ChevyRS-305

any of you guys have warped or dipped in headlight buckets? I was wondering what some of you have done that cured the problem permanently. I was thinking of panel bonding a thick steel plate on the bottom side and then it would be strong enough to hold a shape for body work.

7thdarkangel

are you talking about the fiberglass bar that holds the headlights. or the metal buckets. pics would help.

ChevyRS-305

Like as is the bumper headlight bucket, not the header panel. Its painted black on the z28s... the area in front of the headlights. Idk how much more specific I can get.

ChevyRS-305

Here is a pic i found on here...this is a headlight bucket im talking about... its the bumper.

blackbmagic

If its bent or messed up there is something causing it. Take the bumper cover off and make sure there is nothing bent underneath.

Once you fixed that issue and ONLY if you fixed that issue. You can heat the area with a heat gun. Plastic always has memory, it will go back to its original shape when you loosen it up a bit with some heat and a little massaging.

ChevyRS-305

The car is being rebuilt from ground up and the rest of the car is dead perfect. I just noticed how their sunk down and look terrible. Not to mention their black so they look even more like crap. I am a body man so i know about using a heat gun but think about this...if it did once and then i fix it, don't you think it would warp again down the road. I want to address the problem now rather than later when i have the car painted. Also the buckets do this because their just square...their not reinforced what so ever from underneath. That's why i was thinking of a steel plate panel bonded underneath to give it strength.

blackbmagic

You know then that it was caused by something. Fix the cause and then fix the warp. The bumper cover doesnt distort by itself. Thousands of people fix the bumpers without issues, what makes yours any different?

Yea you can epoxy a steel plate under. I would use aluminum. It would work but really isn't necessary. If the damage is great enough get a new bumper cover

If you are just talking about sagging a couple of strips of thin aluminum flat stock clamped and epoxied should fix the issue with no problems. Its not warping in that case, that comes standard on these things.

ChevyRS-305

Yes! Lol thats the issue its sagging and i see that on all 3rd gens. But for a show car i would like to fix it and i believe it was heat that causes them to sag...just a theory. But if i get 1" aluminum angle stock, it would be better for corrosion protection and weight all in one. All in all fixes the problem permanently.