Somewhere between Conwy and Manchester last night the rear tail pipe from my exhaust decided to say cheerio to the rest of the car. The hot gas coming out of the broken exhaust has made a right mess of the plastic bumper and has melted a nasty big hole all the way through.

Been thinking about replacing the exhaust for a while as its been a bit rusty but was going to wait until the next service in a couple of months arghhhhh!

So the moral of the story is - if you suspect (like I did) that your exhaust back box needs replacing, DO IT NOW - DON'T WAIT! or like me you'll end up needing a new bumper too.

P.S. Does anyone know the best place to get a replacement rear bumper (preferably Sprint Blue)?

It's a well-known side effect of the exhaust failing unfortunately, you'd be amazed at the number of coupés that have suffered this in the past

As for the bumper, I'd normally recommend carlt on here as the best source but I know he is extremely busy right now moving premises so you may have to wait a few weeks before he's back in business.

On this topic though, I'm thinking about fabricating a metal protection plate for the rear bumper, similar to that on some other cars, has anyone else tried this?

Stan, that is a good idea. Making a plate for the inside of the bumper around the exhaust exit. This would ideally not be visable from the exterior.

I'm going to experiment with the melted bumper I have (carlt has a nice one for me when he finishes moving ) so I'll be able to work out some sizes and shapes, materials etc..........I'll keep you posted

I thought of a metal instert a while back (when mine melted ) like some of the Rovers and MGF's had.

I was unable to come up with anything suitable (but that might be because I'm a meff )

I feel a group purchase coming on, I also need a sprint blue back bumper for exactly the same reason :(. (Mind you it was like that that when I bought it so I can't complain.)

My sprint blue bumper is unmelted and availiable............
from a salvage yard in essex

I didn't like to say...

Neil

Just to clarify,I don't have the car or the bumper anymore, so I can't sell it

Now I know how carl feels!

send carl a PM he MIGHT have one