1976 Corvette nose vs Scorpion

[RallyLanciaWannabe]

My father has a 76 Corvette. And over the years from winter storage and wheel dollys we have smashed up the tip of the nose because it protrudes past the bumperettes. And it was just ever so gently pushing it into a corner. Horrible design.
my question is how was this allowed for 1976 that at -1mph it sustained damage yet on a 1976 scorpion you had to have the full metal bumpers? The European Montecarlo bumpers are more useful than the Corvette nose for the same model year.
someone explain.
thank you Anthony

 

[Pete Whitstone]

My guess (and that's all it is) is that there was pending legislation in the US about 5mph bumpers, and Lancia engineered it into the car ahead of time, since they were cash strapped and probably wouldn't have the money for the redesign. GM, on the other hand, had craploads of cash and resources to make a change like that fairly quickly.

My understanding is the X1/9 got certain safety design stuff that never became law, but Fiat thought it would. 30mph side impact and 50mph rollover, with no intrusion into passenger compartment, or something like that. One of the reasons an X is a relatively heavy little car.

 

[RallyLanciaWannabe]

My guess (and that's all it is) is that there was pending legislation in the US about 5mph bumpers, and Lancia engineered it into the car ahead of time, since they were cash strapped and probably wouldn't have the money for the redesign. GM, on the other hand, had craploads of cash and resources to make a change like that fairly quickly.

My understanding is the X1/9 got certain safety design stuff that never became law, but Fiat thought it would. 30mph side impact and 50mph rollover, with no intrusion into passenger compartment, or something like that. One of the reasons an X is a relatively heavy little car.

I thought Lancia was backed by Fiat and had plenty of communist money lol

 

[dherr]

All cars were cursed with huge bumpers starting in 1975. Having many European cars over the years, very few had integrated bumpers into the bodywork. I think Porsche somehow did it with the 911 and perhaps GM did the same and was able to put the "battering ram" behind the plastic nose. I think those bumperettes are just cosmetic on a Corvette but not meant to be the 5 MPH bumper.

You really did not start to see the bumpers getting covered by plastic valances until the mid-80's as a mainstream thing. So most of our cars got big aluminum bars front and rear with little regard to styling unfortunately. But the good news is that you can pretty much get away with taking those things off if you want to convert to the European bumpers as no one really is going to stop you at this point. Just don't hit anything

 

[DaveR]

What material is the front bumper? Is it the original equipment or an aftermarket part?

 

[RallyLanciaWannabe]

What material is the front bumper? Is it the original equipment or an aftermarket part?

Original, it’s a 26k miles car. All original (except for the bondo on the front tip)

 

[autox19]

All cars were cursed with huge bumpers starting in 1975. Having many European cars over the years, very few had integrated bumpers into the bodywork. I think Porsche somehow did it with the 911 and perhaps GM did the same and was able to put the "battering ram" behind the plastic nose. I think those bumperettes are just cosmetic on a Corvette but not meant to be the 5 MPH bumper.

You really did not start to see the bumpers getting covered by plastic valances until the mid-80's as a mainstream thing. So most of our cars got big aluminum bars front and rear with little regard to styling unfortunately. But the good news is that you can pretty much get away with taking those things off if you want to convert to the European bumpers as no one really is going to stop you at this point. Just don't hit anything

you are right on. the laws were not about sustaining no cosmetic damage but no structural damage at those speeds, and I mean NONE, not even off by a mm at 5mph. tis is where the bumper shocks came into play, they would compress (and possible not come back out) to absorb the hit, yet everything else wouldnt be effected. And like Pete said the proposed were linked to specific areas not having damage. Cosmetically the car would be probably totaled, but the passengers in the passenger compartment were safe.

Odie

 

[Dan Sarandrea (Phila)]

My father has a 76 Corvette. And over the years from winter storage and wheel dollys we have smashed up the tip of the nose because it protrudes past the bumperettes. And it was just ever so gently pushing it into a corner. Horrible design.
my question is how was this allowed for 1976 that at -1mph it sustained damage yet on a 1976 scorpion you had to have the full metal bumpers? The European Montecarlo bumpers are more useful than the Corvette nose for the same model year.
someone explain.
thank you Anthony

DOT's Bumper Regulations

Bumpers are shields of plastic, rubber or metal mounted to the front and rear of most vehicles. They use energy absorbers, specially designed brackets or cushioning materials to absorb the shock of a low-speed collision. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, a branch of...

itstillruns.com

The Bumper Cars - Hagerty Media

WHEN FEDERAL REGULATIONS CHANGED THE FACE OF CARS For a car designer, the early 1970s were pretty tough times. New federal regulations announced in 1971 for th …

www.hagerty.com

 

[RJ80]

Frankly, this is one of the drawbacks to "European" or Montecarlo bumpers on the Scorpion. It doesn't take much of a nudge -- from you or someone else -- to warrant a replacement (which your insurance may or may not cover).

Yes, Euro bumpers look better and weigh a little less, but what is the likelihood your car will be tapped by another in your locale?

 

[Lowtechprime]

'Yes.....74 was the end for most cars as far as I'm concerned....

 

[Ulix]

Frankly, this is one of the drawbacks to "European" or Montecarlo bumpers on the Scorpion. It doesn't take much of a nudge -- from you or someone else -- to warrant a replacement (which your insurance may or may not cover).

Yes, Euro bumpers look better and weigh a little less, but what is the likelihood your car will be tapped by another in your locale?

That is true, but one must also consider bumper height.
A lowered US spec car will have the bumper fit right under normal height bumpers.
I ever so slightly rear ended a Van with my lowered X at a stoplight once and my US bumper didn‘t even touch the Van‘s bumper.
The nose panel would have taken full impact.

 

[dherr]

Frankly, this is one of the drawbacks to "European" or Montecarlo bumpers on the Scorpion. It doesn't take much of a nudge -- from you or someone else -- to warrant a replacement (which your insurance may or may not cover).

Yes, Euro bumpers look better and weigh a little less, but what is the likelihood your car will be tapped by another in your locale?

At this point now, I have little concern for my collector cars in regards to bumpers. My old TR4A ran without any bumpers after I restored it, not that the original chrome bumpers would have done any good. All my cars are insured for their full value, and are driven for fun, not to run to the local big box store, where the likelihood of someone bumping into it is high. I like the small chrome bumpers that were on most of the European cars of the 60's and early 70's, but realistically they do very little to protect the cars in the modern world. The Scorpion that I just converted to the Montecarlo bumpers will be used to drive for fun on back roads and to car shows, so I am not worried about it.