So before I start thinking that I need to invest in a new front bumper, I figured I'd get a second opinion for my sanity. Basically, my problem that occurs to me, is that my front bumper is somehow twisted as the front of the car looks like a grumpy grandpa with a little frown of the bumper. It seems like the center goes up too high, because I can't seem to find any adjustment that makes the center and ends look right. It also seems that the front doesn't follow the grille very well. I can't seem to find any sign of warpage, which is what makes me unsure. The grille is aftermarket for sure. I'm pretty confident that the bumper is original. Any ideas?
Usually, the good chrome shops are able to straighten them correctly… Go ask them about it… …but… --> one thing I immediately noticed is that in the third picture (viewed from the side), the grille appears to be angled downward and make the bumper problem look worse than it really is. :yes:. Look at the gap between the top of the grille and the hood… it seems wider in the middle than in the corners.
If I were you, I'd fix the grille angle first, and then see if the bumper still give the car that "grumpy" look… I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be as noticeable as it is now.
Front bumpers are historically a pain to fit properly. Just look at your next car show. With that said, the last picture does seem to suggest that bumper is bent or twisted. Claudes suggestion on the grill angle may help, but another bumper may be the solution
Yea, the tad angle of the grille does make for a perfect storm to get the car a seemingly scrunched forehead along with the frown. I know....good analogy, LOL. I've looked at references online in the past and I've seen so many different grille angles, so I just gave up and accepted the look. I'm not seeing how that can be adjusted, because the grille conforms to the tie bar, which ultimately connects to the core support (Core support and brackets are aftermarket). The mount that ties the fender extensions and grille (original) seems to be in good shape, and not much to adjust there.
As far as repairing the bumper goes - I don't seem to have chrome shops nearby. Also, its have a 350 Malibu...might be too much cost to repair to be worth it, as much as I really would like to do that, but I'm not willing to add more to the budget for low ROI. However, I found a seller with a new bumper for $170 (OBO...still have to reach out) that I can actually go pick up as it's 30 min away from me.
Use caution with the 70-72 bumpers. I bought a repo for my 70, Well it was not so good. I found a N.O.S. bumper it was fine.
The repo bumper , I used it on my fake SS 454 Sta. Wgn. AND YES! it took a while to get it to LOOK-----OK!
Using a floor jack, Bottle jack, Some pieces of wood and a few pry bars.
Now it looks ------- " OK ". My repo. bumper was like the oldies song... The Peppermint Twist!..:laugh:
I removed the painted filler pan, Now, You can jack it around and twist it into the shape you need. My repo had a LOT of sharp edges. Just another reason some N.O.S. stuff cost a lot!
Bob
P.S. As Claude said, Get the other items in the correct position it may be a big help.
If the problem is not the grille angle then I would bet that a body shop could straighten the bumper in a few minutes. They all have a pry bar assembly that hooks on to the bumper so it can be torqued. Might be a bit more than a few minutes, but it's worth looking into...
This is an EXTREMELY common problem on 71-72 cars with original bumpers especially. I don't have any experience with reproductions. I have yet to find a really good solution other than hours of maddening adjustment that never seems to pan out.
I did some research on bending techniques, so I went and got myself a chain and a couple hooks, which was long overdue anyway. I noticed at the very tip of the nose, was what looked like it was flattened a bit from some kind of bump in the past, so I figured that was the impact point. So I hooked the top of the bumper with the hooks, which provided a loop in the chains and stuck a 2x4 within it, and leveraged from underneath the bumper. I was able to tweak it quite a bit. I can probably do a little more, but I'll wait for when I do the final adjustments of the core support when I finish up the body.
As far as the grille tilt goes... I looked at some old pictures and the grille may have been a bit straighter before I did the core support replacement. Just a quick backstory, the core support was bent inward on the passenger side from an accident prior to me owning it. I suspect that the new core support mounts may be too straight compared to the original mounts. It looks like they are not supposed to be 90 degrees on the inside, but probably more like 80 - 85 degrees. It's a good thing I still kept the originals, so I'll use that to confirm the angle and compare. I'll look at that some other time...don't feel like dealing with that at the moment, lol.
