bummper troubles

i tried to put a recromed exchanged bumper on my 57 chevy today. it was a pain in the ass with no avail. the old one fit but the new one the brakets wont line up with their holes on the frame no matter what i did, i thought about clamping and bolting them all up on the bench then adding a tack weld to hold the brakets together to get the bolts into the frame im worried the bumper will end up looking twisted or just wrong. any advise?

 

The rechromed bumpers on my Galaxie slid right on perfectly, no fuss. But, the rechromed exchange back bumper on my '46 Chevy was a pain like you're describing.

Bolt the brackets the bumper really loose (just a couple threads on the nuts). Then slide the whole thing (bumper and brackets) onto the frame. You should have enough slop to get the bolts through the frame. Then tighten everything slowly watching for twist, level etc. Since you know the brackets are good, tighten them first. You might even have to put a spacer (fender washer) somewhere between the bumper and brackets to keep the bumper straight.

If you cant get it that way, do the opposite. Loosely bolt the brackets to the frame, then wiggle the bumper bolts in. You might need some clamps (with good padding to protect the chrome) or a rubber mallet to persuade them into place.

Last resort, slot the holes in the bumper brackets. Those bumper brackets are like springs, they're tough to drill. Use good bits in a drill press with lots of oil.

Been there, done that. Good Luck

Tom

 

Bumper Boyz?

 

i basicly did all that but the drillin the two bumper brackets are like 30 degrees off on one side, its a tree piece bumper with 3 brakets and 1 bolting flange on each side, its a nightmare by myself

 

No, but another swap meet special. "Bumpers and Grills", Rowland Heights, Ca.

Tom

 

Are you sure the brackets are right side up? 30 degrees is way off.

 

ya its the only way they work its freaken wierd

 

ya its the only way they work its freaken wierd and there from the bumper shop in LA

 

Could this have something to do with the "one piece Chevy bumpers" that were used in the CA cars? Just a thought. Read this somewhere.

 

I removed one end from my son's 57 front bumper and had a deuce of a time getting the replacement back in place and buckled up. Same thing happened when we replaced the inserts with Dagmars in the bubbles.
When a bumper and brackets live together forever and suffer all manner of minor road bumps and "adjustments" adding a new piece or replacing the bumper or brackets can be a bear. It is doable but not by yourself unless you have a couple of jacks and a lot more patience than I've ever been able to muster.