68 Fastback- rear bumper fitting problem

[moonraker]

Hi, friends!
I am restoring 68 Fastback (and it's not easy to do in Russia!). The body shop try-fitted the rear bumper and there's a big problem - the bumper is wider than the body. The bumper doesn't align with q-panel extensions (it doesn't match the shape and it extends beyond outer surface of q-panel). I ordered bumper and q-panel extensions at Year One. Did anybody encountered the same issue? What is the reason for this misalignment - poor quality of bumper or poor job of body shop? I appreciate all opinion - I don't really really know what to do. To order another bumper from different catalog? But I am in Russia - what if the new bumper doesn't fit too?

 

[mr-fixit]

Actually, that looks like a pretty good fit. Check pictures of other Mustangs and you will see most bumpers stick out past the 1/4 panel. I think reproduction bumpers in paticular fit like this.

 

[Hack]

+1 unfortunately that's the way they were originally designed to fit. One of the mods that Chip Foose and many other customizers do is to cut the bumpers and make them fit the body much better. Most 60s and 70s American cars have lousy bumper fit like that.

 

[Rick Brown]

yea,I agree on the fit But,ya got what ya got unfortunately.But when you get the paint on, it won't be near as noticeable. Good Luck Rick

 

[other_shoe]

Totally frustrating and totally common.

It will look better with paint. And from a distance.

The tolerance for gaps listed in the old mustang shop manuals is surprisingly high compared to a modern car.

With mine the key was getting balance on both sides and getting the pitch of the bumper correct. Don't laugh, but the bright shiny letters and new tail light bezels and possibly exhaust tips will really help.

So does driving it.

 

[moonraker]

Thank you all for your replies. It's quite upsetting - the bumper looks like it's from another model or year. I was ready to cut the bumper to make it fit better but it turns out that to re-chrome it in Russia would cost me about 2 grand and take 4-5 months! It's insane! Can you give me a ballpark figure if I do re-chrome in USA?

 

[zookeeper]

I don't agree with the previous posts, before I took my fastback apart, it fit fairly well. I'd suspect the end caps may be the issue. I have my original bumper and a Nordan-brand bumper I got from NPD and they are nearly identical in fit, so I think anything Year One would have would be the same, since they have a good reputation. The gap between the top of the bumper end and the bottom of the end cap should be very close on an original, maybe a bit bigger than the door gap. The Shelby end caps are a different story, and they had a gap about the same as yours. I cannot even imagine what it must be like to get parts in Russia, but if it were me, I'd look for original Ford caps, and I'll bet they fit better. As for getting the bumper rechromed if you decide to go that route, I'd expect to spend between $300 to $500 to get a nice job done. But first I'd try ebay or maybe one of our members here and see if someone could help you out. If I still had my original caps, you'd be welcome to them, but they went on ebay many moons ago.

 

[BarnStang]

Were the quarter panels replaced? Check the fit of the rear lower valance. It should match up on each side pretty good. If the valance is wider than the qtr pnls where that valance fits, then the shop got your qtr pnls on too close together. Ask me how I know...if it fits perfectly, then I think you may have to live with it. It does look a little much to me. Is there that much gap equally on both sides?
A good body shop could compensate for a little of that, but you are not going to get even half that gap cloesed with body work or it will start to look funny. Check the valance and post back.