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This mod is not done to "Trick" anyone,,,,it is done to eliminate buying a new clip by using the existing "nose" since the '73+ cars are shaped differently than the '68-'72 cars. (Plus....I'm a rookie who learned from great Forum Members)
A chrome bumper can be re-arched at the corner bends to fit well on a '76 front clip (which I inherited on my basket-case project).
Make a wooden pattern of the fiberglass area on the car where the chrome bumper will fit against.
"Warm" the chrome bumper from the back-side with a hand-held propane torch....
then use a vice with wooden slats place on the steel jaws to prevent damaging the chrome bumper....
gently clamp the "short end" of the bumper in the vice and use the rest of the bumper for leverage....
slowly heat and apply slow body-force to the bumper until it "moves" to fit the pattern.
Once the "new fiberglass bumper lip" is bonded into place there will be about 5/16" clearance between chrome bumper and fender....
(I did not HAVE to fit a reinforcement lip into the fender,,,,I did so for support and a "factory look".
With patience you can get a very good fit/clearance to the car without ruining the chrome on the bumper.
Initial bend/modification shown below....final bend/tweak will be done once the "lip" is bonded into place...….
The bumper lip. Doorgunner alluded to it, but his hand and bumper is hiding it. This is a generic pic but it shows the bumper lip pretty well. https://www.google.com/search?q=c3+f...b6RSa7jBYO_k4M. It can be fabbed on to the front bumper that you're customizing into a Chrome bumper replacement. But, do you want to do the same with the fenders which would actually alter the clip? I had a thought for a Bubbaesque mod. Get something flexible that you can paint the color of the car. You need a piece about 1" by 4". Maybe 2" by 4". Paint it to match the car and attach it to the side lip of the top of the front bumper. So that it fills the space that otherwise you would see daylight through where the lip is not there.
Last edited by derekderek; May 25, 2019 at 12:48 PM.
I think they are "missing" on purpose, and really should not be there on a 73 car, but TMHO.
I would like to see the ends of the bumper reworked so they better fit the car, and another thing that I have always thought is that the edges of the bumper that stick up / down at the center of the V should be reworked so they are flatter.
I ran across this 1973 Corvette coupe for sale in south Alabama, near Mobile.
Owner installed a fiberglass replacement front bumper cover and modified it to accept a 68-72 front bumper.
This is the way it think it should be done. I like it.
My 73 has a replacement, fiberglass nose too, but not the one adapted to accept the chrome bumper. While I prefer the long, seamless nose, I think the above looks really good. Works very well with the 73 grills, particularly with the silver leading edges.
meh... I say leave the 73's be! They are a single year body and have their own uniqueness to them. If you want a 68-72 car, buy one of those. I say this of course being the proud owner of a 73.
meh... I say leave the 73's be! They are a single year body and have their own uniqueness to them. If you want a 68-72 car, buy one of those. I say this of course being the proud owner of a 73.
True...I wouldn't modify any original C3, '73 unless I could customize an aftermarket bolt-on "nose-chrome bumper", and save the original "nose-rubber bumper" assembly.
. I modified mine because it was a Basketcase too far gone bodywise.
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Slideshow: A Jaguar designer's personal project imagines what a modern front-engined Corvette might look like if Chevrolet revisited the golden age of the Stingray.
Once again - 73 chrome front bumper
