Suck It Up! 76 Bumper tuck take 2.......

[tron]

I had some free time today....

so I decided that my front bumper should come in all the way.

I already had replaced the rear heavy bumper shocks with lighter metal tubing but i don't think you guys have seen it since I actually replaced the shocks..I dont even need the rear piece that fills in the gap!

With the drill and drain method u can only tuck in so far.......

[esty]

i love malaga...my 76 was born malaga...after a bit of cosmetic surgery that all changed...each time i see a nice example, like yours, i pine

i'm gonna repaint my black e30 malaga

nice job on the bumpers....btw

[tron]

thank you.

i love the color as well.

I did not know what color i was going to end up with i was more after good condition and no rust. she has a few small surface rust spots i need to tend to.

yet I am very pleased with my car.

[Guest Anonymous]

I also have the same shade of Malaga on my car, which is nearly "complete" after eight years of tinkering. Incidently, I pulled my air damn off and put the bumber back on; I like it better that way.

I put new bottlecaps on the car when I first got it and they are still pristine, but now I'd like to move to something more interesting. I REALLY like your gold-centered basket weaves. They look great with Malaga. Where did you get them, or did you paint them yourself? Any recommendations on other interesting, unique wheels you've seen that would look good on Malaga. What's your thoughts on black centered wheels? TIA and terrific looking car.

__________________________

Roger

'72 Malaga

[tron]

my wheels came from a friend on craigslist. 13x6 fake 2 piece.

tires are 185/70/13

not sure on the offset. Its pretty far out there but i chipped the paint, urgh hum i mean rolled my fenders recently and they dont rub much at all.

I have stock springs and HDs.

H&R springs, S/T sways,and Ireland fixed camber plates are in the line up next month.(had to get new calipers and clutch master cylinder this month.)

With the fender rolling and the little bending i did they look like they might not rub so much when lowered.

As for my opinion on black centered wheels on this color car, I think it would look nice. I feel it would compliment with any other black on your car well. In the end its all personal pref.

I have the tan interior so the gold works well.

I cant decide if i like the wheels with or without caps better..

[Studio2]

Looks Good!

I know I've seen the rear bumper shock replacement tubes sold as a kit somewhere... but can't seem to locate them now... did you buy yours or fab them yourself? Also, how did you deal with the side bellows?

Thanks in advance for any info / advice!

[chipperwerks]

great looking setup! do you know off hand the diam. of the tubing that is used in place of the shocks? I have my front drilled out, and tucked as far in as it will go this way. now after seeing yours and others tucked in tight, I will go and get some tube and tighten it up! any help appreciated!

[tron]

I made them from metal fence post i had around. (not the safest)

The front tubing is a tad smaller.

Best thing to do is take off a shock and take it to your nearest big hardware store and compare with tubing there.

Taking them in close means serious damage if your even bumped.

keep this in mind when deciding what u want to do.

The sides are cut with razor and glued back with window seal.

[saaron]

Looks really good. I really like the squarie styling when the bumpers are done like that. Great work, and I like Malaga, too. It is classy.

Scott

[fwardell]

That really does look good. I've been resisting doing much non-stock stuff to my '76 but now . . . . Also, I've been known to graze the garage door when swinging in as that bumper DOES stick out. There is an $80 short bumper kit available - just a couple of pipes basically - at http://www.racetep.com/02bump.html.

[josh76]

What length did you cut the tubing for front and rear?

thanks,

josh

[tron]

be sure to measure on the car b4 removing bumpers how far from the body they currently sit. then go from there.

i took the compressed shocks out and layed them next to the piping and

made the tubes about 1in shorter. (give or take)

You will run into some challenges along the way.

please read all of this b4 trying. i suggest some things i found may have worked better.

-cut the side accordions (I cut closest to the car as i could front and back bumpers)

-unscrew bolts (remove battery for front bolt access)

-remove the bumper with shocks

-remove black deck lid from the back and fill the holes.

-remove the 2 bolts that hold the shock to bumper to remove complete shock.

-use 2 wrenches to remove bolt that holds shock to mount.

-measure shock and remove the amount u want to tuck. rear middle shock is shorter i believe. (remember you measured with these shocks on the car body to bumper gap)

-cut tubing to new smaller length.

heres where i should have realized that the rear brackets are smaller then the front....

-while in a vice face up, use a long pipe to bend mounting brackets open. (equal bends both sides)

-check to see if new pipe fits into now wider bent bracket, you want this to be as snug as possible.

i could have just switched the 2 front mounting brackets with the 2 rear outside brackets.

this will make a better fit in both places...front needs smaller tube to fit into the rubber guide slot sleves.. rear needs to be as wide as u can to fill tubing hole. ( this ensures less wobble in bumper when finished)

you may still need to stretch alittle or use washers on the brackets.

-while the new cut pipe is in place on bracket mark 2 holes and then drill them through the pipe with the pipe on the ground. (drill hole as snug as possible)

-mount pipes to brackets.

-mount brackets to bumpers.

-slide on front rubber stabilizing sleeves

-slide new bumper rails into slots and have someone hold the bumper where u want it.

-be sure u have enough tube length in the mounting hole, check that both sides match up, then mark the holes through the bolt holes on the car. (top and bottom for rear/only top for front)

measure and cut old rubber shock covers to fill gap between car and bumper.

-remove bumper and drill marked holes STRAIGHT down. use a block of wood to hold up tube while bumper rests on ground. (this is the hardest thing to do in this job..if the holes are not tight and dont match the application then the bolt wont line up to thread. drill the holes bigger and then you have wobble up and down on the bumper.

- reapply new bumper with cut rubber shock covers to fit gap between car and bumper.

-AFTER ALL IS MOUNTED AND STURDY- cut the accordions where they meet with the bumper blocks on car.

-use black silicone or the like (i used window seal) to cover the cut gap..

smooth out the glue with a swiping motion with your finger. Then wipe finger on cloth, do this smoothing till all is well. remember Less is More here.

-let it dry for a while before starting the car (I drove too soon after and had to reglue the gap)