C-3 Front Bumper Adjustments

[Pat Roberts]

Hi everyone. I recently purchased a new front bumper for my 69 and it would not line up correctly. ( the ends turn down ) Thinking that the bumper was defective I returned it and bought another from a different source. It also does not line up correctly. I looked in a couple of restoration books and they say there are all kinds of adjustments that can be made but they do not explain how to do the adjustments. Does anyone know of a source for this information ?
Thanks Pat

[Terry F.]

Re: C-3 Front Bumper Adjustments

I can tell you a little since my 68 is about the same. On the inside of each front fender there is a right and left front bumper extension. If yours is like mine, you will have to first remove the bumper extensions. Under them you will find some other bolts. If you loosen these other bolts you will find that they are connected to a bracket that has elongated holes. When you loosen them, you will be able to adjust the center bumper support up and down. You will also notice on the center bumper support has bolts that can be loosened and will allow the center bumper support to slide front and back. After you get the center bumper support in a respectable postion with regard to the car body you can move out to the right and left fender. In my opinion, the front corners of the fenders have a slight sag to them when not supported. Personally, I pull up on them a tiny bit to take the tension off of them and so the outer bumper braces are supporting the fender. Basicly you want the three points to be level with one another to get the fit. It sounds like the center position is way to high. This is a good point to start at. If your car has been completely apart, you may have to do other things. If the original bumper fit, you should be able to get the new bumper to. There is some trial and error. Good luck, Terry

[Pat Roberts]

Re: C-3 Front Bumper Adjustments

Hi Terry, Thanks for the information. I will try this in the next few days. I am just finishing a 3 year restoration and putting the front bumper on has been my biggest headache. Pat

[Michael M.]

Re: C-3 Front Bumper Adjustments

I can add that I've seen many original C3's that have shims under the front and / or rear mounting points of the center support. Seems to me that this was done to "tilt" the support, which would also tilt the bumper, which would therefore tilt the bumber ends either up or down as needed.

[Pat Roberts]

Re: C-3 Front Bumper Adjustments

Mike , Thanks for the additional advise. I have a set of shims but wasn't sure if they were for the ends or the center.