Timchek Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 So these bumpers where attached to my 30 Pontiac roadster when purchased, I’m not going to use them going forward, any idea what they came off of? Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
30DodgePanel Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 (edited) Left is maybe a Lyon or LaSalle? Right could be a A-P, Biflex or a Weed (after market names) they were often used on Dodge Brothers touring and roadsters and other make and model of vehicles also. Edited March 5 by 30DodgePanel (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 Go here to learn everything you want to know. The bumper on the right in the second picture is a Biflex brand aftermarket bumper. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timchek Posted March 6 Author Share Posted March 6 Wow, I had no idea that there were so many aftermarket bumpers way back when, really cool post and history! Kinda looks like 5mph bumpers weren’t invented in the seventies then! Thanks Larry and Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
30DodgePanel Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 (edited) 14 hours ago, Timchek said: Wow, I had no idea that there were so many aftermarket bumpers way back when, really cool post and history! Kinda looks like 5mph bumpers weren’t invented in the seventies then! Thanks Larry and Dave! The one on the left was evidently used on a Locomobile at one point. Looks like the maker could have been CG Spring Co or the ABC Co (Upright bumper) the more I study it. Note the 9th photo down on this link showing an almost exact match for Locomobile logo used for a hub emblem. The link says the year the logo was used is unknown. If anyone has any input or evidence or years it was used, that would be interesting to know. My guess would be 1927-32 as possible years... American Auto Emblems: LOCOMOBILE Can you post a close up of the badges on the Biflex bumper? It might tell us if it was used specifically on a Buick and might possibly give other clues. Edited March 6 by 30DodgePanel (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted March 7 Share Posted March 7 It could maybe be? They did make a cheaper line. But I doubt that one is a Biflex. Most of their bumpers were the higher quality line, which this one is not. As I said, they did make a cheaper line which I did see in some advertising of theirs some years ago. I have seen other advertising showing bumpers very similar to this one by a few other companies. I have looked at several similar bumpers, including at least one that from memory looked nearly identical, most of them had nothing on them that indicated what company made them. I do recall one from years ago that had a small metal tab (about the size of a nickel) held onto the backside of one of the mounting brackets by one small rivet in its center, that had the manufacturer's name on it! I do not remember the name. Bumpers went through an interesting evolution. They were showing up on some cars by 1910! Most cars still did not have them as standard equipment in 1925. However, by 1929, most automakers had them as standard equipment, and on cars by then and later most bumpers were marque specific. After-market bumpers continued to be made and sold to people with older cars, although most owners of older cars without bumpers couldn't really afford to buy them in the 1930s. The one now suspected as from a Locomobile is a make of bumper that I have seen on many makes of cars, including Buick. A very good friend years ago had a 1926 Buick Master opera coupe with a similar version of that bumper! I did make a comment on the "Bumpers" thread about my not knowing who made these particular bumpers, but I like them. The Biflex type bumper is probably the earlier of the two, likely early to mid 1920s. The Locomobile bumper is likely mid 1920s. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
30DodgePanel Posted March 7 Share Posted March 7 (edited) 4 hours ago, wayne sheldon said: The Locomobile bumper is likely mid 1920s. I mentioned that C.G. Spring Co was probably one of the candidates for the company that made the one on the Locomobile. The reason I said that is due to the many patents that C.G. (Christian Girl was his real name) had for his inventions. After studying it further I believe many of the 1920s and early 30s bumper components could be traced to his influence in the industry and will now be researching who bought him out. I currently have about 30 of his patent drawings up on my computer as we speak and the variety of uses and designs are pretty amazing. Everything from outer fender side guards to knee support that attached to the steering column and dropped down so the outer right side of your right knee could be supported for driving ease. Not quite cruise control but the concept was surely in Christian's mind. He also had rolling trunk platforms for business coupes and others, but the many bumper supports, braces and variety of bumpers are mind boggling. Edited March 7 by 30DodgePanel (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted March 7 Share Posted March 7 This is all part of what has held my attention to automotive history for so very long! The many interconnections of ideas and devices, improvements to the motorcar, and the influences on the development of modern society. Fascinating stuff! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timchek Posted March 13 Author Share Posted March 13 So I did examine the bumper which several of you had identified as a Biflex, there are no identifying marks or badges remaining anywhere on the bumper that I could find! Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 For whatever it is worth? Most of the "Biflex" bumpers I have looked at did not have their name on them anywhere. Maybe they were made by someone else? (I don't think so?) But the higher quality line of theirs are distinctively made, heavier material than most competing brands, the smoothness of the cuts, quality of the finish. Friends and I have discussed them often, compared ones we have seen at swap meets, looked at ones we have had. The cast clamps that hold them together were made in several variations, but all equally well made. Some of those clamps had the Biflex name diagonally across them, and with rare exceptions, that is the only place their name is usually found. You can see a Biflex advertisement on the other thread linked to above showing the clamp with their name on it. I suspect Biflex made and sold the bumpers without their name on them to automakers and dealers that preferred them that way. They may have sold after-market bumpers either way, I do not claim to know. It may be interesting to note that the factory installed bumper on my 1927 Paige 6-45 sedan is pictured and identified in Paige literature as a "Weed" bumper, and it has no name or identifying marks on it either. Many, if not most, early to mid 1920s bumpers do not have manufacturer's name on them. Maybe just the way the business was done in those days? Just some observations, and some speculations. I still suspect the OP "Biflex" style bumper is likely a competing knockoff. It looks like several bumpers I have seen over the years, and we generally believed they were other brands as well. But I could be wrong? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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