68-72 acceptable alignment of front bumper, guards, and grills- photos

[Mark E.]

Re: 68-72 acceptable alignment of front bumper, guards, and grills- photos

Terry- I found absolutely nothing in the AIM regarding clearances or tolerances for the front bumper, guards, grills (at least in sections 13-14 where you'd expect to find it).

Patrick- Nice LT1! The biggest difference I see between our cars regarding bumper/grill alignment is the top of the bumper and the front fiberglass surround on your car is almost flush. My bumper sits a bit lower than the top of the surround.

Years ago, a friend changed the front parking lenses on his '71 from amber to clear because he liked them better. Goes to show beauty is in the eye...

[Mark E.]

Re: 68-72 acceptable alignment of front bumper, guards, and grills- photos

Inspired by Patrick's car, last night I adjusted the bumper upward to be more flush with the top surround- compare the first two photos below with the photo in first post. Not perfect, but better.

3/16" gaps remain between each guard and grill (third photo). With some creative slotting, the guards might move outward a bit to reduce these gaps. But then the inside bottom corner of the grills would be close to touching the inside radius of the guards...

The good news is the LH and RH gaps are about equal, and the up<-->down and front<-->back alignment between guard and grill are good.

What do you think?

Also, wouldn't the license plate look better mounted about 1" higher? But that's where she bolted (the license bracket just seems to mount where it mounts...). Does it look "normal" (stock) where it is?

Front 2 June 2015.jpgphoto 3.jpgGrill Detail 2 June 2015.jpg

[Mark E.]

Re: 68-72 acceptable alignment of front bumper, guards, and grills- photos

After reading your replies and photos (thank you!), and studying some vintage photos of 70-72 Corvettes, I believe the fitment of my '70's bumper/guards/grills is about as good, and maybe sometimes better, than what St. Louis produced.

But, I'd still like to hear from the expert judges out there...

Is judging the fitment of the bumper/grill subjective, i.e. no specific tolerances are specified?

And do judges look mostly for evidence of field repairs and non-original parts, rather than fitment?

And given the variability of fitment from the factory, are judges therefore tolerant if the bumper and grills are significantly out of alignment on an otherwise original looking car?

[Kenneth B.]

Re: 68-72 acceptable alignment of front bumper, guards, and grills- photos

I noticed that the ends of the repo bumpers stick out from the body a LOT more than the original ones. Mine are constant all the way around. All the repos I see flair out as it rounds the curve on the sides.

[Leif A.]

Re: 68-72 acceptable alignment of front bumper, guards, and grills- photos

Mark,

I would think that if the front license plate were mounted higher it would block a considerable amount of air from flowing across the radiator. I agree, it might look better mounted an inch or so higher but I would be more concerned (Texas summer heat) with air flow than appearance IMHO.

[Mark E.]

Re: 68-72 acceptable alignment of front bumper, guards, and grills- photos

Mark,

I would think that if the front license plate were mounted higher it would block a considerable amount of air from flowing across the radiator. I agree, it might look better mounted an inch or so higher but I would be more concerned (Texas summer heat) with air flow than appearance IMHO.

Leif,

I learned that the C3 is mostly a bottom feeder, with the vast majority of air flow coming through the bottom of the front valance. That's why a missing front spoiler can cause a cooling problem- its purpose is to help divert air flow through the valance.

Because of the headlight covers and license plate, there's probably relatively little air flow through the grill... but maybe every little bit helps.

And we know that with the next generation, Chevy eliminated the grill completely.

[Mark E.]

Re: 68-72 acceptable alignment of front bumper, guards, and grills- photos

I'd still like to hear from the expert judges out there...

Is judging the fitment of the bumper/grill subjective, i.e. no specific tolerances are specified?

And do judges look mostly for evidence of field repairs and non-original parts, rather than fitment?

And given the variability of fitment from the factory, are judges therefore tolerant if the bumper and grills are significantly out of alignment on an otherwise original looking car?

Maybe the judges are on holiday this week?
Happy 4th!