front bumper and rear bumper) on. I have only tried mounting the rear bumper and have tried every which way but just cant seem to get the bumper and brackets to line up correctly. Has anyone bought theses brackets (Empi brand) and installed them successfully? Did you have to mod (bend) them at all to get things to line up? Any pictures/help would be much appreciated.

For the record I know there are purists who are gonna ask "why not install the stock bumpers". The car didnt have any bumpers when I bought it and I prefer the blades so thats what I'm rollin with :wink:

Thanks again for your time,
-Dave

Sat Sep 20, 2008 4:52 pm

EMPI is pretty well known for nothing but selling crap now.
I would suggest you send them back to the Vendor that sold them to you.

Sat Sep 20, 2008 5:55 pm

EMPI is a four letter word for CRAP.

Sat Sep 20, 2008 6:48 pm

It'll be ok, I used the same brackets & had to tweak them a little to fit. I didn't take pictures as I did it, but I will try to explain it as best I can so you won't need pics. Here's what I did:

1) Lay the bumper on the ground, on top of some cardboard so you won't scratch it, directly underneath where you'll want to mount it. Bolt the brackets to the car firmly, you can loosen them later for further adjustment. Use LARGE channel-lock pliers to gently coax each side of the horizontal part of the bracket to match the curve of the bumper better. You can also slip a bit of pipe over this piece to move it if you don't have the large channel-locks. It doesn't have to be exact (see #3) but will need to be close. Just don't start hitting it with a hammer & booger it all up.
2) Use 5/16x2" stainless carriage bolts to hold the bumpers to the brackets & 5/16 nylock nuts on the backside. Works great, looks even better.
3) Between the bumper & the bracket, use a stainless 1/2-13 nut. This will space the bumper out from the bracket so the corners of the bracket won't poke & put bumps in your bumper & will also help the misalignment of the brackets.
4) Before tightening completely, use a yardstick & take some measurements just to make sure everything is right where you want it. It's ok if one end of the bumper is slightly lower than the other, because once it's all tightened up, you go around with the yardstick again & slowly but firmly pull up the lower end until they match. Also, once tightened, the carriage bolts will pull slightly into the bumper (because of the 1/2-13 nut on the backside) leaving a perfect little dimple.

So, to recap (minus the tweaks) the layers are - from outer to inner - Carriage bolt, bumper, 1/2-13 nut, bracket, washer, nylock nut.

Mon Sep 22, 2008 6:28 pm

How about an update, how'd it turn out?

Mon Sep 22, 2008 6:30 pm

crucial wrote: I picked up a set of front and rear conversion brackets (front set and rear set) for my 1970 beetle so I could mount blade bumpers (front bumper and rear bumper) on. I have only tried mounting the rear bumper and have tried every which way but just cant seem to get the bumper and brackets to line up correctly. Has anyone bought theses brackets (Empi brand) and installed them successfully? Did you have to mod (bend) them at all to get things to line up? Any pictures/help would be much appreciated.

For the record I know there are purists who are gonna ask "why not install the stock bumpers". The car didnt have any bumpers when I bought it and I prefer the blades so thats what I'm rollin with :wink:

Thanks again for your time,
-Dave

"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"

Mon Sep 22, 2008 6:43 pm

Hey guys thanks for all the replies. I had heard Empi had turned to crap when I started this car (they were the best back in the day if I remember right) but unfortunately JBugs didnt show who made them.

Thanks for the lengthy reply realbugfanatic. I will try that this weekend (football season is in full effect so I dont get home from coaching until after 9 every night so weeknights are out). I will check back in and keep you posted.

Thanks again for the tips!
-Dave

Tue Sep 23, 2008 3:42 am

Same thing for me - I ordered mine from CIP1 & I had no idea they were EMPI until they showed up. Still, if all I had to do was tweak the horizontal part of the bracket to get them to fit, that's not too bad. I guess I should be surprised the mounting holes even lined up.

(EDIT) I need to add that on one of the bumpers, I'll have to look but I think it was the front, I had to drill new mounting holes because the stock holes didn't match the new spread of the brackets. I used a step drill & it worked perfect. Also, I used the short European overriders - these have to be mounted to the bumper first before mounting the bumper to the brackets. They're cheap & you have to use a double-nut jamnut style hookup (real pain) to hold them tight & not bend or tweak the plate inside of the overrider. Another reason to use the 1/2-13 nuts as a spacer between the bumper & the bracket to help it all fit.