Does anyone have a solution to prevent the bumper from sinking in? Check out the picture. On the X's is where we always have the sinking issue. Any ideas? I want to buy a new one but I need to know how to prevent this issue. Any ideas would be great.

 

ahhhh yes, all the factory noses do it, there very flimsy and start to sag after just a couple of years, if you want to correct it the only real way is to buy a none GM one that is a little bit stiffer of a material. i have a colonels one and a GM one. There is a considerable difference in how flimsy they are, but their like that for a reason.

 

You can somewhat fix that with a heat gun, but the sag will return in no time.There's not many of them that dont do this eventually.

 

Does anybody have a solution to this issue. Any suggestions would help.

 

Ive posted this a while back and im reviving it to see if anyone has any solutions to this common issue. Ive read that people have fixed or even jerry-rigged the bumper, but nobody states how they fixed the issue. Does anyone know how to fix or adjust the sinking that occurs in the Camaro bumper covers?

 

could you glue some some reinforcing bars on the inside of the nose cone?

 

i was thinkin of buildin some reinforcement bars, but bolting them to somewhere metal way behind the cone. like the radiator support or someting. then running up to the nose with a piece of 12 or 14 gauge metal going from left to center, then another from center to right. it would hold it very well and you would never know its back there. or you could have somebody remake the thing out of sheet metal. that s if your not worried about weight.

 

My '87 has that same problem but it's not quite as bad as some I've seen. I was thinking when it's time for a full body & paint I might address the issue. What I thought might work would be a fiberglass or carbon fiber honey comb bonded to the inside to help retain the shape. I work with both and have tinkered with a few ideas.

My background is in marine engineering and we call that affect the "Starved Pony" when the sheeting gets warped between the frames. The only cure is thicker sheeting or more ribs.

 

You know, I was thinking the samething too. Placing some sheet metal behind the cover. what kind of adhesive should I use? Or should I fabricate the ribs along with the sheet metal? I guess anything goes right fellas? I really dont want to buy a new bumper cover. Im going to place some sheet metal along with some caulking or something similar. What do you think guys?

 

Bump.

 

Well, Since it's Body and not Camaro auto detailing.. I might as well post my remedy on my 91 Firebird..

There's a series of about 10 screws on the top of the nose, I loosened, drilled the holes bigger, and lifted the bumper up until it flattened, I still have to adjust it some more.. but it worked for me.

 

The modern way to fix this is with Styrofoam reinforcement. I haven't researched where you'd come by large chunks of the material, but you could glue sheets together to form a core as well. Shave down the core to fit between your bumper and the nose so that it reinforces the area and paint it a color if you wish. Simple, cheap, and if you're really patient it could look professional.

 

This is just a suggestion but what about spraying that expandable foam that you shoot in the cracks of windows in houses? I forget the name of it but you get it Home Depot or Menards. You spray it in cracks and it REALLY expands. THen if anything oozes out, you wait until it dries and then cut it off. Not sure if it would work but if you could get it behind the cover, it would definately expand.

Kevin

 

I just remembered. Its called Great Stuff. Did you get your problem solved?

 

Not yet. Im about to buy a reman tranny for my IROC.

 

Some good ideas there! Bracing from the back side sounds like the only way to go.
Ours is still flat, but the chin spoiler has a couple lil tears i tried to fix b4 painting--didn't last. Then, in Sept. I broke the bumper light bracket & got tear in the area too. DOH!!
We are thinking about a fiberglass replacement from Ecklers--the chin is also molded in!! BUT.. close to 5 Bens!!

 

I bent and cut a piece of aluminum to fit and attached it with liquid nails on the backside. It worked twenty years ago so i imagine it still works considering it still looks fine.

 

i built a frame out of 1/4" aluminum to cure that
problem on my'82-has been fixed for 15yrs now

 

Whenever I get around to replacing my front bumper, I may try fiberglassing the inside of it to reinforce it. Of course, this only really helps if you get a new one that hasn't sagged yet.

 

Im going to try the liquid nails. Where can I get a 1/4 aluminum plate from?

