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Was wondering if anyone could give some tips on how to remove my front clip. At some point one of the previous owners has removed the front bumper assembly, causing it to start to sag and come apart on the passenger side. thought it might be a good idea to remove the front clip, reinstall the front bumper, and freshen up the engine while I have easy access.
Thanks, Dan
My advice is never to remove a factory installed clip unless absolutely necessary. You should be able to make bumper repairs without having to remove the clip. Post pics of the bumper problem.
Bumper has nothing to do with sag. The headlight mount bars are coming loose from the hood surround. Probly getting diadonal cracks right in the front corners of the hood surround. Get the bars reattached and you may need a little Bubbaesque bracing to get the hood surround back where it belongs. Also is the hood above the hood surround?
OK, my car no longer has the front bumper assembly/nose support in the car... so there is absolutely nothing holding up the front clip except the glue on the fenders...
Like I said before, whoever owned it before thought they were going to lighten it up by removing the front bumper assembly...
Last edited by Maddan; Jul 10, 2020 at 07:56 PM.
Reason: add info
Are the inner fenders not bolted to the radiator core support? There are 3 bolts on each side of the inner fenders that bolt to the radiator core. The very bottom bolt on each side should also be bolted through the frame.
Last edited by MattoonVette; Jul 10, 2020 at 10:24 PM.
Okay, my radiator support is not bolted to the frame. It looks to be about 4" ahead of the frame horns. I am guessing that it probably actually bolts to the bumper brackets?.
Okay, my radiator support is not bolted to the frame. It looks to be about 4" ahead of the frame horns. I am guessing that it probably actually bolts to the bumper brackets?.
Yes the radiator support does bolt to the front bumper support and the bumper support bolts to the main frame. When they removed the bumper support, they removed any support the entire front clip and radiator had. You said it right, sounds like only support is where the front clip is glued to the firewall/body area. Yikes. This is what the front bumper support should look like.
Last edited by MattoonVette; Jul 11, 2020 at 11:10 AM.
I do have a correct bumper support and bumper assembly, there is an approx. 1/2" gap at the top of the passenger fender where it meets the door. I was wondering if it would be viable to finish removing the clip, do my engine mods, and installing the replacement bumper assy., then reinstalling the clip...
There are two areas on each side of the firewall where the fenders are glued on and then also along the hood ledge at the top of the firewall. How loose is the clip now? It would be most helpful if you could post some pictures.
Last edited by MattoonVette; Jul 11, 2020 at 04:42 PM.
ok, the bumper bracket is also the frame extensions. 68-72 had one on each side. 73 on up had a u-shaped piece that was also the headlight vacuum storage tank. yours is just frame extensions and bumper mount. the 75 to 79 is the cheapest and easiest to find. leave the clip on the car. get a bumper-support-frame extension. get the nose back up where it belongs. that glue holds the fenders in, not the headlights, etc up. once the nose is properly supported and adjusted, you can reattach the strips that popped loose. they will line themselves up as the door gaps settle back in.
The 80-82 bumper support is specific to those those years. Not sure if the earlier years will work without some type of modifications. I think the big thing is is to get the bumper support back on the car. He stated he does have the correct one for the 80-82 years.
I am betting it will be a slow process to get the front clip raised back up to where it should be and so it aligns correctly. That is what I would try first before removing it.
if you have the radiator core support in it, I would put a jack in the middle of it and SLOWLY raise it up a little each day. DON’ T try to raise it all at once. I am talking about taking days to slowly reverse what has been done. Even then it still may crack or break something.
Oh and there is a small rubber mount that goes between the front of the clip and the bumper support. Make sure you have it too.
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'81 front clip removal
