jtranger

After returning from the paint shop a while ago, I put the bumpers back on and noticed that the pass side bumper did not mate up with the drivers side. I did not have the problem before. I loosened the brackets and pushed the bumper up but the bumper still won't line up to the grille top. I believe the problem is with the grille bar as I noticed the bumper end is tilted upward from the grille bar on the drivers side. The pass side is in alighnment with the bumper end and grille bar. Attached is a photo. Any idea's? Don't mind the cluttered garage...small garage and too much s...

Frankie the Fink

Its touchy to get it just right...the grille bar pretty much 'floats' and is attached to the bumpers at each end...once you get the driver's side bumper straight the grille bar should line up. I don't know what to tell you....I had to play with my driver's side bumper for a couple of hours before it just sort of tightened up correctly and all is well now. I did have to put some washers on attachment points to get things lined up and maybe that will help you. I also did some creative bending with my knee on top of the grill end of the bumper to force it down some at one point. Leave everything loose (including grille bar bolts) and when you think you have it lined up tighten each bolt just a little at a time while watching things closely.

Don't get SO carried away with the way the front looks that you screw up the bumper alignment when looking at the side of the car.

BTW - your passenger side could stand to come up a tad judging by the gaps above and below it on the inside of the 'eyebrow' chrome pieces.

jtranger

Not sure what I need to do to raise the pass side where the bumper meets the grille bar. I have had the bumper off twice before and it went back together with no problems.

vette61

Make sure you have the grill bar on correctly, the notch in the center goes down.

Frankie the Fink

Well IIRC I grabbed the left and right side of the passenger bumper and just twisted the heck out of it and it lined up (I would loosen up the grille bar on both sides before adjusting anything). Be sure you don't bang up the paint I used a towel to cover any 'touch points'.

jtranger

Thanks Guys, I'll take the bumper off and have a look.

1snake

The outside of the pass. bumper needs to be lowered. That will help line up the grill bar.

Frank is correct. Loosen everything, align and tighten everything slowly, a little at 1 bolt at a time, while keeping everything in alignment. Be sure to use something to protect the paint from chips while doing this.

Jim

firstgear

lots of green paint tape.....you can never have too much. even the chrome needs to be protected as you fuss with the grill (probably more important w/grilles that have teeth). Took me 80 hours to get my bumpers sorted out. It was one of the most frustrating aspects of putting the car back together....it is easier IMO to get them right if you have a friend that can help to eyeball or tighten bolts/nuts while the other is keeping stuff straight.

1snake

You guys with 61-62's should be happy. Try aligning everything on a 58-60 with all those damn teeth. You need an orthodontist to get them straight.

Jim

babylonvette

i agree with the others the outer bumpers looks too high, when lowering the inside should come up a touch , i just went thru this with my 61 ,i had a 62 grill in the car for about 7 or 8 years and just got arround to changing to the 61 grill

Frankie the Fink

OK I've been waiting to ask....what is the finish on the inside of your chrome eyebrows on the top and bottom of your bumpers. It certainly isn't the typical flat black!

Not to add to your woes but you may have the wrong front license plate holder brackets ... the bumperettes look low to me. Post a pic when you get everything lined up and it'll be more apparent..
I didn't figure out I had the wrong ones for a couple of years (see the picture). Earlier years had different length brackets than '61/'62 and it makes the license plate holder sit lower: http://www.parts123.com/parts123/yb....5Z5Z50000050x#

1snake

They look like they are painted SEMI-GLOSS Black which is how they came from the factory. Flat black is wrong. Frank, your right license bumperette is lower than the left. You better get out there and fix that right away.

Jim

Frankie the Fink

Its an old picture....everything has long since been fixed

firstgear

I wasnt able to see the photo today, firewall doesnt let photo (off site storage) through....for reference here it is again...



seems like you got a few issues....
1. rear grill is biased to driver side of the car. Noite the gap on the passenger side near the upper left curved side. The grill needs to move to the passenger side.

2. your driver bumper is too high (you know this), but the amount it is too high is like the amount the passenger side is too low.

3. not knowing about a 61 (I have a '60), is that grill symmetrical? If it wasn't that would explain a lot about how the grill looks out of whack. I am not sure what kind of adjustment the grill has, but if not much it seems to me that you need to get the grill properly positioned in the opening. Then get the grill bar and bumpers aligned.

4. The problem with the f-ing bumpers is that they want to move in 3 or 4 planes and we can only think in terms of 2 and at the most 3 planes. But when you are on the back side of the bumper tightening or loosening bolts, you can't see what is happening with the front side and how everything moves. Sometimes it is advantageous to have someone push for all they are worth to get the bumper in position while someone else tightens the bolts. That is what Jeff and I did...and between us we had more than 80 hours of fussing. In my case the grill bar seemed too long, something changed and I ended up using my die grinder to contour the end of the bar to fit.

5. I think you need to step back and sort out what gets fixed in place first (the item with the least amount of adjustment would be where I would start) and then add the other items. For sure get a friend to assist, save your self some real grief!

Frankie the Fink

The grill does seem to be off center some...too far towards the driver side...see the large red circle. This is a tough one because it attaches to the chrome grille surrounds and moving them around on a new paint job could be disastrous. I've had to 'slot' some grille bolt holes before to get things centered. HOWEVER sometimes its a matter of pushing the ends of the chrome grille surround in or out before tightening to make the grille itself appear centered.

But this doesn't keep you from getting the bumpers straight. I aligned mine via the red up and down arrows aiming to get the bumper centered in this gap and THEN the center grille bar should naturally be lined up. The small red circles are the bumperettes...when properly installed with the right length brackets you can just barely get a finger in between the top of the bumperettes and the center grille bar.