VX type bumper conversion for a Zagato

[PeterV]

Newbie question...
Anybody out there swap out their zagato bumpers for something like those found on the VX? As is such with the Scorpion, the Euro type bumpers look better and drop some weight over the US types. I just like the look better and was wondering A. If they fit and B. If they are lighter. I did see a zagato at the van Nuys, CA French and Italian car show last November with different bumpers and Fittipaldi rims which were color-matched to the red paint job. Interesting look.

Peter

[PeterV]

Here is a pic of the Van Nuys Zag....

[Andrew S]

Hmmm, Bumpers very cool. Wheels disastrous. Colour coded wheels never work in my opinion. VolumeX bumpers will fit front fine I have no doubt. Back I'm not so sure.
Andrew.

[rossocorsa]

the shape of front bumpers will be ok the back end of a spider is not the same shape as a coupe so probably not european spiders used a different bumper to coupes. those i.e./vx bumpers are not that good prone to rust (yes i know they are supposed to be stainless but it's special italian grade) and the mild steel brackets that are welded to the stainless outer tend to fall off, most are in a rather moth eaten dented and scratched state these days too

[Chris B]

Hi all;
Interesting reading. I've had limited experience with aftermarket bumpers. I had a friend here in the Seattle area that ran the fiberglass front and rear "bumpers" on his lime green '76 Scorpion. I've toyed with the idea of pulling out the little plastic filler panels on my HPE and collapse the shock absorber mounts to pull the bumpers about 3" closer to the body front and rear. The rubber end pieces would need to relocate their mounting holes to the body panels. Has anyone tried this approach?
Is the rear deck, etc. on a Zagato all that different from the coupe?
Ciao,
Chris Beckman
'77 HPE daily driver (inclement weather) otherwise
'78 BMW R80/7 with Jupiter sidecar or
'81 Ducati Pantah 500SL

[rossocorsa]

the rear deck is different enough to warrant lancia making a different bumper with the italian mentality to parts design it could mean it's miles out or just 1mm who knows?? !!

[PeterV]

One of the guys on the norcalscorps yahoo forum tried that on one of his scorpions.

[SubGothius]

I have seen pics and heard of various approaches to adapt other cars' bumper covers to fit coupes and Zagatos. IIRC, the donors included a first-gen BMW M3 (E30 body) and some mid-generation Honda Prelude. The pix I saw looked sharp, at least, but YMMV... 8) Time to get out yr tape measure and visit the pick'n'pull boneyards! ;D

[Will]

I'm thinking fiberglass front air dam (market surely must exist for a few others to amortize mold costs but it'll still be a PITA) and Abarth bumperettes for the rear, mostly because I don't think the rear warrants a second mold when the bumperettes look original and integrate with the car more or less. Or Abartrh bumperettes on all four corners. I've personally yet to see any bumper swap that looks right on any other car, ranging from not-quite-right to hideous. In the case of european cars, the problem is invariably that modern Jap cars have blocky bumpers that fit on stubby cars (and so does BMW). Put them on a more streamilined Italian car and it looks odd- maybe there's an exception, but I suspect to get it right you'll have to roll your own. I've seen some poor custom fiberglass too, but that's not really the point. I would keep it simple and keep it tasteful- the more scoops and whatnot just rice up the front end.

If you want to "tuck in " the bumpers then IMO the way to do it is to drill the shock and run it in with a bar clamp, and then cut the "accordian" section from the middle of the rubber end so the scoop end on the bumper is closer to the end on the car. Then you remove the rubber end(s) and rejoin them by taping the outside together and slobbing the inside with something- silicone seems not to stick very well, maybe try RTV? I have some 98 duro RTV that sticks to everything in sight, but I've not tested it oon the bumper ends (yet). It does stick to the rubber accordians on Vitaloni baby turbos though.

[chrisc]

What about something like the bumpers used on the Fissore edition?

http://www.viva-lancia.com/lancia_forsale/call-b1.jpg

http://www.viva-lancia.com/lancia_forsale/call-b2.jpg

[Will]

Nice! Never seen those before or heard of that edition- are the wheels on that stock for the "Fissore" also? Where was it sold/what's the count?

[Andrew S]

Yeah! That looks great! There was a prototype Spider/Zagato made with wide arches, skirts and different bumpers but I don't know if it ever made production. Also there was a bodykit made by Stratton available through Lancia UK dealers in the early 80's which was very similar to the kit in the photos posted by Chris. I remember seeing at least one on the road many years ago- someone must have the moulds surely?

Andrew.

[Will]

I was thinking you might be referring to the Scheckter edition, so I puilled out Brian Long's Beta book and there is a picture of the Stratton with some additional information, apparently Stratton made MB bodykits.

Turns out it wasn't the Scheckter edition that had the wide wheel arches, but rather the Beta Coupe HF Zagato, pp 87-88 in Long's book. The wide wheel arches look a bit "stuck on" as they intersect sharply with the bodywork without a blend though. It also has nave plates (solid saucer-type hubcaps) on the wheels which probably ensure that your brakes get nice and hot.

[chrisc]

Nice! Never seen those before or heard of that edition- are the wheels on that stock for the "Fissore" also? Where was it sold/what's the count?


The wheels were part of the Fissore kit yep. Im not sure about the production numbers, ive no idea how many were produced or where it was sold - there looks to be some more information out there but unfortunately my language skills dont stretch that far.

Theres also an interesting Martini edition which apparently was only sold in the uk, but information on that one is even sketchier

Photo at http://www28.brinkster.com/lanciabeta/images/martini.jpg