[pete324rock]

Wondring if anyone has ever struggled with this, trying to get the "mouth" lined up and centered so that it fits inside the " lips" , and all the clearances are acceptable. What a battle...there should be a support group. I think I've got it now, but the hours I've spent....wow! I hope to get the two sections plated but I want to be absolutely sure that the re-installation is scratch free and easy.

[palosfv3]

One of the tricks to reinstalling the large bumpers of the 50s, 60s, and 70,s is to identify the bolts that are used for adjustments and tighten them fingertight ,install the bar on the brackets , adjust and tighten . If you have the finger tight tension correct you should be able to slightly bump things into alignment. You may have to support the assembly on a jack or block to hold things in place until final tightening. Also check your brackets. Sometimes they can be slightly bent and can make adjusting difficult.

[pete324rock]

"bent" seems to have been my problem and the only way to find out is to assemble both halves(upper and lower) and then wrestle on to the car. I have a spare top that I bolted to the other spare top to see if indeed they were symetrical, and by eye ,they seemed to be identical. I chose to use the better top to install on the bottom and when trying to get it to fit,it seemed to have a "swollen lip" that wouldn't line up. I donno. I even made a pattern of the curve by melting plexiglass on the bumper and seeing if there was any difference but seemed the same. Long and the short of it ,I swappped to the other top that needs repairs and it seems to line up. Sadly, the top has really good chrome until the extreme drivers side that has rust thru holes. I am pondering how to fix this. I wish I had a dent free used bumper,life would be so much easier. Not likely in my part of town. Maybe I should do some advertising locally. We have a huge car show starting next week. Thanks for the reply.