[Steve Barcak]

Having a 'glass nose out on the front of my GTO doesn't bother me a bit. In fact, having that big, heavy , bulky rubber nose out there does bother me. I have about 250,000 street miles combined on a few GTOs with 'glass bumpers, probably more than anyone.

tell ya a quick story... around 2000 I carelessly rammed my '72 WW5 into the back end of a suburban.
The 'glass bumper was crumpled and broken in many peices and I think one of the grilles got bent. The hood only got some scratches in the paint.

If this same accident would have happened to a stock endura nose, it would have bent the nose back and into the hood damaging both.

Because of the 'glass nose, my hood has llived another 9 years and 166,000 miles. and the broken up 'glass nose? Well, I bonded it together with 'glass matting and it lives to this day on the front of my car.
you could never do that with the stock parts.

I realize I am the only one here who drives one of these cars as primary transportation but, I could not go back to driving a stocker. The 'glass nose is just another item that makes my GTO much more nimble than others, much less weight on the front end, tires don't scrub, act more neutral in hard manuvers ( sp ). Battery has always been in the trunk too where it belongs.

adding a 'glass bumper makes the car safer and more nimble....easier to avoid a wreck.. and easier and cheaper, to repair if needed.

I have a '69 GTO too with a one piece 'glass front end, it is my first car.


Steve
Hosting 11th annual Pontiac Heaven, show, swap, drags, party and all around good time. Saturday April 4, 2009 at Speedworld near Phoenix, Az
more info- www.pontiacheaven.org
Also hosting- 7th annual Nostalgic Show and Go! and swap. Drags, cool car show, parade, special exhibitions, gassers, rails, stockers, customs and much more. coming Sunday April 5, 2009 to Speedworld. Phoenix, Az -This is Arizonas longest continuest running nostalgic event, our 7th year! www.nostalgicshowandgo.org

[sdx455]

what glass co. parts did you use ? no fitment issues ...I do not want to cut into a 400$ part ,Have not had any time to really check the fit yet ,this weekend will try .Probably will build up the sides with more glass .Also looking for a product that I could coat the back side to add strength and thickness a rubber like product . pour spread let hardin . even like, great stuff . they make a black color for wet areas ,spray in ,cut out ,clean up what you dont want to see .I will know more after I spend some time on it ...I am going to have to mount the grille tabs and brackets I am sure there is some ,automotive adhesives I can ,use anybody know there names ?

[Terry Gartner]

Hum... Much to consider, safety and fit. Maybe I'll stick with the original.

[sdx455]

I am starting to attach the grilles and light brackets . I am sure there are other ways to do it but ... I dont want any holes though the fiberglass . I poured shreaded glass and resin into the cupped area ,for a mounting point I was going to set attachment bolts in there but ,It seems better to drill hole into new area and maybe put in helicoils .Because I dont know what mounts to the bottom hole on the grille brackets Help ? dont know if I am missing some parts . I know I am missing the aligment bumpers on the top of the endura that go into the core support were can I get those ? Its hard to tell from the small pics on the assembly manual....need a pic not sure if/how the endura and valance attach together .

[sdx455]

What do the brackets that extend down off the grille behind the valance attach to if anything ? Anybody

[2manyponchos]

See below pictures. Nose was cut and glassed as Paul described earlier.

[Tom McQueen]

I had the nose first. A VFN piece. It fit OK. This time around I went all the way. VFN 1 piece front end.

[sdx455]

That car is BAD ASS... mounting these things is more work than I thought .will post some pics of how I am doing it . made some progress today

[JOE DEYTON]

Tamraz sells Glasstek (www.glasstek.com) fiberglass parts, I believe they are cheaper through them (tamraz)as well. I have a 70 I bought cheap, I did not realize was a GTO (tempest/lemans front clip until I paid attention to the #s. It was pretty rusty in the trunk floor rear body mount area. Anyway, I looked for fenders and endura for a while, and decided on glass since I have a 68 already. I used Glasstek fenders, Vfn hood and nose. The biggest difference I see between the VFN and Glasstek(tamraz) nose is that the Vfn does not have the mount molded in for the factory brackets. You have to mount it to the fenders. I have the Lemans/tempest core support I am using and may make mounts to bolt to that like the factory (lemans) nose. does anyone know if these aftermarket noses have enough length in the nose to get a correct fit for the headlight bezels/ grills? Mine seem very narrow, I need to measure my nose and hopefully it is long enough, so i dont have to widen it. whew, long post lol.

