Anyone have Finish Line Over-riders?

[YerDugliness]

I want to buy some over-riders for my Cobra...it already has the rear "bumper" assembly, but not the vertical part you see here:

http://www.finishlineaccessories.com...products_id=84

I have the over-riders on the front bumper, but not on the rear. The description says "Open back". Well, I know there must be some sort of bracket or panel back there through which the bolts that hold them to the rear bumper will pass, but the young gentleman to whom I spoke denied that there is any sort of bracket or plate back there....and then proceeded to give me the center to center dimension for the two bolts. The gentleman also said "Well, that's not going to happen" when I asked for him to email me a photo of the back of the over-rider.....not exactly great customer service.

Has anyone ordered their over-riders from Finish Line? If so, is it possible that someone might have a photo of the back of theirs they can share here on the forum, along with a depth measurement on the distance between the back of the "bolt bracket" and the inside of the over-rider? I just want to make sure I'll be able to bolt them on my Cobra....I suspect Finish Line would take them back if they won't fit, I just don't want to have to spend all that money for the shipping both ways.

Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated, folks!

Cheers from Doug!

[letsboogie351]

Yes, I have the o/riders from Finishline. Very well made with a great finish. A simple bracket was fabricated to bolt to the rods through the body and rear bumper. The o/riders then bolted to the bracket

Doug

[YerDugliness]

You had to fabricate the bracket? The front bumper on my cobra has a bracket on the two opposing sides with holes that allow the over-rider to be bolted to it. It looks like the bracket is part of the bumper. I cannot see any holes in the side of the over-rider in the photos on the Finish Line website. Is this the manner in which the rear bumpers attach?

I'll try to post photos tomorrow.

Thanks, again, for any help you can provide.

Cheers from Dugly

[Hotfingrs]

I've got the Finishline over riders. The brackets you talk about are the ones for front mounting. The front over riders, when new, do not have mounting holes in them, you have to drill them, then bolt them to the bracket. The rears have a plate, through which the thread rod goes.

[BBQCYCLEWERKES]

I just installed Finishline overiders on my Backdraft. They had strap steel type mounts welded to the inside of the overiders which were threaded. All I had to do was locktite the threaded mounting rods to the overiders and slip them thru the body and into the mounts on the frame. I had to fabricate longer rods though out of grade 8 threaded stock as the orig rods were too short and were up against the body even before they went into the frame mount. Not to difficult a job just had to be patient so not to scratch the body or damage the fiberglass. Good luck and enjoy. I mounted my overiders so they were approx 1/8" from hitting the fiberglass. I liked the up close sleek look more then the extended look which would give it more protection. Just a matter of choice though.

[YerDugliness]

Originally Posted by Hotfingrs

I've got the Finishline over riders. The brackets you talk about are the ones for front mounting. The front over riders, when new, do not have mounting holes in them, you have to drill them, then bolt them to the bracket. The rears have a plate, through which the thread rod goes.

Thanks! That makes sense. Finishline isn't very descriptive on their website, only saying this:

"Chrome on brass bumper overriders. Used on front and rear. Open back. OEM Type Fit 289 Cobra and 427 Cobra. Each. Need to order four for complete car."

Since I already have the front two, it sounds like I need to be specific regarding which two I need when I order....is that right?

I do have a large drill press with a good clamp, which makes drilling holes much easier, but otherwise I am not too experienced with fabricating, so creating a mounting bracket from scratch is a stretch for me. Just trying to make sure I don't get stuck with $150 worth of product I can't use, or even if Finishline will accept the return, have to pay the shipping both ways for a product I can't use.

Thanks so much for the replies so far! If anyone has a photo of the bracket supplied with the rear over-riders, or if a bracket has to be fabbed, how they made theirs, I'd sure appreciate seeing it!

Originally Posted by BBQCYCLEWERKES

I just installed Finishline overiders on my Backdraft. They had strap steel type mounts welded to the inside of the overiders which were threaded. All I had to do was locktite the threaded mounting rods to the overiders and slip them thru the body and into the mounts on the frame. I had to fabricate longer rods though out of grade 8 threaded stock as the orig rods were too short and were up against the body even before they went into the frame mount. Not to difficult a job just had to be patient so not to scratch the body or damage the fiberglass. Good luck and enjoy. I mounted my overiders so they were approx 1/8" from hitting the fiberglass. I liked the up close sleek look more then the extended look which would give it more protection. Just a matter of choice though.

It sounds like your over-riders were mounted directly to the frame, without having the back bumper. Is that correct?

