The car was found with no bumpers. The search for these hasn’t been too terrible. The 356 B and C had the same bumpers, which makes a much larger pool of parts to source from. Chrome was an uncommon option.
There are couple easy ways to distinguished the B / C bumpers from the A. The most obvious is the B / C rear bumper had two holes for license plate up-lights. The A did not have these, as the light had a separate housing.
I find it tough buying sheet metal online. Determining what’s original versus reproduction is one part. Rusty does not equal original. I’ve been focused on buying straight and restorable. A little surface rust, as best as you can tell from a photo. I’ve been avoiding things that have crappy pictures, or uniform paint. I see a lot of black and gray parts where people have obviously sprayed them. I’d like to think it’s to inhibit further decay, but I suspect it’s to cover up some really nasty rust spots and or body filler.
I was able to make an offer on a pair found on eBay. Not too many layers of paint, and some visible surface rust that at least hadn’t been covered over. They do not have the lights or bumper guards, but they are a pair and the trim and mounting brackets are there. That will save some time and fitment issues.
On to license plate up lights and bumper guards.
