55 Bumper-Somebody Straighten Me Out Here

[Paul Falabella]

Hope it is visible in the photos. The gap between the bumper guards(bullets/Dagmars)and grill extension(semi circle) is different right side to left side. It looks as if the left outer upper bar extension was clipped from the side. Is the bar bent down on the left or has it just been shifted somehow ? I see bolts in elongated holes in the mounts.

I tried putting a jack under the left guard to attempt to push the left side up to no avail.

Would like to get this straightened out so I can get the chrome done.

Any suggestion appreciated.

Thanks.

[old-tank]

Paul, be sure that you don't have to remove shims on the left side and then be sure the body is straight on the frame, then look for bent bumper and/or brackets.

Willie

[Guest NikeAjax]

I agree with Willie: sometimes you have to really shim the ca-ca out of one side, an' not the other. When I repainted my '56 an' put 'er all back t'gether, it wasn't all neat an' easy, I had to really play with things for a good long while b'fore it looked right...

Jaybird

[bhambulldog]

I'll pray for God to give you patience. I know mine wore thin when Dad put ours back on.

I remember a lot of trial and error …, and shims

[buick5563]

This is almost exactly how I figured out that the body on my wagon wasn't installed on the frame correctly (from the factory). No shimming on that car could get the passenger side right.

[Paul Falabella]

Took the bumper off today(and a bunch of other stuff to send off for refinishing). The facebar itself while not perfectly true, is able to be twisted pretty easily. The brackets and supports are alot beefier than the bar itself. I'm thinking that the position of the bar is more determined by how the supports are placed(or shimmed).