Bumper Question

[Pharozen]

I have a 1979 Cutlass and my rear bumper is completely rotted out and I'm considering buying a re-chromed bumper but now I'm hearing that my "bumper reinforcement" is probably ruined as well. 3 Questions.....

1. Where can I get a decent bumper reinforcement for my rear bumper?

2. How do you take a bumper on and off? (what tools will I need?)

3. How do you seperate the outer shell of the bumper from the reinforcement and how do you seperate the black impact strip as well?

 

[Evan11]

I would start hitting the junkyards & Craigslist for a good bumper. It won't be easy, but its possible to find one. Bumper would interchange from 78-80. The rear bumper mounts to 2 bumper shocks, each of which have four 1/2 in or 9/16 in bolts. You will need a deep socket of said size & a ratchet. on the back side, you'll need a box end wrench holding the head of the bolt, so that u can get the nuts off. I would spray them with wd40 or pb blaster before you start tugging away at 'em. You can sometimes get them off with a gear wrench, but likely not if its never been off.

 

[Pharozen]

I appreciate that a lot. This will be very helpful.

One last thing, that black rubber piece inserted into the chrome part of the bumper is referred to as the "impact strip". How would you remove that as well??

 

[UgotBronx]

I have the same issues and I'm always looking for rear bumpers. This link seems to be decent for NEW OEM replacement bumpers options. Just make sure that it's the one to fit your car. go thru their site, you never know, it's worth a look.

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/sku/R ... +Clearance


I do know from researching that rechrome and fixing your old bumper would cost with shipping @ $250-$300 and you might be able to find some places local to you that will do that for you. So when looking at eBay I always compare if their shipping costs come close to a redone bumper

Bumper fillers can be found easier online and the junkyard Like Evan said.

Here's another link on Ebay to find some replacement parts for your bumper

http://stores.ebay.com/Car-Parts-Discou ... 34.c0.m322

 

[Blake442]

The rubber impact strip is bolted on from the backside.
With the reinforcement removed, you can get to the nuts that hold it on but realistically, if the rest of your bumper is that rusty, don't plan on getting the impact strip off without ruining it. Even on rust free cars they have a tendency to twist the studs out of the rubber.

Your best bet is to find a nice clean used part.
I'd say 99% of folks sell the full assembly (chrome outer bumper and reinforcement together), and will only separate them if you specifically ask them to.

 

[UgotBronx]

Here's an EBay link to a "Supreme" Reinforcement Bumper. I think they all fit the same but double check. This guy use to make the Chrome bumpers for our GBody but I think he no longer has them.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/OLDSMOBILE-SUPR ... 3a5ce26d0f

 

[Blake442]

That won't work.
He needs '78-'80 parts. '81-'88 parts won't fit.

 

[Pharozen]

The rubber impact strip is bolted on from the backside.
With the reinforcement removed, you can get to the nuts that hold it on but realistically, if the rest of your bumper is that rusty, don't plan on getting the impact strip off without ruining it. Even on rust free cars they have a tendency to twist the studs out of the rubber.

Your best bet is to find a nice clean used part.
I'd say 99% of folks sell the full assembly (chrome outer bumper and reinforcement together), and will only separate them if you specifically ask them to.

Thanks 'UgotBronx', I'll check that out.

@Blake442, I appreciate that advice and more than likely, I probably won't be able to salvage anything from the rear, that's including the rubber impact strip and the reinforcements; however, I still will give it a look over once I take everything apart because I'm trying my best to save a dollar when possible without sacrificing quality in my restoration project.

But here's the primary reason I was going to go through the trouble to take apart everything and see what's salvageable: The place I'm using charges $360 for just the outer bumper-- re-chromed triple nickel plated shell. $200 more to include the reinforcements and around $200 more for a restored/refurbished black rubber impact strip. So I'm guessing around $800 ( including shipping) for an entire bumper assembly.

Is that too much to pay for a complete brand new looking bumper???

 

[UgotBronx]

YES that is way too much!! Look online for restoration on Chrome bumpers. You can find it way cheaper with shipping!!

The rubber impact strip is bolted on from the backside.
With the reinforcement removed, you can get to the nuts that hold it on but realistically, if the rest of your bumper is that rusty, don't plan on getting the impact strip off without ruining it. Even on rust free cars they have a tendency to twist the studs out of the rubber.

Your best bet is to find a nice clean used part.
I'd say 99% of folks sell the full assembly (chrome outer bumper and reinforcement together), and will only separate them if you specifically ask them to.

Thanks 'UgotBronx', I'll check that out.

@Blake442, I appreciate that advice and more than likely, I probably won't be able to salvage anything from the rear, that's including the rubber impact strip and the reinforcements; however, I still will give it a look over once I take everything apart because I'm trying my best to save a dollar when possible without sacrificing quality in my restoration project.

But here's the primary reason I was going to go through the trouble to take apart everything and see what's salvageable: The place I'm using charges $360 for just the outer bumper-- re-chromed triple nickel plated shell. $200 more to include the reinforcements and around $200 more for a restored/refurbished black rubber impact strip. So I'm guessing around $800 ( including shipping) for an entire bumper assembly.

Is that too much to pay for a complete brand new looking bumper???

 

[martin.ca]

You can check car-part.com to check salvage yards across the continent.