The rear was going to take some modification to fit. I placed it in position and then decided how much I needed to chop out of the center to shorten it to the body dimension. I removed about 3” from the center. I tack welded it together making sure the reflection had continuity so when rechromed, there’s no wave or distortion showing where I made the slices. First up was to mount the license plate light and trunk bezel.
The sides on the 503 bumper are too long and almost touch the wheel openings. I needed to make those shorter but with that comes a problem. Shortening them too much results in too much a difference in material between the end piece and the fatter part by the curve. I needed to find a nice balance between those two parts which also resulted in the bumper not being so long on the quarter panel side. Once I figure that out, time to cut!
I tacked the ends in place and then trimmed the remaining excess to form a smooth transition between each part. I noticed that after placing it against the body after the mods, it was still a tad too wide. I sliced out another 1” in the center and then welded it back up.
PERFECT!!!!! Rear bumper brackets get fabricated tomorrow and then it’ll be onto the exhaust over the weekend. I wanted to get the rear bumper on before I started on the exhaust so I could make sure the tail pipes have proper spacing and clearance.
More to come!!!!
Cheers
Dave