Is my front bumper original?

[Will]

Hello everyone, hopefully you can help me with this question. As part of my winter project I have removed the front bumper so that I can refit the mesh attached to the rear of it.
But now having removed the front bumper I have noticed a few things that have got me wondering if this is an original bumper, the key part of this being the material the front bumper appears to made from. I have seen a very small number of pictures showing the inside of other peoples Phase 1 front bumpers and they appear to have a different texture to them.

Below is a close up picture of the inside of my front bumper:

The other pictures I have been able to find in the gallery and on the wider internet (There is very few) all seem to have the same finish as my rear bumper has:

So is my front bumper genuine or perhaps a replacement part?

Thanks,

Will.

 

[Ali]

Mines like the 2nd pic, although mine has been repaired in places, looks like a patch work quilt!

 

[Jamesv6]

Would be interesting to know if very early bumpers where that finish inside.

We could compare bumpers against VIN numbers to see if things change at a certain point.

 

[Will]

Would be interesting to know if very early bumpers where that finish inside.

We could compare bumpers against VIN numbers to see if things change at a certain point.

The thought had crossed my mind as to whether early cars may have different bumpers, I had a look inside the front and rear quarter panels and they have the same textured finish as the front.

 

[RUSSO]

mitrasautomotive.co.uk see below

Mitras Automotive UK Ltd’s success continues with Renault’s highly desirable and powerful 3 Litre Clio V6. Mitras were asked to provide the Front Bumper, Front Fenders, Side Air Vents and Sills, all to an “A” Class standard.

The Front Bumper, Fenders and Sills are all SMC compression moulded supplied to a primed “A” Class standard. The side air vents are BMC injection moulded supplied top coated.

The integrated front end bumper combines safety and design. As the face of the vehicle, high quality
of finish is imperative but also safety cannot be overlooked. The bumper combines the strength of SMC with a crash block protection unit and still manages to house two stylish fog lamps and grille.

The Fenders, Sills and Front Bumper are In-Mould Coated during the press cycle.

Both the Front Apron and Front Fender utilise moving cores in the mould tools in order to achieve undercut conditions.

Mitras have numerous robot operated cells and even low volume vehicles benefit from this automation. The front bumper and front fenders are all bonded in the robot cell.

SMC was chosen for the Clio V6 due to its strength, versatility to enable part consolidation, light weight and class “A” finish.

Automated routing and bonding provided reliability and repeatability.

Heated bonding fixtures were used to speed curing time.

so door skins and rear wings were made by a company in france out of glassfibre, the problem with glassfibre is 2 fold, as the resin produces heat during the curing process the panel can distort slightly in the mould also glassfibre will give a bit in hot conditions, like being put round a hot engine bay !
The result is slight panel movement and this will show as a uneven panel in the end, the rear wings are very big bits of moulding and are only realy contected to the car along the top and front edge by bonding the rest of the wing only has a couple of screw so can more about with the heat as well.

That's my take on it.

From a post by Steve-V6-D61 LINK

Just my input, both bumpers for Ph2's ( yes, one on car & spare LOL ) as per second photo -- smooth coating rather than glassfibre.

Would the Ph1 bumper / panels be made elsewhere????

 

[ColinG]

There is some aftermarket v6 panels on eBay for the mk1... Could have one of these fitted?


Interested to know if it has... What the fit is like? Could be a godsend in case of minor bumps :approve:

 

[ColinG]

Here we are ....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Renault-clio- ... _500wt_689

No pics of the rear though

 

[Will]

There is some aftermarket v6 panels on eBay for the mk1... Could have one of these fitted?


Interested to know if it has... What the fit is like? Could be a godsend in case of minor bumps :approve:

This is another possibility, but there is as far as I am aware no manufacturer marks on my bumper So finding out may be challenging. The eBay seller also states that his items are made to order so I doubt he would be able to supply any pictures of the rear as well, but I guess it's worth asking.

Regarding the fitment question, the gaps around the headlights were a little off but that might be due to shoddy workmanship of whomever put it on last, because it's definitely been off at least once its life for a front bumper re-spray and the manner in which they re-attached it left a lot to be desired, but it is my aim to rectify all of this during the Vee's winter hibernation .

 

[pturner3]

My first thought was one of those fibre glass ones from Ebay. I've seen unpainted body panels on Mk2, and they are smooth SMC.

Again, not much help. but I dont know about early phase 1 cars. Question is: Is the complete bumper like that, or possibly just one section?

 

[Duncan]

both my ph1 bumpers were/are smooth on the inside. If yours is a non original bumper Will, it gives me hope that non OEM ones give an excellent fit!! :approve:

 

[Will]

Question is: Is the complete bumper like that, or possibly just one section?

It's the whole bumper, the thing that makes me wonder if it could still be original is that all the other panels bar the rear bumper have the same texture internally as the front one does (well so far as I can see with a torch and without taking every panel off lol).

The mystery continues lol....

And thanks to everyone who has contributed so far :approve: I have a few leads to go on now, but if anyone else has any other useful ideas/info please post away.