Hi, I recently bought a 92 Z-28. Engine and interior are in good shape but the body is a little rough. There are some dents to the hood, fender, front corner panel near hood and rear bumper. The car sat in the VA sun for a long time and both the clear coat and paint have come of in places. I will be taking the car to some local guys to get some estimates on what is needed but wanted your thoughts. I would like to keep as many parts stock as possible and replace only if necessary. Attached are three photos of my fender. Next post will be with two pics of my bumper. Any input is appreciated. Thanks! Pic 1 - clear coat and paint is pretty much all gone from fender and ground FX. Portion of fender underneath headlight dips down. You can see this curve under the headlight. Fender near hood emblem seems too pliable when you put some hand pressure on it. I do not know if this type of plastic is supposed to be stiff or somewhat pliable. I have a feeling that the sun made the plastic weak. Pic 2 - prior owner ran over something and when backing out it pulled on the lower lip. The plastic is pulled down in this area. Also a plastic connection and bolt in this area has ripped away from the body. I don't think losing one bolt connection is too bad since there appear to be many underneath this lip. Not sure if you can bend fender back to original shape. Pic 3 - top corner of fender near headlight is cracked. You can just see a little jagged edge in this photo. Lower down the fender is very soft and pliable. I know this is a common weakness area. Looks like prior owner hit something down low and pushed fender in some.

The plastic on our bumpers is usually fairly pliable its not all that stiff. So some flexibility is a given (although it shoudn't be too flexible).

I've also seen threads where cracks and tears in this material has been repaired, although I'm not sure the method myself. The fading isn't a big deal only paint, and as you said, that one missing trim bolt isn't a big deal.

This bumper will never be perfect. It looks like its sagging a little bit, and just has some of the aging effects that they get from hanging off the front of the car for years.
Is is savable and drivable? Yes. Is it ever going to be perfect? Nope. Replace it if your going for perfection, take it off and repair it the best you can if it doesn't have to be 100%

Thanks for the reply. I can't post bumper pics, explorer is being a pain tonight. Bumper has a inch high tear down low that doesn't look too bad. I want to fix this car up the best I can. The sagginess of the bumper in places worries me. I could spend all this money fixing and paiting it only to have the condition worsen over time. I might have to replace the front bumper and could repair the rear. Maybe if I pull off the fender and look behind it, I can see what I am really dealing with.

Completly understand your position. The bumpers on these cars do end up sagging a little. The big question is if they are sagging because of pure time, or (like mine) because the frame is tweaked/damaged and not supporting it correctly?

I've also found that the brackets that support the front bumpers (ones that attatch to the fenders) tend to bend, rust and sometimes the bolts snap. If those are bad then the bumper will sag too.

If your gonna spend big money on a paint job and want it to be really nice, post an add here for bumpers for your model year, and you should be able to get a nice set without damage that you can just slap with paint as you get the rest of the car painted and then bolt them on.

My concern is in #3 it looks like the plastic/rubber is shrinking...it lines up with the fender real shitty and cant be fixed. I agree with the previous poster...Its a money factor. Is it cheaper to replace or repair? Thats an open ended question. If you do remove the part replacing is probably the better option from what I can see. If you leave the part on and can live with a few imperfections.....thats your better option.

Sorry if Im not much help...

Good catch! I didn't notice that, I thought it was just an issue of a bolt not being attached. I'd say if your gonna go through the exercise of taking this stuff off and repainting it, just replace them. They aren't that expensive 2nd hand. Plenty of used stuff can be had for cheap. Sometimes you can pick up whole roller cars for under 500 bucks. (I got a donor interior off a $300 parts car)

If your not repainting, you can probably fix up the worst and it'd look fairly decent.