C1Difference between 58/60 and 61/62 front bumpers

[Herb Turner]

I am trying to understand the difference in 58/60 bumpers and 61/62 bumpers. I think for my 60 I might have 61/62 bumpers. I am really struggling with getting the center bar in place as it seems to be about 3/4 of an inch too long.

I have tried to assemble the bumpers and grill bar as an unit loosely bolted togeether as well as apart and it seems that the center grill bar is 3/4 of an inch too long.

My original center grill bar has the tabs welded onto it which makes me thing again that perhaps I have the wrong bumpers for the car.

Can anyone shed some light on the differences and if I have the wrong ones, where can I locate a pair?

[William C.]

Re: C1Difference between 58/60 and 61/62 front bum

The only difference is in the location of the center bar mounting points, and the diference is that the 61-62 is mounted farthur out toward the license holder to account for the space occupied in the earlier units by the grille teeth. That does not seem to be your problem. It appears from your description that you have a bracket adjustment issue, if I understand you description.

[Herb Turner]

Re: C1Difference between 58/60 and 61/62 front bum

If I get the bumpers adjusted so that they "fit" particularly on the sides where the tips don't extend into the wheel wells or that they stay close enough to the body and the tips don't stick way out.

When you say the difference is that the 61/62 is mounted further out toward the license holder I am confused.

If they are closer to the license holder (meaning closer in the center) then when I put a 60 center grill bar in there, the distance between the two bumpers would be closer, hence the 60 grill bar would not fit.

Did I read your posting correct or am I backwards?

thanks, Herb

[Terry D.]

Re: C1Difference between 58/60 and 61/62 front bum

Herb

Although the 58-60 bumpers have a different number than the 61-61 I believe Clem is right in that the only difference is the inner mounts. Having the bar grille on a 61-62 mounted out further should have nothing to do with side to side dimension between the bumpers. The braces are all the same from 58-62.
I would check to make sure they are not bent. I had a simular problem with a 62 once and finally discovered that the braces were bent. Has the front end fiberglass ever been replaced or repaired?
Terry

[Herb Turner]

Re: C1Difference between 58/60 and 61/62 front bum

Yes, the front end glass pieces have all been replaced. I bought a Corvette Image surround and front lower valance. That is what led me to belive that perhaps the front bumpers had also been replaced when they tried to fix up the front of the car.

I have bent the brackets every which way to get them where I need them to be in order to get the front bumpers in their "perfect position" relative to gaps all the way around and having the tip of the bumper follow the wheel well opening.

At one point, after having 32 hours into this part of the assembly and being frustrated beyond all belief, I took my repro center bar and removed 3/8" from each end (3/4" total). That was a mistake since that ended up being way too much in the rear and was about right on the front of the bar. But then I ran into problems with how the grill teeth mounted on the ends and looked.

The more I touch these bumpers, I have found the more I am likely to either damage the cars paint, or other pieces of trim. I really need to get this in, looking right and not have to fuss with it anymore. I have everything taped and retaped, but that only protects so much.

What made me think that I might have the wrong bumpers is that the center grill bar that I took off, did not have the 2 bolts on each end that the moiunting tabs bolt to, rather it had some funky mounting tab that had been welded to it on both ends that bolted up to the bumpers! Obviously whoever had the car years ago when they put it back together had similar problems and issues and had come up with a creative solution.

So, here I am up against a deadline with a car that needs a number of things finished up and bumpers that are just causing my hair to pull out....

[Herb Turner]

Re: C1Difference between 58/60 and 61/62 front bum

one other question....how does the area where the center grill bar and the bumpers meet up look like? I would think that they should "line up" to some extent, but it seems that the grill bar ends want to "walk" either up or down the end of the bumpers. I would have thought that there was a nice feature line for the gril bar to center itself into on the ends of the bumpers but that doesn't seem to be happening either. Again, this is what led me to believe that I have the one year style bumper trying to match up with a different year style grill bar.

[Terry D.]

Re: C1Difference between 58/60 and 61/62 front bum

Herb

Where are you located? Your best bet is to find a car close to you that you can go look at. If the car was wrecked maybe the front of the frame is off just a little. Have you measured it according to the ST12?
Terry