rubber bumpers
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,098
Likes: 1
From: west babylon new york
rubber bumpers
i bolted the front and rear rubber bumpers on a 77 this weekend both used maybe 78/79 they are so distorted will they come back to shape with heat or just being bolted on,there is small spacing most of the way arround or will they have to be reworked by a body shop
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,669
Likes: 3
From: Kingston Ontario
Pretty much going to stay the way they are, when bolted in place. Any distortion beyond this point could be referred to as sagging. The space or gaps you have now certainly will not close up on themselves.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 12,625
Likes: 3,097
From: Shamong, NJ
If they're wavy now, they're going to stay wavy. Not heat or cold, sun, or anything else, will take the waves out. The urethane loses it's shape with time. The 76-79 bumpers seem to distort the most.
If you have gaps where the bumpers bolt to the body, they'll remain there, too. How did you bolt the bumpers up? Did you use the original style retaining strips, or the "T" bolts available on the aftermarket. The retaining strips do the best job of pulling the bumpers up tight against the body. The "T" bolts work fine with the aftermarket fiberglass bumpers, but don't apply even enough pressure when used with urethane bumpers. When used with urethane bumpers, the uneven pressure applied by the "T" bolts cause gaps along the seems, in between the "T"'s. The only way to assure yourself of truely smooth bumper covers is to replace them with fiberglass, or the flexible fiberglass, ones.
If you have gaps where the bumpers bolt to the body, they'll remain there, too. How did you bolt the bumpers up? Did you use the original style retaining strips, or the "T" bolts available on the aftermarket. The retaining strips do the best job of pulling the bumpers up tight against the body. The "T" bolts work fine with the aftermarket fiberglass bumpers, but don't apply even enough pressure when used with urethane bumpers. When used with urethane bumpers, the uneven pressure applied by the "T" bolts cause gaps along the seems, in between the "T"'s. The only way to assure yourself of truely smooth bumper covers is to replace them with fiberglass, or the flexible fiberglass, ones.
