Paint and Body Gt Bumper Damage

sav22rem22 · Mar 31, 2021

Hello all. So to start out I’ve had my car since November of 2019. I’ve never liked the way my front bumper fit. According to the car fax the car has been in two minor accidents and it appears to all be in the front end. The bumper is missing all of the rivets that I can see from the top (not sure about the rivets below the headlights) I can fit my hand flat under the headlight to bumper gap on both sides and same with the bumper to hood gap. The bumper actually lines up incredibly well on the passenger but the drivers side doesn’t line up well around the fender spats. The bumper sticks out about an 1/8th of an inch too far. I’ll get some pictures tomorrow for examples but either way onto my next point

The bumper also has damage where the GT mouth opens. The little fin looking things on the sides of the opening are busted. Yesterday I was putting the car onto ramps to adjust a hose clamp and one of the blocks I was using to get the car more clearance slipped and i busted my fog light hole and bent my fog light bracket. Once again I’ll get pictures of this tomorrow.

So my question to you all is do you think it’s worth it to get the bumper I have now fixed (can’t tell if it’s OEM but I don’t think it is, doesn’t feel very nice) or should I go with a bumper cover from LMR? Sourcing a mint OEM Gt bumper would be nice but also sounds difficult and unfortunately out of my budget. Whatever I do I’ll have to get a new fog light bracket

sav22rem22 · Mar 31, 2021

I went out and got some pictures. The only reason the hood is a different color is because I traded my badly painted cervinis for a stock oem hood because I like the way they look and fit better. I didn’t get any pictures of the rivets missing but you guys get the idea. Anywhere there would be a visible rivet to the bumper to the header panel there simply aren’t. I have no idea why that is and it’s been like that since I got the car. So what are your all’s thoughts and ideas on it? Also about to have to a door hinge pin and bushing job. Fun

General karthief · Mar 31, 2021

That looks totally fixable, with the rivets gone you maybe ahead of the game, i say that is because I would have to take the bumper off to inspect for damage behind it, there is some adjustment to it, again depends on the damage, if any behind it.
What does @Davedacarpainter say? (one of our resident panel beaters, he says whit his best 'down under accent')

90sickfox · Apr 1, 2021

If the plastic is yellow then it's urethane and a factory type bumper. If the plastic is black then it's a repro. If repro just buy another bumper and have it painted and put on. The rivets being gone may be half the battle.

If the bumper is yellow it can be repaired with hot staples and 3m4747 panel adhesive.

If at all possible try to locate a good used factory ( yellow plastic bumper ). They are getting very hard to find in decent shape. As long as it doesn't have major damage or multiple layers of paint it'll work out better than a repro.

sav22rem22 · Apr 1, 2021

90sickfox said:
If the plastic is yellow then it's urethane and a factory type bumper. If the plastic is black then it's a repro. If repro just buy another bumper and have it painted and put on. The rivets being gone may be half the battle.

If the bumper is yellow it can be repaired with hot staples and 3m4747 panel adhesive.

If at all possible try to locate a good used factory ( yellow plastic bumper ). They are getting very hard to find in decent shape. As long as it doesn't have major damage or multiple layers of paint it'll work out better than a repro.

I do believe it’s yellow. I’ll have to double check but when I was under it was all yellow on the back. That’s a little upsetting that I cracked an OEM one and even more upsetting the bad job the previous owner did with the bumper. Anyway I think I’m going to try and save it which is kinda scary but I’ve always wanted to learn basic body work so here goes nothing lol

sav22rem22 · Apr 1, 2021

General karthief said:
That looks totally fixable, with the rivets gone you maybe ahead of the game, i say that is because I would have to take the bumper off to inspect for damage behind it, there is some adjustment to it, again depends on the damage, if any behind it.
What does @Davedacarpainter say? (one of our resident panel beaters, he says whit his best 'down under accent')

It didn’t look bad on the back side. The only damage was the pictures fog light hole and the little fin in the mouth also pictured. Other than that one screw on the bottom that goes into the fog light bracket broke some plastic off the bumper but that’s it. Other than that it’s just poor fitment.

