I am so frustrated with the Tru flex bumpers.

I finally got the front to fit OK, and only need a little kitty hair filler. The rear is another story.

The passenger side fits pretty close. The bottom is lined up, the side body line is lined up and the top is about 1/8" higher than the body.

The driver side lines up on the bottom and side, but the top is about 5/8" higher than the back of the body.

Before I start cutting, anyone have any ideas? I will take a picture at lunchtime.

Thanks

 

2q:

Is it "square"?

was the car hit before?

 

I think the car was hit on the front end; different primer under stripped paint and missing decals from the SA package.

I will take measurements of the rear bumper and body at lunch.

 

Hear this alot with replacement fiberglass parts....sometimes they fit sometimes they dont.. and sometimes they are just super far off.

No real solution I'm afraid other than to proceed as you have impleid..I personally feel supremely lucky that my fiberglass rear bumper fit perfectly.

 

I had to send 2 tru flex back to year one, 1 back to vanacore and finally pick up one from corvette central original gm repo front bumper before I got a fit that was close. It sucks but if its to far off you have to send it back. Take pictures of the fit, send it to them via email and make them send you a new one!!!

 

Sending it back is not an option. I am in Canada and to get it here was a real PITA, shipping was crazy expensive and I don't want to wait a month to get another one.

 

Need to see some pics Rex. Tape the bumper cover in position with the upper edge lined up with the edge of the rear deck and shoot both sides and an upper view.

I assume you are aware that certain parts need to be removed from the rear reinforcement (the rubber strip, guards, center stiffener) for the cover to fit the body, often including re-adjusting the reinforcement. Also, a fiberglass cover will not fit over the tail light brackets without modification to the brackets themselves.

Also, take a light and examine the inside of both quarter panels. Look for section repairs or anything that looks odd such as sloppy adhesive work at the bonding strips. The inside of the factory panels should be smooth, some replacement panels might have fiberglass strands visible. This info will determine your next step.

I'll check back later today.

 

I have all the metal underneath the bumpers removed.

The only front bumper fit problem. Do you think I can fix this with some kitty hair filler?


The bottom of the bumper is lined up with the bottom of the quarter panel and the body line. I am using the original urethane bumper retainer. It may help if I modify them or just use 3/16" bolts.

DS Rear deck and bumper looking back


DS Rear deck and bumper from side


DS Rear quarter and bumper looking back


PS rear quarter and bumper - top, body line, bottom lined up

 

You can strive for the perfect fit but they never fit perfect from the factory. I wish I knew what the tolerences were...maybe check the AIM?

My '82 has never been hit, never had any paint work. Check out how far off the rear bumper is on it, driver side is flush, pass side not so much. Also follow the body line on the pass side up the car, north/south in this picture. The body/spoiler line is not even close.



Same thing on the front - check out the body line on the driver side...ah, quality work there my friends!

 

Rex . . . . It's okay to use the OEM retainers as long as you saved them. They will work on the rear, but only across the top on the front. You'll need to use the aftermarket retainers on the outer portion of the front cover.

I can definately help you with the front bumper fitment, but in the meantime can you take some front and rear pics that are not close ups, stand back and get the complete bumper and part of the body in the shot, that way I can blow up the parts I want to see. If possible I'd like to see an overhead, and LH and RH views with the top edge of the rear bumper cover lined up with the deck, so I can see how it fits the body.

If it were mine, I would reinstall the rear reinforcement and modify the tail light brackets to fit the bumper. The tail light brackets provide a very secure mounting for the bumper cover as opposed to letting it hang from the body flange. Did you remove the front reinforcement as well? The front bumper cover will fit over all of the factory honeycomb and rubber cushions with some simple mods.

Thanks

 

I took these; sorry about the quality. Everything under the bumpers removed on the front and back for now.












I will start installing the re-inforcing bracket and taillights.

 

It is very difficult to diagnose body problems in cyberland, so thanks for all the pics and your patience. It takes longer this way since I can't put my hands on it and I can only judge by the photo angles making it harder to keep the sequence of events in order.

First off, 2 rules for fiberglass fascia's.
1. Always buy directly from the manufacturer. The mold will be fresher and more stable since it has not been sitting in inventory for a long time. It will fit better if you can get it on the vehicle quickly.
2. Flex fiberglass is less stable than standard fiberglass, especially if it has been packaged for a long time and get's out of shape.

You have a flex fiberglass fascia which unfortunately will require a lot of fitting to get it right and I identified two areas below that may not work out.

Flex fiberglass fitment rules are different compared to a standard fiberglass fascia, and from my experience, require more work in most cases than standard fiberglass. Typically a standard fiberglass fascia is molded slightly narrower than an average body width based on that manufacturers experience and because it's more stable the part will match virgin body contours very well out of the box. Your flex fascia has typical traits of instability due to the flex nature as it sits in packaging and hardens over time. It does not follow body contours, and will need to be tweaked into position depending on the amount of flex it has. You need to see if problem areas can be pursuaded into position without excessive force before final fitment and decide whether this part is usable.

Usually I fit the fascia to the body first, sanding gel coat and filling, then I drill the mounting holes to that fitment. In your case, since the fascia is so far off, you need to drill the holes first, then fit it to the body. If your fascia came pre-drilled and I'm seeing the end result mounted in the pics, you are in trouble and should seriously consider returning the part as defective. If you drilled the holes yourself and I'm seeing the result in the pics, you'll need to fill them and redo.

I make a posterboard template for each side of the body (no two are identical) like in the drawing below. Make sure the outer edge of the template is cut exactly to the body contour and mark the hole locations. Transfer the template to the fascia and line up the outer edge perfectly. By drilling the holes in this manner, (outer panel edge to hole centerline) when you place the fascia on the body with the retainers, the body and fascia edges will line up very close.

I hope this helps until the next step and in this thread I explained the process in more detail. http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...ghlight=bumper

 

Thanks ahoover, I am going to try the template.

I fit the light retainers to the bumper. I didn't have to modify the retainers to fit them though, just drill the bumper.

Mark

 

Unfortuantely, all Corvettes vary right from the factory. The urethane bumpers could be strectched and made to fit, only to cause waviness and cracking later in their life. Due to the rigidity of fiberglass, not fiberglass bumper will fit every Corvette. All bumpers must be fit before any paint work can be started. There all all kinds of website offering information regarding fiberglass bumper installation, and any noble manufacturer will not advertise a fiberglass bumper to be a bolt-on part because it is just not possible. Feel free to PM me if you need more information on this subject, as I have researched it quite a bit and have al sorts of information available.