My Chevelle's front bumper is pretty rough with dents, scratches, and some rust. I picked up Darren's front bumper and brackets and it's in very good condition. A little polishing and it will be a great driver quality piece.
I've removed the current bumper and will salvage the brackets. The bolts holding the brackets to the frame broke free without any issues. The bolts holding the brackets onto the bumper are another story. I'll have to cut them off like I did with the replacement bumper since they are rusted tight.
The frame rails look good after getting the old bumper off:
Here's some of the backside of the bumper from Darren before and after painting:
And the brackets and 1 1/8" front sway bar ready for the wire wheel then paint:
I'm also going to see if I can pick up a can of Dupli-Color to match the body color and paint the front of the grill that's black since it's supposed to the body color.
Lost in the 60s said
Jun 26, 2011
SShink wrote:
I'm also going to see if I can pick up a can of Dupli-Color to match the body color and paint the front of the grill that's black since it's supposed to the body color.
You might be better off driving the car to a Car Quest (or similar) where they can scan the actual paint to match, mix it and put it in an aerosol spray can.
John D said
Jun 27, 2011
My blast cabinet is always available (with notice) for small parts like this...
Lost in the 60s said
Jun 27, 2011
Take the lower fender rods off and blast/paint them too, as long as you're under there.
I tried to get a sway bar in my 36" cabinet and it won't fit. "Someday" I'm gonna build an extension for one end for longer parts.
SShink said
Jun 27, 2011
Lost in the 60s wrote:
Take the lower fender rods off and blast/paint them too, as long as you're under there.
What color are they supposed to be? Silver? Gray? Black?
I ordered some after market ones once, and they are a silver/gray color.
Lost in the 60s said
Jun 27, 2011
They were originally the same as the frame.. some rust and a little thin black paint...
I would paint them with the same paint as the bumper brackets.
SShink said
Jun 28, 2011
Made some progress tonight:
Under Grill Valance Before
After with the paint I found at O'Reilly's that is a darn close GM match
Front anti-sway bar painted
Bumper brackets ready to install onto bumper
Frame horns painted
Hope to get things installed in the next couple of nights, then it's on to the rear suspension!
Lost in the 60s said
Jun 28, 2011
Man, that IS a good match for a rattle can. Somebody hit the mix ratio right on when they painted it... looks GREAT...
SShink said
Jun 28, 2011
Lost in the 60s wrote:
Man, that IS a good match for a rattle can. Somebody hit the mix ratio right on when they painted it... looks GREAT...
Thanks Mitch. I'ts nice to get lucky with a project once in awhile!
It's close enough that I touched up a couple of other paint chips with it and it's close enough to really hide them.
Scott Parkhurst said
Jun 29, 2011
Looks great Stan!
John D said
Jun 29, 2011
That is cool... and tucked up - 1/2 hidden by the bumper nobody will see any minor difference...
SShink said
Jun 30, 2011
John D wrote:
That is cool... and tucked up - 1/2 hidden by the bumper nobody will see any minor difference...
Yeah, only 3/16-1/4" of the valance even show when the bumper is on...
Going to put it all together tonight in the sweaty man cave. Ugh! Time to get Pushrod over and run the AC line to the compressor that's already sitting outside the cave waiting...
My Chevelle's front bumper is pretty rough with dents, scratches, and some rust. I picked up Darren's front bumper and brackets and it's in very good condition. A little polishing and it will be a great driver quality piece.
I've removed the current bumper and will salvage the brackets. The bolts holding the brackets to the frame broke free without any issues. The bolts holding the brackets onto the bumper are another story. I'll have to cut them off like I did with the replacement bumper since they are rusted tight.
The frame rails look good after getting the old bumper off:
Here's some of the backside of the bumper from Darren before and after painting:
And the brackets and 1 1/8" front sway bar ready for the wire wheel then paint:
I'm also going to see if I can pick up a can of Dupli-Color to match the body color and paint the front of the grill that's black since it's supposed to the body color.
Take the lower fender rods off and blast/paint them too, as long as you're under there.
I tried to get a sway bar in my 36" cabinet and it won't fit. "Someday" I'm gonna build an extension for one end for longer parts.
What color are they supposed to be? Silver? Gray? Black?
I ordered some after market ones once, and they are a silver/gray color.
They were originally the same as the frame.. some rust and a little thin black paint...
I would paint them with the same paint as the bumper brackets.
Made some progress tonight:
Under Grill Valance Before
After with the paint I found at O'Reilly's that is a darn close GM match
Front anti-sway bar painted
Bumper brackets ready to install onto bumper
Frame horns painted
Hope to get things installed in the next couple of nights, then it's on to the rear suspension!
Man, that IS a good match for a rattle can. Somebody hit the mix ratio right on when they painted it... looks GREAT...
Thanks Mitch. I'ts nice to get lucky with a project once in awhile!
It's close enough that I touched up a couple of other paint chips with it and it's close enough to really hide them.
Yeah, only 3/16-1/4" of the valance even show when the bumper is on...
Going to put it all together tonight in the sweaty man cave. Ugh! Time to get Pushrod over and run the AC line to the compressor that's already sitting outside the cave waiting...