90sickfox · Apr 1, 2021

The fit is all adjustable. The OEM bumper isn't hard to fix as long as you have the right stuff. The 3m4747 tube and applicator is a little pricey but worth every penny. That stuff completely bonds that yellow factory plastic. I glued a bumper together with that stuff without any hot staples and it didn't crack again.

Gotta be clean and sanded with 80 grit.

This is on my bucket list. Melts into the plastic so this and adhesive won't come loose. We used them at work.

nickyb · Apr 1, 2021

I might need to look into some of that adhisive.

sav22rem22 · Apr 2, 2021

90sickfox said:
The fit is all adjustable. The OEM bumper isn't hard to fix as long as you have the right stuff. The 3m4747 tube and applicator is a little pricey but worth every penny. That stuff completely bonds that yellow factory plastic. I glued a bumper together with that stuff without any hot staples and it didn't crack again.

Gotta be clean and sanded with 80 grit.

This is on my bucket list. Melts into the plastic so this and adhesive won't come loose. We used them at work.

I appreciate all the links I’ll have to look into this. Since my rivets are already gone I could probably have my bumper off in 10 minutes and start prepping

HemiRick · Apr 2, 2021

So you saying the 3M 05895 Bumper repair stuff doesn't work? I'm asking because I have some of this. But if I need the 4747 I'll get it.

90sickfox · Apr 2, 2021

HemiRick said:
So you saying the 3M 05895 Bumper repair stuff doesn't work? I'm asking because I have some of this. But if I need the 4747 I'll get it.

I've only used cheap two part epoxy ( didn't work well ), 3m 04747 urethane epoxy, and 3m 08115 PBA. The 04747 allowed me to make repairs to several original fox bumpers. In my accident the 04747 failed at the black plastic of the cobra lower but I had to grind it off the yellow urethane oem bumper. ( kinda just made it flat for the 08115 to bond to on version 2 )That stuff fuses to it and is impossible to separate. The 08115 works well but doesn't work as well as 04747 for the oem.

With that said, my rear wing is held on by several spots of the 08115. They use it to bond roofs on newer cars with no welding. The 04747 just reacts to urethane...its what it was made for. To be honest I haven't found anything that likes to stick to aftermarket black bumpers. I had to sand the hell out of it with 40 grit to bond the cobra lower. The 8115 failed on my bumper corner repair. It was reinforced with fiber mesh. Separated from the plastic in a big sheet.

08115 has a lot of fluidity and is hard to use vertically. 04747 has a very short working time. Like 5 minutes but once it cures it isn't coming off. Wrong stuff to try to bond a whole lower bumper but perfect for cracks and filling deep gouges. I had an oem bumper that had a hole in the corner of it about the size of a quarter. I put tape behind it, sanded it, and patched it with the 04747.

I'm not saying not to use what you have. Most aftermarket bumpers are polypropylene, a bunch of oem bumpers are polyurethane and also black. The stuff you have may work better for what you need.

Mr.bodykit.com sells urethane replacement fox bumpers made from original Ford tooling.

1979-1993 Mustang OEM Bumpers - Primed Urethane (LX & GT) : MrBodykit.com, The Most Diverse Mustang Bodykits and Mustang Aftermarket Parts on the Planet

MrBodykit.com : 1979-1993 Mustang OEM Bumpers - Primed Urethane (LX & GT) - Mustang BodyKits & Bumpers Mustang Lights Mustang Wings & Spoilers Mustang Vertical Door Kits Mustang Hoods Mustang Scoops & Louvers Mustang Engine Parts Mustang Fenders Mustang Grilles & Billet Grilles Mustang Wheels &...

www.mrbodykit.com

Paint and Body Gt Bumper Damage

sav22rem22

sav22rem22

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

90sickfox

Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

sav22rem22

sav22rem22

90sickfox

Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

nickyb

I gotta say i never painted my nuts, Never Ever

Attachments

sav22rem22

HemiRick

I'd be looking at jacking under the house

90sickfox

Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

1979-1993 Mustang OEM Bumpers - Primed Urethane (LX & GT) : MrBodykit.com, The Most Diverse Mustang Bodykits and Mustang Aftermarket Parts on the Planet

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Paint and Body Gt Bumper Damage

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

I gotta say i never painted my nuts, Never Ever

Attachments

I'd be looking at jacking under the house

Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

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