has anybody else ever tried to remove the rear bumper on a 69 chevelle? the nuts are practically unreachable from underneath the car. my only thought is to remove the gas tank and take a torch to the nuts and cut them off. any easier ideas?

There is no access to the nut without cutting through sheetmetal. I found it easier to twist the bolts off then very, very carefully drill dead centre in the middle of the remaining bolt material. Drill bigger in steps to the tap drill size then carefully run a tap into the hole to clean out the remaining material in the nut's threads. It is best done by someone who has lots of experience with drilling and tapping holes as it is very easy to get off centre and or break a tap. This worked very well for me but then Ive been a tool and die maker for thirty odd years and have had a bit of practice at drilling and tapping. Be careful. A broken tap would be disaster.

I broke off the bolts on my '69 chevelle rear bumper so this is what I did. First I removed the other bolts by torching them off, then went inside the trunk and cut out a small hole in the floor section which was inside the body brace along the back where the nuts were, then bought new nuts and the hats that hold the nuts in place from Year One,Ted Williams or Ground Up, then welded in the hats, then the section I cut out.