Bfg

I have a 71 Cutlass and the front bumper is slightly tweaked but otherwise has very good chrome, can these bumpers be straightened without having them rechromed?

oldcutlass

Post a picture of your bumper, minor tweaks can be fixed with a come along and a hammer with blocks of wood.

Tedd Thompson

Or take it to a chrome shop and have them put it back straight, they do it every day and are good at it generally..Tedd

Bfg

That’s a good suggestion Oldcutlass, as you can see it’s not too bad, if I hook the come along under the bumper guard and try hitting the corner of the bumper back with a block of wood it might straighten it, does that sound good? Otherwise I can do what Ted mentioned

oldcutlass

You should be able to straighten that yourself with a come along. You may have to remove it if the come along does not work with it on the car.

Bfg

Ok thanks, I’ll give it go

prlynch01

When I bought my 70 442 the front bumper did not fit very well. I bought a Hustler Stick which is a product made for straightening steel bumpers. Unfortunately I did not take any before or after pictures, but the results were very good.

Olds64

Interesting thread. Here's a video about using a hustler stick to straighten a bumper. He makes it look easy, I'd be afraid I'd screw something up. Although both bumpers on my Ford truck are bent.

Bfg

Very interesting video, I’m definitely going to look into this. He makes it look so easy!

cherokeepeople

my 66 had an issue similar to that.and beings i had it off i used my cherry picker .i had to set the front of it on blocks to get the bumper under it but then i ran a chain around the bumper with a chunk of conveyor belt to keep from scratching the chrome then just jack it up slowly stopping once in awhile to check to see how close it was..

GN1220

Looks like the whole front is pushed in and up, I don't think beating on one corner will do anything. I'd say if you pulled from the center out and down the sides would correct themselves.

Olds64

I watched a few more videos on using a hustler stick. It might be worth getting one and then hitting up the salvage yard to "practice" before using it on your Olds.

Bfg

I haven’t seen any cars with chrome bumpers around here for some time

oldcutlass

Dodge trucks

Olds64

Yeah, even the Ford trucks from 20 years ago still had chrome bumpers. There should be plenty of those in the salvage yards still... Well, I guess not since Ford builds such a tough truck. Now Dodges and Chevies on the other hand.