Front bumper problem.

[351c4v71]

The angle of the front bumber on my 71 cuda seemd wrong. The gap between the bumper and the body is fine in the middle, but as you go towards the edges, the gap increases...
Is this the wrong bumber?
Can it be bent to the correct angle without damaging the chrome???
Will post pics to show what I mean.
Thanks for the help.

[72rtchallenger]

definitely looks wrong,,can you show a more frontal picture 

[351c4v71]

OK, here are 2 more pictures.

[72rtchallenger]

well I dont think it can be bent without damage to the chrome ,but unsure., it looks way off from the pictures,,is it the original bumper ? or aftermarket ? may just be a flawed if aftermarket,,I dont know if the brackets holding it can be adjusted or not . have they been removed prior ?maybe there on wrong. by the way that is a beautiful car

[351c4v71]

Bought the car this summer and have no idea where the bumper is from.
I could ask the seller but these cars are so old, it's sometimes hard to get answers on origin of parts.
I don't think that the bracket can fix this.
Sure don,t want to pay 300$ for a new bumper...it's not that apparent until you stand over it and see the gap...

Thanks, I've benn looking for a cuda for years, finally found one in AZ (I'm from Montreal, Canada).
It's a nice driver.

How much to rechrome a bumper if I bend it back into place and it peels.

[LAA66]

 Any stress attaching it to the bumper brackets or while tightening the bolts? You can usually see the chrome finish distort and that is a good indicator of where to go/stop.

[351c4v71]

Well, I didn't install it recently. It was on the car when I bought it this summer.
Should I remove it and reinstall? Could that really change anything?
I wonder if it's not from another car, like a challenger or what not.
I mean, it looks to be put on right, but the curve/bent in it is just not right 

[72rtchallenger]

the brackets may help if you try to readjust,,it wont hurt to try and remove them and try something different,,I think they should be stamped for L left side an R for right side , make sure they haven't been swapped previously and make sure there not upside down as they can be installed wrong,,from the pictures it does look like it is installed right but hard to say for sure,,as far as being off a Challenger I dont think they would even mount close,, but then again I am not that positive

[dutch]

it looks like a cuda bumper to me. I`m not so sure if it is an original mopar part though.  The gap on the corners looks pretty big too.
I would loosen the bolts that mount the bumper to the brackets first. See if there`s any tension on them.  If there is, you`ve got your problem.  If there`s no tension, the bumper took a hit, and sure that bent could be arranged without cracking up the chrome... good chrome is tough!  If it took a hit, I`d try wrenching it into position with the brackets in the correct place.  You can try using a shop press to push the bumper back, but that will probably push the centre top side upwards.

[JayBee]

In 2009 I bought a front bumper at the Nat's. After trying to install it at the hotel's parking lot I found the arc/bend/curve to be way off (like yours). Ended up going through all of his '70 Cuda bumpers until finding one that was correct. Just saying that this does occur.

As for re-chroming price. There's a place in Ontario that wanted $650.00 plus taxes & shipping back in 2009.

[351c4v71]

Jaybee, do you think I can bend it to the correct curve without damaging the chrome as suggested by Dutch?

[JayBee]

that will probably push the centre top side upwards.

351c4v71 - FWIW, I agree with Dutch. Just my opinion since I've never tried to actually bend one.

[AZDAN]

Something seems out of sorts . Looking at the one photo looks like a big gap between the fender and the valance  on the drivers side. Could it be a bumper for 73-74 that uses the filler panel?

[mopardave]

the angle or V of the bumper is wrong.  I do have replacement bars, with good quality chrome for 295.00 + ups if your wanting another.

[351c4v71]

Not familiar at all with this so checked at the bumper support fast last night.
Wondering how the bumper could still be screwed on the supports and look like that!
There are 4 supports and they are well bolted on.
I think I'll need to disassemble to get a clearer idea. Is it complicated? I'm new to "body" work. Can't access those bolts directly is what I noticed!

AZDAN: Looking at the one photo looks like a big gap between the fender and the valance  on the drivers side.
You are right, hadn't noticed this before... Hope it's not hiding to big a problem.

Thanks all for the input so far. I'm still hoping to be able to bend it into place. Trying to save some $ here as I just bought this car this summer.