Tom442

I got my re-chromed bumpers back from Denver Bumper a couple of months ago. I tried to put the front bumper on today and wanted to get opinions on what I ran into. The very point of the grll is right up to the bumper while the sides are way out in front of the plastic headlight surrounds....could they have straightened the bumper too much?
I will call them and see if they can do anything....or am I crazy and they are correct?

Thanks
Tom
68 442
70 F85

Tom442

A couple of more pictures of the bumper in question!

compedgemarine

from the looks of it they did not straighten it at all. most of these old cars have bumpers that are pushed up and in toward the grill. this comes from the days of wreckers with slings. the sling would lift on the bumper in between the frame rails so the bumper would bend up and also back. cutlass bumpers are among the worst as they are big and roll under all the lifting was on the relatively thin lower bumper.

olds68

The center portion of the bumper should match the contour of the grille. The pictures show this way out of shape. Was it correct before the re-chrome? If so, they should fix it for you.

allyolds68

Mine was bent, dented, and gouged and Sandy's Bumper Mart in Syracuse gave it back to me damn near perfect. They must have templates for these bumpers & it doesn't look they used one on your's

oldcutlass

Yup, had not been straightened! Were they to do that or just rechrome it??

Allan R

Wow! Either that bumper is out of whack or the grill is...Are they both OEM? I haven't seen OEM line up that badly. Have you put your hood on the car to see if the grill lines up right with it? It's got to be one or the other. The pics I saw on the web all show the hood, grill and bumper lining up. So it's got to be either the grill or bumper. They all show the center of the bumper being tight to the grill...

Results of google search to compare:

Allan R

I just remembered I'd taken some shots of a 68 at our club show in Olds AB. They might show the angle a little better. (This car got the RCMP award for the one they wanted most to 'commandeer')

IMG_0986.jpg?t=1248057164

IMG_0923.jpg

CQR

Wow, Tom. That doesn't look right at all. I'd call them and e-mail them the pics. They've always treated me right, I would assume they would want to fix that.

Tom442

The grill is a new re-pop, but it is exactly like the one that was on the car when I got it. The headlight housing are originals. The price included straightening but it wasn't bad when i took it in...just needed to be re-chromed. It fit fine before disassembly.
I called Denver Bumper and they said they have the dimensions of the bumpers that they utilize to re-do one. They said to bring it back and any pictures and measurements I had and they will make it right. Sounds like they want to keep the customer happy. So I made some 5x7's of the bumper on the car and some of the SWEET pictures you guys posted of the correct fitting bumpers. My buddy Kyle(BigBlu442) and I made a template out of cardboard of the bottom of the buckets and grill and will take it down with the bumper this week and hope it gets right!
Thanks for all the input and I'll let you know when it gets back!
Tom 68442

Allan R

So glad to hear they are concerned about making it right. Nice template; hopefully they will compare it to their spec sheet and correct the deficiency. In a way - you're doing them a favor by giving them the option to fix the mistake. A lot of other guys would probably just bad mouth them and walk away. I see this whole thing as unfortunate, but wiith a potential win-win ending! Good luck, post the results when it's done.

allyolds68

The chroming process can do wild things to the shape of the bumpers. Galvanizing does the same thing.

I'm glad they're making good on it, I don't see how they couldn't. It really doesn't take a lot of effort to bend them back to the correct alignment. If you look closely at my avatar you can see that the front license plate is slightly low on the passenger side. That was the only flaw with the bumper. I took care of it with a block of wood and a sledgehammer

Allan R

Poor Richards solution to expensive body shops!! I totally get that.....

Tom442

So I dropped the bumper off at lunch time and they called me at 3:30 and said it is ready for me to take home and try it before they plate it. Tell me what you think? I dont think it is perfect but were any???? Thank you all for your input, I value your opinions.
Tom

allyolds68

That's a lot better. I'm surprised they had to cut it and re-weld it but I'm not sure how much work they did to mine. I actually dropped off two bumpers. One was bent and had a deep gouge across it, the other was straight but had rust on the back. The place chose the bent up one because it was a little more solid.

Mine is a little straighter than your's but I don't think they are going to get it perfect. The proof is really what happens after it's chromed. I've seen things warped like you wouldn't believe after chroming.

Allan R

Tom,
My opinion is based on watching you go through the rebuild. Even your 442 striping was researched and done absolutely right. You could always settle for less, but I think if this only took them 2 hours? They could tweak it just a little more to make your gaps perfect at the front. You have nothing to lose by telling them its close - but not quite close enough. Take the pics showing the uneven gap with you. It might be an idea to take the DS pic I posted of the red vert at our car show. It has a decent shot of the grill/filler being dead on with the bumper angles. Considering what you've put into this labor of love, close doesn't win the cigar I'd be handing out.

Tom442

So I picked up my bumper for the third time. They tweaked it a bit more for the better. I am going to have them finish it (fill the weld and replated the whole thing). I think it will be fine and am happy Denver Bumper is doing what will make the customer satisfied. Thanks again gang for all your help and input..
Tom
68 442
70 F85
95 Aurora

Yellowstatue

I'm a little late, but the upward facing surfaces in front of the headlights and grille should be on the same plane.