As many Barchetta owners will know the supply of front bumpers has reached very low levels over the last few years. So we are pleased to share this story from Brian Poole who has gone about creating his own solution.
As always this is only for information and the UK Barchetta Club cannot recommend or confirm that this process will result in a bumper that is fully compliant or correct for a Barchetta. Any work complete is at your own risk, and we recommend all replacement parts would need to be fully inspected by a trained motor mechanic prior to installation to confirm they meet all the necessary safety requirements.
As a collector, hoarder and occasional seller of Barchetta spare parts, the secret was out in late 2024 that I had two front bumpers stored away in my garage. Within a few weeks I had reluctantly sold them to two other Barchetta owners who were unable get their cars back on the road, both having waited months to find a replacement bumper.
When a courier took the last bumper, Hanna my wife commented “what’s the matter with you now” easy answer “I don’t have onenow”. It played on my mind that I had lost the security of having a spare one in the garage. A plan to overcome the loss came about as I knew of a fibreglass company in Poland that produced bumpers etc. for all different makes of cars and they do produce copies of both early and late Barchetta parts.Contacting them, while visiting Warsaw they, were extremely reluctant to send one to the UK due to the large size, possible damage and additional import export charges.
Not to be deterred my next thoughts were to make one myself. All that is needed was a mould,materials and some nice weather, fibreglass matting/resin needs to be laid at a minimum of 15 degrees (the higher the temperature the less working time with the resin.)
April 2025 the bumper came off my Barchetta to use as the mould and I started formulating a plan on how to section the bumper up to allow the new mould to release easily, not wanting to damage my bumper. I ended up deciding on having to make nine separate moulds, four for the front main section.
The inner spot lights and indicator fixings including the front bumper hangers took three and the two individual side mounting points.
By the end of May 2025 all the nine mould sections were completed. My Barchetta was off SORN and the summer use of driving and car show season had started. Work on the bumper slowed down and at times stopped completely through the summer. Eventually I found time to lay up the four front mould sections and produce the first outer main section and release it from the mould.
Work on the inner section moulds needed some adaptations to allow them to release more easily and provide additional stronger mounting points.
My fag packet calculations on material required, cost’s and the time/days work needed along as“learning on the job” as resulted in for me a good quality replacement front Barchetta bumper.
Brian Poole