Right now it's too dark outside...will have to see what it looks like from a distance some other day.
I did some research on bending techniques, so I went and got myself a chain and a couple hooks, which was long overdue anyway. I noticed at the very tip of the nose, was what looked like it was flattened a bit from some kind of bump in the past, so I figured that was the impact point. So I hooked the top of the bumper with the hooks, which provided a loop in the chains and stuck a 2x4 within it, and leveraged from underneath the bumper. I was able to tweak it quite a bit. I can probably do a little more, but I'll wait for when I do the final adjustments of the core support when I finish up the body.
It does look better!!
I went through 2 repos before going to an old bone yard and sorting through a pile...big pile of both rear and front bumpers. Bought the 2 best ones I could find, pre fitted. Then did a lot of tweaking. Sent both off to Minneapolis had had them chromed. Got them back and mocked everything up again. Had to shave a bit off the extension to get the gaps correct. Still have some tweaking to do before paint in 6 weeks. I feel your pain...these were taken almost 2 years ago. Keep tweaking and she'll straighten out for ya.
Yea...and not being the original owner and not knowing the full history of the car is terms of damages/work doesn't help. For a while I just thought that's how it was until I actually looked at that angled picture closely.
I feel your pain with your front bumper. Good job bending it. I was afraid of chipping my chrome. I've been trying to find a nice reproduction for the past few months. I have a Golden Legion one that has one side bent a little. Bought an AMD and it had stamping marks that weren't ground down before chroming. Bought a Restoparts one which turned out to be a rebadged Golden Legion that wasn't any better. Now I'm waiting to see what a Dynacorn one looks like. LOL I did notice that if you loosen the radiator support bolts to the frame you can pull the support forward and it really changes the grille angle. Kinda hard to tell but your hood gaps look a little tight. What brand hood is that? It actually looks pretty good. I have 2 brands of those too. All required tweaking.
I feel your pain with your front bumper. Good job bending it. I was afraid of chipping my chrome. I've been trying to find a nice reproduction for the past few months. I have a Golden Legion one that has one side bent a little. Bought an AMD and it had stamping marks that weren't ground down before chroming. Bought a Restoparts one which turned out to be a rebadged Golden Legion that wasn't any better. Now I'm waiting to see what a Dynacorn one looks like. LOL I did notice that if you loosen the radiator support bolts to the frame you can pull the support forward and it really changes the grille angle. Kinda hard to tell but your hood gaps look a little tight. What brand hood is that? It actually looks pretty good. I have 2 brands of those too. All required tweaking.
Yea, I had to make sure I protected the chrome before doing anything. Honestly, I wasn't *too* concerned with it. The reason is because even though it looks good from afar, there's a lot of miscellaneous imperfections, so at this point....just more concerned with it fitting right, lol. I made sure to distribute the load in stronger position to prevent stressing the chrome.
I'm actually not sure where the hood is from. My brother got that back in like....2002 I think. All I know is that it needed a lot tweaking just to get it to look right with the fender extensions. The nose was too high, so had to bend up the front edges...one side was actually a bit longer, so I had to hammer it down. Getting the hood to latch and lining up with the fender extensions well is a bit of a challenge, so they ended up being tighter there than I'd like it to be; it's practically flush. I believe the gaps along the fender is somewhere in between 1/16" and 1/8". I typically do not like my gaps any more than 1/8".
There was a thread in this Body shop forum about a REPRO bumper that didn't cost much more than the cheap repro's out there.I think it was around 8 or 9 yrs. ago IIRC..At the time the going rate for the cheap repro bumper was around $169.00 while the better quality Repro bumper was $279.00 and had much thicker metal with much better chrome.The thread starter had bought the bumper thru Summit Racing so if they're still available you'll find it at Summit.
Even though your bumper is already in better shape (like this):laugh: I just thought this may interest someone who's bumper is in worse shape than yours.
I'll try to find the old thread if I can.
I'm glad this thread came up. I had front bumper adjustment on my winter work list, but after reading what has been said and seeing some pictures, I realized that mine is probably as good as i's going to get or reasonably be able to expect. I think I'll just leave it alone. Thanks guys!
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