Wavy bumper cover?

[3XBrownCutty]

I've been thinking of this for a while, but just got around to posting it to see what you cutlass guys think.

I notice that on a lot of cutlasses, that the rear bumper cover is slightly wavy. mine is like that a little bit. I was thinking, you could get some 1 or 1.5" wide aluminum, and drill holes accordingly to line up with the studs on which the speed nuts fasten the upper part of the cover. would that stop the wavyness of the cover? It would put even pressure up where the cover "sags" and fix it, right?

Do you guys think that would work? I do have some aluminum, so I might try it.

 

[Blake442]

I'd been thinking the same thing.

It's worth a shot.

 

[3XBrownCutty]

Yeah I'm not sure when I'll do it. probably the next time i feel like crawling under the car to get measurments. you think it'll work though?

 

[Blake442]

Yeah I'm not sure when I'll do it. probably the next time i feel like crawling under the car to get measurments. you think it'll work though?

It sounds like it might. There's only one way to find out...

 

[3XBrownCutty]

True :lol: I need to become a man of action instead of words. :lol:

 

[85_SS]

Is it true that this is largely due to shops baking the paint after a paint job? or is it just fromt the sun/age? Some are really bad, while others like my parent's 87 are hardly noticable.

 

[3XBrownCutty]

I'm not really sure, I would that the sun has a big part in it. Like out west, unless you have a garage, that cover is in constant sunlight and heat, do the math. thats my guess.

 

[pontiacgp]

instead of drilling holes to hold the backing plate in place you might want to take a look at the two part urethane they use on vehicles these days to bond your backing plates to the cover

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Plastic bumpers were never one of GM's strong points, especially the yellow plastic ones like the Cutlass had. They all seem to be warped in some way or fashion, and the front driver's corner always has a dip in it due to a poor quality mold they all seem to have come from. I don't think you will be able to improve it much no matter what you do.

 

[supercrackerbox]

instead of drilling holes to hold the backing plate in place you might want to take a look at the two part urethane they use on vehicles these days to bond your backing plates to the cover

That would be my course of action. This is typical of most cars from the 80's, not just from GM. It actually dates clear back to the early 70s when they started putting urethane bumpers on GTOs and various other cars. My Charger has the same issue and it bugs the crap outta me.

There are various epoxies on the market that should do the trick, but if there's any doubt go for the 3M stuff that body shops use for roof- and door skins. Can't remember what it's called off hand, but any halfway competant body supply store should know what you mean and have it in stock. It's not particularly cheap, and you have to buy the mixing gun as well, but once it's on there it is NOT going to come apart.

As for the aluminum strips (for those wanting some), I've found several choices at Home Depot. They sell it in 1/8" thick strips, from 1" to 2" wide. Great stuff, I've used it to fabricate everything from intercooler and radiator brackets to custom battery hold downs and gauge panel retainers.

(radiator relocation bracket for my Charger)