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05-29-2021, 07:38 AM | #1 |
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straight front bumper
My '30 town sedan has a very nice front bumper but it's completely straight. I've had the car for almost 30 years and the bumper has always bothered me. At a swap meet a couple weeks ago someone was selling a bumper with the slight curve to it but the surface was not as good as mine. I got to wondering if mine could be bent to the right curve. Anybody ever done this?
Marty |
05-29-2021, 07:49 AM | #2 |
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Re: straight front bumper
Sure, I’d use a press.
However bending anything that’s chromed can jeopardize the chrome. Could crack |
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05-29-2021, 07:53 AM | #3 |
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Re: straight front bumper
I used a Harbor Freight press and blocks of wood to carefully recurve mine. Took patience and multiple efforts to get both bars the way I wanted them, but it came out okay.
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05-29-2021, 08:29 AM | #4 |
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Re: straight front bumper
sell yours and buy another........
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05-29-2021, 06:00 PM | #5 |
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Re: straight front bumper
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05-30-2021, 06:58 AM | #6 |
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Re: straight front bumper
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Marty |
05-30-2021, 09:04 AM | #7 |
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Re: straight front bumper
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05-30-2021, 09:30 AM | #8 |
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Re: straight front bumper
Mi bumper was straight too when I acquired it. I went to take it off to bend it, and as soon as I loosened the clamps, the bumper bars sprung back to a curve.
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05-30-2021, 10:00 AM | #9 |
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Re: straight front bumper
And when you tightened the clamps back up did it stay curved?
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05-30-2021, 10:11 AM | #10 |
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Re: straight front bumper
Duplicate.
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The Master Cylinder Enjoying life at the beach in SoCal... Last edited by The Master Cylinder; 05-30-2021 at 02:13 PM. |
05-30-2021, 10:38 AM | #11 |
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Re: straight front bumper
Take your front bumper to a spring shop and have them arc it for you. Have the shop add curvature until the straight line dimension eye-to-eye is 62-7/8". Caution the shop about protecting the chrome plating.
By the way, I had an accident years ago that severely bent the front bumper on my Coupe, and the plating did not peel, flake or otherwise fail. For those of you with a post August 1930 car, the dimension is 62". See the Ford Service Bulletin of August 1930, Page 484.
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05-31-2021, 06:01 AM | #12 |
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Re: straight front bumper
Bob, where you able to straighten the bumber after the accident?
I myself have a kink in the old bumpers that we couldn't sort out after a (pretty much minor) accident |
05-31-2021, 09:37 AM | #13 |
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Re: straight front bumper
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05-31-2021, 01:21 PM | #14 |
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Re: straight front bumper
I think you need to look closer at what you have first.
Are they a reproduction? What do the side an back surfaces look like? Take some pictures and post them. Loosen them and see what they do. When they are loose try to bend them and see if they bend easy and hold. Real originals are made of spring stock and will be harder to give a good arch. They will have a 'mill' finish on the back (depending on how it was restored). Of course it comes down to goals. How do you want your car to look and function? There are many 'right' ways to go depending. Personally I believe a not so pretty original is better then a pretty repro. I think the metal is better and will do a better job as a bumper in any minor bumps. First start with identifying if these are originals or reproductions. |
05-31-2021, 01:53 PM | #15 |
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Re: straight front bumper
Was the bumper originally straight or curved?
I have a stainless repo, and after a front end collision I straightened it and buffed it, and when I put it back on, it has a curve, which I like. But I’ve often wondered if it supposed to be straight? You certainly see both! |
05-31-2021, 03:51 PM | #16 |
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Re: straight front bumper
I perched a new repop s/s bummer some years ago. And the curve was way too much!! It stuck out and it just didn’t look right. I got some thick rubber mats hung them on a concrete wall put the cari fist gear and adjust them to a nice curve then tightened everything up. So far no problem and they always look good But I always wondered if I did the right thing maybe I should have shipped them back
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06-01-2021, 01:44 PM | #17 |
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Re: straight front bumper
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06-01-2021, 03:06 PM | #18 |
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Re: straight front bumper
Thanks Kevin: I’m guessing the bumper brackets have a play in the curve!
I just looked in the Ford Model A as Henry built it. Theresa a nice side view of a 31 Vickie. About the same curve as my Tudor. Last edited by Chuck Sea/Tac; 06-01-2021 at 03:14 PM. |
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