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Long story short, after a shop replaced my body mounts / painted they installed a new front bumper for me. After I got the car back (with a good front bumper alignment) I noticed that two of the four bolts on each side of the front bumper support (so 4 out of 8 bolts) were not installed. Specifically, the front and back most bolts were missing (the two bolted into the welded frame nuts were installed on each side). Well I remedied the situation and fixed one side at a time, attempting to keep the front clip from moving in the process (it did move a little but not much - supported with a jack).
Now with all 8 bolts installed the "ears" of the bumper look like they stick out. I will say the the car is currently up on a quick lift so its not down on the wheels yet. I don't plan on doing anything until I get it back on solid ground - but what would the fix be in this situation? There are currently no shims on the corners of the bumper. Should I have not even corrected the missing bolts situation without the car on wheels? Thank you as always.
Hi A8,
From your description it sounds like the bumper bracket bolts were in place but not the 2 bolts that attach the frame extension to the front of the frame rail.
Did you need to remove the bumper brace to get to the forward extension bolt on each side?
If so, the extension was then free to move and the alignment of the clip and the fit of the bumper could have easily changed.
To be clear… what bolts were missing?
Was one of the missing bolts the one 'hidden' in this photo?
Regards,
Alan
The "hidden" bolt and the right most bolt were missing. I loosened the "nose" bolt at the front of the frame extension (see picture below), then removed the two bolts holding the frame extension on to gain access to the hidden bolt. Then I bolted it all back up. Im just surprised this could cause the ears to "stick out".
Hi A8,
Is the space you're seeing 'beyond' the bolt in the corner or is the bumper sticking out before the corner bolt too.
Is it an original bumper or a reproduction bumper?
It sounds like the sip used the large bumper bracket to 'pull' the corner of the bumper 'in'. This is VERY tricky to do without stressing the fiberglass and causing a split.
How about a photo showing how far the bumper ends are 'out'?
Regards,
Alan
Hi A8,
I think the bumper needs to be moved toward the left side about 1/4" and the gaps I noted need to be made even…. 1 increased (L) and 1 decreased.
Notice where the 'curve' begins relative to the body on each side…. it's at 2 different points.
Don't try to 'spring' the bumper ends, and don't put any pressure on the fiberglass body. The bumper must be positioned by the 3 bumper brackets, not the body.
Regards,
Alan
Thank Alan! I will do my best and post the results. I do want to do it with the weight on wheels though so it might be a while depending on when I finish the fuel and brake system.
Thank Alan! I will do my best and post the results. I do want to do it with the weight on wheels though so it might be a while depending on when I finish the fuel and brake system.
I've got similar fitment issues on my '72 since it was new to me a few years ago. It's in pieces now, but I know I'll have to tackle this at the end so hoping you figure it out and let us know how it went!
Never?
What about the Paragon Reproduction front bumpers?
Regards,
Alan
I've had the same problem with both on the front Alan, mostly with the imported.... But I've also had this issue with the NOS GM bumpers years ago. At one point I was actually taking pictures of original cars to document this but I've lost track of the pictures so I can't post them.
What is odd about this issue is I can take the bumper off my 70 (original GM) and put it on my 72 and it fits horrible. Neither car has been crashed and if I tried to put the one off my 72 (Original late production NOS GM) on the 70 it's too tight in the corners.... But when I sit them side by side they don't look much different... when I measured them from tip to tip there was a difference.
Since the die stamping these bumpers would probably have been the same, you have to wonder if it wasn't wearing out over time and causing the issue... or and as I've said for years with the urethane bumpers (and fiberglass bumpers)... the front ends were glued up so fast and sloppy I'm sure that it attributed to their fit issue as well. Same deal, I can take a flexy bumper and put it on one car and it'll fit, take it to another one and it'll fit but sloppy.
Just get it as close as you can without cracking anything.... there isn't any bending of the bumper
05-29-2017, 07:54 AM
Front Chrome Bumper Ears Stick Out Fix Help
I've got similar fitment issues on my '72 since it was new to me a few years ago. It's in pieces now, but I know I'll have to tackle this at the end so hoping you figure it out and let us know how it went! 