[PaulatFast]

Originally Posted by JOE DEYTON

...does anyone know if these aftermarket noses have enough length in the nose to get a correct fit for the headlight bezels/ grills? Mine seem very narrow, I need to measure my nose and hopefully it is long enough, so i dont have to widen it. whew, long post lol.

Milt's car, pictured above, has factory headlamp mounting brackets, buckets and trim, as well as factory grills. Everything fit good, except the nose itself.

[sdx455]

Cant tell yet if the Tamraz is wide enough yet .I had to pull the fenders to re align the doors .Also have hood off because needed new hinges . I ordered the hinges very pricy.Starting from doors working foward .I did mount headlight buckets and grilles on it which helped firm it up. However the grille openings are wider than the grilles so there is a 1/8 to 1/4 inch gap around the grilles . I need the alignment bumpers/brackets that attach to the top of endura and fit into the core support any body have some or a picture ?so I know what I am looking for , didnt get them with the car.

[sdx455]

Here are some pics of how I am attaching ,Filled the cups with fiberglass drilled and put in helicoils , next will be the 2 big bolts that attach to the frame rails,dont want to drill through front of fiberglass . The top angle brackets did not reach the fiberglass tabs so I made new ones that reached

[uforacing]

I just received my 71-72 nose from Tamraz. I did just see the link for glasstek. I now know I just got hosed by Tamraz. How? well Tamraz sells the bumper for $195 or so and glasstek sells it for $220

I paid $145 to have it shipped truck to my business. I noticed on glasstek site that the same bumper goes UPS. Even at double oversize I have a feeling that buying direct and shipping UPS would have saved me $$$$.

I see some work to get it installed but nothing outrageous IMO. Hey Steve Barcak could ya post a pic or two with the hood open to see how you did it? I have my idea but it it always nice to see something that has already been there.

I am thinking that by the time I am done it will be 12lb or so. I think I will glass in some aluminum sheet to make it look stock with the hood opened. BTW. That is looking good SDx455

[sdx455]

Dam you got hosed ,dont feel bad . for the 70 it was 325.00 plus 135.00 shipping plus 20.00 box fee .my total for a 70 shipped was 480.00 .didnt want to spend that much but . I have always found things you want ,cost more than you think they are worth. That and a 700.00 dash i am trying not to think about it . want a wiring harness but need a stimulis check please .......................

[sdx455]

ok trying to get motivated again .... Anybody installed one of these fiberlass bumpers yet , mine appears to be to narrow . I have the original endura but its rough ,This installation issue is holding me up. I have no idea how to modify to fit . Think I will call them see if there was a mold problem. From fender peak to peak I grt 84 " with no fender hood gap , the piece is 83 5/8" peak to peak ...Can anybody show me pics of there FG install

[sdx455]

This is what Im talking about ,no gap between hood and fenders ,,, pass side lined up .center hood center of bumper lined up .... driver side 3/8'' short atleast,,, seems like the driver side of the bumper is shorter .could it be defective .

[Bob Timmermans]

Definitifly call them !

[sdx455]

Nobody has installed one recently?

[mikes2nd]

hmm guess no one else...

I have a complete older pro 70 Glasstek front end(hood, bumper, fenders)..

it looks like good quality, great quality actually.

is that an actual glasstek? I am just wondering about the tamaraz part...


does it have the glasstek "sticker" on the back?

I just ordered a VFN rear bumper so i will post "results"...

First of all with VFN... the "box" fee is bs... but it was 150$ vs 210 for the glasstek.

So VFN is already on my list for pulling that mini "bait and switch" so don't believe VFN's posted "price".

vfn 170$ for a rear bumper, 210 for a glasstek.

[sdx455]

yes has the glasstek sticker with phone number on back . just wondering maybe they line up when you use all the fiberglass. front fenders ,hood... paid 325 plus 135 ship 20 box fee total 479 . I am going to call today