 

Well no one replied to where i can get some aluminum plates. So has anyone else corrected this eye sore?

 

You could get some aluminium from Home Depot or Lowes in the hardware section. If thats the route you go I would use an angle to give you a little more strength

 

. DUHHH. I dont know y I didnt think of that. Thanks bro. Gotta visit Lowes soon.

 

I have an 84 front bumper on my 87 TA, the 87 bumper was an aftermarket that was more rigid and it hadn't sagged, but after I ran in a ditch the 84 bumper was my cheapest option to replace it seeing as I found it in the woods with the front halves of the fenders still attached, and I like it better actually. But, this bumper is GM and it was already sagging when I put it on there. The sags on the top don't bother me so much, and I was going to find a way to fix those, it seems simple enough, but the molding along the bottom, I guess it's called the ground effects, is very wavy, and that bothers me the most. I was thinking about taking it off the car and trying to flatten it out in the heat of the sun before trying to reinforce it, but it doesn't look so easy to fix. I'm going to try some things to it when I get around to the bodywork on my car though, I'm sure I'll let my progress be known here.

 

Good luck bro. I wanna take mine off but the apartments where I live are very strict with mechanic work on the property.

 

Is Ecklers the bumper to get?
Are they the thicker?
Who sells them?

 

Spray foam sounds like a great idea and it will still give and be easily replaced.

Id start with min expanding foam though.


It was make to be flexable for a reason, dunno if I want to back with with something to solid.

 

Well to make it solid is the best way to keep it structurally sound. Now its a different story if you get get in a wreck. I'de take my chances and make it last a long time.

 

I dont see it being that big of ad eal in an accident unless you solid mount some steel bars to the rad support or somthing. If you just reinforce only the panels on the bumper... basically to themselves somehow (ie adding thicker material or bracing it corner to corner) then Id ont think it will make that big of a difference in an accident. It might hurt whatever you're hitting a little more though if it's something soft... but even then the rest of the bumper cover is collapsible and it's still just gonna get crushed in to the bumper support.

 

my bird has an 83 trans am bumper on it and it sags like that where you mentioned and on the top of the ends near the fenders. my plan to fix it is to take a heat gun and get it back into the proper shape then makes some sheet metal panels the same shape as the bumper and epoxy them to the backside of the bumper then fiberglass over them to make sure they stay there .

Chevy86 IROC-Z did you fix you're bumper yet if so how did you do yours?

 

I havent tackled it yet. My apartment complex is very strict with mechanic's work on the property. Plus I just got out for summer time vacation from college. The summer here is crazy. 110* days are the norm here in the Imperial Valley so it gets really hot. I might add that I got 3 kids and a crazy wife who wants me to dedicate all my free time to her. My wife is. She can really make me . But Ill take pictures of my bumper cover to show everyone my issues. And when I finally get the time to fix it, you can bet Ill post up more pictures and explain my method of modification.

 

I guess I would consider a composite board epoxied in place before metal. The reason being is that metal may expand at a different rate either leading to separation or it possibly warping. I wouldn't choose expanding foam unless there's a way to keep it from bowing out the other way due to the pressure.

 

DITTO on both points, why id be shy of just glueing metal to it.

Why I sad try min foam first.

I also have that but only on the right side lookin at it head on.

[I just let folks think its the reflection that makes it look like that in pics.]

 

Y u blurring out your license plates? Just kidding.

 

This idea makes the most sense to me than any other option suggested... aside from the stiffer aftermarket bumper, but it seems to me that would even sag over time.

Soon I will start making something sort of like this... I may not actually use it on my car, so call it a prototype if you wish. There are hundreds of thin, wooden paint paddles at the bodyshop where I work. We use metal ones and clean them with lacquer thinner, so when the paint supply company sends us these cheap pine sticks we just throw them off to the side of the shop to use as shims for something or we throw them away. It may involve a lot of measuring, cutting, and gluing, but f I can make a latice pattern with these sticks that will fit underneath the bumper and be epoxied into place, it seems to me that it will hold the bumper straight until they rot out from under it. Then, if I could make that out of something like fiberglass that will outlast the car itself, I may have something worthwhile...

