(C1/59) Rear bumper question...

[Jill J.]

Has anyone ever had to slightly bend a newly chromed bumper inward? I installed my rear bumpers (not original to my car) and found that the driver's side bumper is a little straight (versus a slight curve) on the side of the car (not the back under the trunk area). I want to try and fix this (slightly bend inward) without damaging the chrome.


Any help or advice is appreciated.


Jill, 59140

[Mark P.]

Re: (C1/59) Rear bumper question...

Hi Jill - maybe you could add the curve using a shop press by resting your bumper on a 2 X 4 on each end on top of a soft cloth and come down with the press on the back side of the bumper. All my chrome was adjusted to fit my car before paint and before chroming. Several adjustments were made to the car body and the chrome to get it to fit. An all original car though would have chrome that didn't fit this well though. Ask a chrome shop what they think about this.

Mark

[Don H.]

Re: (C1/59) Rear bumper question...

Can't be done Jill. Chrome does not bend. You will have to bend the bumper to fit, grind as needed, then strip the chrome, and have it redone.

[Gary C.]

Re: (C1/59) Rear bumper question...

Jill,

Make you a "firm" cardboard template of the body where the bumper's go. So, you can overlay the template on the bumper and see how much "adjustment" the bumper needs to have before attempting to bend it.

Good luck. Keep us posted on the outcome.

Gary
....

[Edward D.]

Re: (C1/59) Rear bumper question...

Jill,
As Don says you cannot bend bumpers without risking cracking the hard but brittle chrome plating. Are these your original bumpers that you had rechromed? if so, they ought to fit. If "exchanged" or replacement you may have a fit problem. A lot of rechromed bumpers are either bent or poorly straightened. The best you can do with these is shim to fit where they bolt to the body. If you have one that is obviously curved wrong send it back to your supplier and get another one.

[Mark P.]

Re: (C1/59) Rear bumper question...

I now know bending chrome is risky. I found a Harley Davidson TDB where some say they have done this without issue while others experienced cracking. Here is a bumper I saw today that dented without apparent cracking.