Here is a photo of the manner in which my bumper attaches to the frame. While most of you probably have only two bolts, there are three on mine. The upper and lower bolts attach the bumper to a bracket and the center bolt attaches the bracket to the frame.



Here is a side view, so you can get a better idea of how my rear bumper attaches:



It is different from the other Cobras I've seen, which all seem to have two mounting rods/bolts to attach the bumper to the frame rather than one. While the history of my Cobra is a bit cloudy, I believe it was built as a 1/4 mile drag car and the two bolts, one on each side, were simply for mounting a push bar. I think it was converted to street use by a subsequent buyer.

That's the "pleasure" of owning one of these, no? Kind of like my 1922 home in SW KS, nothing is square, nothing is plumb--on my cobra, nothing is "standard", either!

Cheers from Dugly

[MFE III]

Dougly, that's an interesting arrangement you have for attaching quick jacks or bumpers.
You will be able to use the Fininshline bumpers. I have them and as I recall, the welded in brackets are threaded for 1/2" bolts. So you may have to drill out your triangle mounting bracket to accomodate and cut some longer sleeves for the 1/2" bolts.
The finish on the bumpers is okay. you may want to paint or coat the inside as mine are showing some rust spots.
Matt

[BBQCYCLEWERKES]

The mounting threads on the finishline overiders is 3/8 corse thread. You will have to get grade 8 3/8 threaded bar stock and cut to the length you need and then make the spacers out of 3/4 stainless steel or alum tubing and have polished or painted, whichever you prefer. The center hole in the spacers will need to be a little larger then 3/8" for the threaded bar stock to go though. I hope this makes sense to you. Bob

[Dwight]

I used sch 80 aluminum pipe for my spacers. I bought stainless 3/8" all thread rod to mount everythind with.

Polished the aluminum and clearcoated it.

Dwight

[Trueoo7]

This company also sells over riders in polished stainless steel and very pleasant to deal with.
You might want to give them a try.

http://www.bethania-garage.com/body_hardware.htm

[YerDugliness]

Thanks for all the input, guys. I finally managed to speak with someone at Finishline who was familiar with the product, Enzo himself. He assured me that there is in fact a bracket at the back of the over-rider, that it is already drilled to the standard center-to-center measurement for attachment of a rear "nudge bar", which is a C-to-C measurement of 2 1/4", and that the bracket is drilled for 10mm (SAE equivalent 3/8") studs/rods or bolts.

I've been looking at my setup, and I think I'll be OK, given the information from Enzo. I'll use the present mounting hardware, won't need to fabricate studs/rods. I'll simply remove the bumper assembly from the body by removing the center bolt, then reverse the upper and lower bolts so that instead of the nut being at the back of the bracket, it will be the head (that will even give me slightly greater clearance than I have with the nut at the back of the bracket), and the bracket for the over-rider will slip right over the bolts. The nuts will hold the over-rider in place, and I'll just attach the assembly when completed with that single center bolt that holds it in place now.

Will be making the order on Monday, and I'll let you all know how things go. If it is going to be as simple as I think it will, I'd anticipate a 45 minute R&R. I'll even post some photos in case someone else needs the info in the future.

Again, many thanks to all who chimed in here. That young man who gave me the incorrect information when I first called almost cost Finishline the sale....he should have been familiar enough with the product to have told me that there was a bracket welded to the back of the over-rider.

Onward through the fog !!

Cheers from Dugly

[rpatton3]

I bought some overriders and plan to use hardware from front to put the rear overriders on.

I ordered the hardware for the front from Mike Russell at Iconic Parts.

Do you think this will work?

Russell

[BAsque1]

Speaking of Finishline and customer service, I had my taste of that with them. 1st time they send me a headlight switch without a dimmer capability, could not return it despite that it was in the original packaging because it was an electrical part.

2nd time the stainless steel lic plate frame for the front paid $65 for it cracked in 3 months due to metal stress, the stainless steel was bent horizontally to the metal grain vs vertically and right at the bent it cracked.

Called Finishline and the answer was not a great one "we have sold hundreds and not one failed" well ain't I the lucky one? I sent them a picture and eventually after much dealing they decided to send me a UPS pick up slip and a new frame (Now sells for $45) so they can check mine.

But the principle is: lack of good customer service...I agree they need a tune up!!

[Enzo Alibrandi]

Thank you, if you ever have any questions or problems, please calll toll free at 1-866-436-9113 or email e.alibrandi@att.net and we get you a answer or at least point you in the right direction, we appreciate your business and support, Thank you Johnnie @ finishlineaccessories.com