Call me crazy, if you must.

 

ehy not fiberglass rite over the sticks so they won't rot?

 

I agree with

 

Actually, I was just thinking about that after posting that last night.

 

Back from the dead. Any new ideas?

 

Nope.

I'd advise to go with the styrofoam stuff.
My car has the same problem so I'll use a heatgun to heat up the area, use sheet metal to cool it down without sag, then shove enough styrofoam in the nose to keep it level.

I'll have to look what the inside of the cone looks like, and how much space there is to fill, but the best way to build a filler for that panel is to start from a wedged shape formed of two pieces of styrofoam, then glue ribs from the same material in between the wedge to support the shape, then glue this in the car.

Pro:
It will give on impact but will support the shape untill impact.
It's lighter then any aluminum or sheet metal construction.
It's a cheap solution.
The styrofoam 1" sheets are easier to completely remove then the sticky expandable foam.

Con:
The sticky expendable foam better fills the available space.

 

Im going to be buying a new bumper cover and have been wondering about this too. Id thought about running some beads some sort of epoxy on the back of the cover on either side of the emblem probably in a * shape.

Thoughts?

 

Some saran wrap placed in before using the spray foam would make it removable and neat with a perfect fit.

 

Although this is an older suggestion, if anyone wants to try Styrofoam I have almost unlimited access to large blocks of it. They measure about 24"x60"x8".

I'll look into it but I seriously doubt there is a cost effective way to ship it. A lot of freight companies factor in dimensions as well as weight. But if someone wants to pick it up I'll gladly set some aside for you. No charge. I'm located in northeast Ohio.

 

I had a '82 T/A years ago that had that bumper problem right at the front center near the hood. I just took some honeycomb from a rear bumper lying around and stuffed it in the front top because there is some metal under there that jammed it in good.

For a Camaro though maybe a similar plan with rear bumper honeycomb and some metal brackets propping it up might work. Maybe the plastic sides of a milk basket with some support underneath

 

And here is the obvious solution

http://www.jegs.com/i/Harwood/487/12001/10002/-1

At least you have a solid surface to do bodywork on and get it laser straight...
But it's pricey

 

I used to drive by Gilbert when I was in the US ARMY. I would drive from Colorado Springs CO. all the way down to Imperial Valley CA ( Just across the olorado River from Yuma AZ). But that milk carton seems like a good idea. Put 2 sides flush agianst the sagging sections. THen had some sort of aluminum bar pushing up agianst the center of the sections of the cut out. This would "bow" the 2 sagging bumper planes. The bigger issue would be calculating the length of the aluminum rods or bars from the underside of the bumper to a part of the vehicles frame. I made need to hit the drawing board and think this over a bit. It seems like a simple solution but there are no easy answers to this dilema. I really dont want to buy a new bumper cover for about $250 when there can be a cheap solution. The problem is, what is that solution. Does anyone think that this thread has gone ?

 

It's an oldie for sure

 

Alkdakoopa - Was your aftermarket bumper a Colonel's? If not, has anyone had experience with that bumper? Mine is shot since I found out a long time ago GM welded it on the left corner instead of properly replacing the mounting bracket, causing it to separate on the side where it meets the fender. I have a new aftermarket Colonel's (much more rigid) and a used TA bumper in really good condition. I'm debating which one to use. I like 100% OEM, but with this sagging bumper issue I wonder if the Colonel's is the best to use since it is much more rigid. Thoughts?

 

Welded? Is your bumper made of metal?

 

It's a mess. From looking at it with the entire headlight assembly removed it looks like they melted / welded the mounting bracket to the actual bumper where it meets the side fender. Mounting bracket may not be the right word, but I'm talking about the metal piece the front turn signal lamps screw onto. This bracket has a bar on each side that the bumper screws onto along with the side fenders. I'll post pics if this isn't clear. This is what is causing my bumper to separate from my driver's side fender since whatever the heck they melted / glued together isn't holding as tight as it used to. So much for letting the dealer repair your car.