Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step

[Elliot949]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

The chrome shop I plan to use is Sioux Plating in Sioux City, NE. I'm going to take the parts there and then go get them when they're done. That being the case, I'd like to go ahead and narrow the rear bumper so I can take both pieces at the same time. I figure a couple of weeks or so to get the front and the rear ready. I took the day off today to go to Sedalia so my dad could visit friends and family. Plus, his little dog needed his booster shots so we went to the vet he sees there in town. Back in the saddle tomorrow.

Ok... I thought you were using a place there in KC...

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Elliot949

Ok... I thought you were using a place there in KC...

At the rate I'm going, Dan, I won't be using anyone for chrome. I haven't been posting much because this has turned into more of a bucket of worms than I'd planned. Chip asked about how much the bumper bolt welding had sucked in, and I said none. Should've said "none so far". After taking the day off on Wednesday, I jumped back on the welding Thursday and flat went too fast. By the time I finished, there were peaks and valleys all over. Before I started this, I researched the cost and availability of silicon bronze wire for the MIG. I probably should have gone that route since I had a lot of weld to lay down. The TIG is just too hot unless you do little bitty stretches and let the material cool thoroughly. I have no one to blame since I know better.

Upshot of all this is that I've spent a bunch of time with the press and hammer and dolly. It's fairly straight but will never be good enough for chrome. I'm now deciding whether to use chrome wrap, hydro-graphics or a high end spray chrome like Spectra Chrome. All of these approaches will allow me to use filler and primer to repair the ugliness.

Meanwhile, the hits just kept coming. After a crap ton of dolly work, grinding and filing, the bumper no longer fit the valance correctly. The first problem was that the ends had moved forward to the point where it was worse than when I started. So I pie cut the center of the top and pulled the ends together to give it more peak. This worked great, but the next issue was that the ends had also lifted up, so the center of the bumper was flat against the valance and the ends were about 5/8" up on each side. You can see in the last photo in this sequence that the center of the bumper is drooping and doesn't follow the grille line above it.

[Vic1947]

To correct this, I pie cut the license plate mounting area and again used the come along to draw the gap together. I've got it tacked and it's pretty close but I may widen the slice a little more tomorrow and draw it a tiny bit more. The vertical gap measures 3/8" in the middle and 1/2" at the ends. At this point, might as well make it as close as possible. However, it's time to go watch the Chiefs/Steelers pregame.