Bumper tuck

Ill upload pics asap, but thought id start the topic, over the weekend i decided to go for it and tuck my bumpers, and all i can say is wow, idk why they didnt come from the factory looking like that, well actually i do know why, that darn federal mandate for 5mph bumper absorbers. Anyway it looks really good, i was quite surprised to find that all 4 bumper shocks were still under pressure and not just any pressure, HIGH pressure lol! On two of them i cut the whole back piece off and they both shot off about 20 feet, i learned to face it the opposite way after the first one hit me in the chest lol, anyway i found out i didnt have to do that at all, and when i get a chance ill show with pics. But i just wanted to start the thread and encourage anyone that wants to do it, do it! it looks good.

Before: (i had to find some old pics, i forgot to take pics before i did it)





This is what it looked like when i first bought it:





And now the after:
The front is sitting up high because there is over 100lbs off the front, no cyl heads, intake, battery, etc

















On the bumper filler i had to cut a small notch out in the rear so the rear bumper would fit into it, the front bumper filler, you dont even have to touch.

Now on to the shocks, i took the rear bumper off first and i tried to drill a hole in the back of the shock, that was taking to long so i decided to grind a small slit which was much faster, but in the back of the shock ( ive discovered this is a twin chamber shock the rear part holds all the oil and the front is just loaded with gas) anyway when i cut the back of the shock oil sprayed out for few seconds, but i still couldnt get the shock to retract, it would bounce back to full length, so then i decided to cut the back completely off, and then it finally stayed, but thats when those parts i mentioned earlier flew off and hit me in the chest. Anyway im saying this because on the front, i did it the opposite, i cut a small slit in the front chamber and all the gas came out instead, a little bit of oil came out but not much, i was then able to push it in and it stayed, so all you have to do to make it easy is cut, drill a small hole on the front chamber, the actual part that sticks out from the frame, you dont even have to remove them or the bumpers like i did.






That part with the rod is what shot off when i cut that end off, SO DONT DO IT THESE THINGS ARE STILL UNDER HIGH PRESSURE!!!!!

Looks GREAT Bro!

We used to use a new 1/8" drill bit for each shock. They went through the steel like a hot knife through butter.

Yeah i had brand new titanium bits but they took their time

Oh yea, that looks good!! I like it and the more I see it, the more I'm thinking of doing away with the bumper guards too for that smooth appearance. Probably the only thing I would want to remedy is the space between the rear bumper and quarter and the space between the front bumper and fender not being the same. That would bug me on my car. I'm wondering if it's possible to line the back of the front bumper corners up with the turn signal bezel? I'm thinking if I go that far in, I'd have to do away with the bumper shock and fashion a metal plate to bolt right to the frame to accept the bumper. Wonder if there's enough room? Gives me ideas. The back bumper looks like it could just about meet the line of the parking light filler. How much gap does it leave under the tail light panel between the bumper, is it about the same as the front?

I'm glad you are okay after that thing hitting you. I've had coil springs hit me before and it's not fun.

Nice work nothing like new body parts to brighten the day.

So if I am understanding this right I can just cut a slit and the shocks will slid in? So I don't have to remove the bumpers. What keeps them in place and not sliding back to their original location. I love the way the back looks. I removed my filler piece as it disintegrated. I have racked my brain for many years on what to do back there. This is a great solution.

bj383ss wrote:So if I am understanding this right I can just cut a slit and the shocks will slid in? So I don't have to remove the bumpers. What keeps them in place and not sliding back to their original location. I love the way the back looks. I removed my filler piece as it disintegrated. I have racked my brain for many years on what to do back there. This is a great solution.

I like te way that looks. But I have the same question.. Wont the bumpers just slide back out?

If you pull the bumper hard enough it will slide back out, but they havent moved since ive done it, and ive been driving the car alot lately. If you dont feel sure about it, tac weld a little spot on there, but i can assure you they wont move, with the combination of rust and dirt over the years, it kind of locks them in place when you push them in. Yes all you have to do is cut a slit, or drill a small hole, i used my dremel with a cut off wheel, it cut through very easy . And you dont have to remove anything. Now on my rear bumper i dont have it pushed all the way in, the front is pushed all they way in, but the back didnt look right, so i did it to the raised part of the bumper and it looks good there. When you push it all the way in, the chrome acts like a mirror and you can see under the tail lights, which i didnt care for, unless you took the rear bumper off and painted that small section black, it would probably look ok.

Cool I think I'm going too attempt it this weekend while I finish painting my grill. I don't have a welder so I'll probably just use a pin/screw to hold them in place!. Thanks for the reply!

Definitely looks cleaner.  Pretty sure I'll so this on mine.  Thanks for sharing the info

Can you post a photo looking straight at the rear of the car please?

thanks

Looks good for that setup.

How does the cylinder stay put without the bumper moving out?

Makes it look and be shorter for garage clearance.

Thanks

Hey guys, ill get a pic uploaded as soon as I can, and the cylinders stay decompressed I assume because of the rust and dirt build up and its a pretty tight fit anyway, but I've had it this way going on 3 years now and they haven't moved at all.

Sent from Topic'it App

Here's the pic looking directly at the rear



Sent from Topic'it App