So, I'm headed outside to see if I can beat my newly acquired front bumper into a more symmetrical shape. To an untrained eye like my own it looked dinged and scratched up in the pictures, but when I opened up the box I noticed the extra deep bend on the passenger side. Tipped on its front I can fit a finger under the good side and my whole hand under the bad. The body shop I took it to suggested sending it to Keystone in Peoria, Il to have it rechromed and straightened. "It'll look brand new," he said. The thing is, I don't want it to look brand new. My plan was to strip it, address the dings and paint it. My first effort with a vise helped with some of the waviness, but it's so squirrelly that it's difficult to keep in place long enough to apply any real pressure with clamps or hammer. Now I'm thinking two by fours strapped to either side so I can hit it solidly. I want it straight enough to not look stupid on the car. Any advice, or am I better off with another piece, fiberglass or otherwise?
I've had luck straightening bends with a hydraulic press. I did the same thing you are suggesting with the wood. You can bend a little and check, repeat. You won't need the amount of power a press can provide, but it holds the part securely and you have much more control than pounding with a hammer! Also the press doesn't crack and split the chrome like hammering does.
I suggest sending it to some one like keystone and have them straighten it but not chrome it. I have done this in the past and they make it straight enough for chrome and send it back stripped so you don't have to get the old chrome off either.
I agree with Ward - let a pro that has all the tooling fix it for you. My next best suggestion - sell it as a core to someone that wants it chromed and get yourself one of the fiberglass bumpers to paint.
The two by four trick held it in one place, but I made no noticeable headway. Unfortunately, I am pressless, and my only torch is propane. It wasn't a wasted day though. I worked the dents on the rear valance with some success and made some repairs to the snowblower. I called Keystone and they won't just straighten and dechrome. I'll do some research on other places, but right now I'm leaning toward a fiberglass bumper unless I can find a straight, but crappy steel one for a similar price. I'm doing the small bumper swap. My Maverick looks fine, but a perfect, beautiful, and expensive bumper would look out of place on it. I plan on keeping it a 15 footer until I'm ready to stop driving it and parking it in public. Thanks for all the replies.
