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Can someone let me know if there were trans am bumper covers with a shape for a number plate. As you can see from the picture below mine has a strange shape however not sure if it has formed this way by time with the plate holder. I would really like to remove it but I have to find a way how to straighten it up. Perhaps heat gun?
I have straightened some of these covers, it takes a lot of work.
Have to use heat gun but it small stages so you don't overdo it. Then clamping with wooden blocks.
Yours might have been stretched past where you can shrink it back. To fix it you will need to cut out stretched areas and replace with reinforced plastic repair compound.
I use SEM "problem solver" plastic repair compound.
The heat shaping is a lot of work.
Cutting and filling is actually pretty easy if you have the right material.
Making a whole fiberglass bumper is really hard, especially if you aren't set up for fiberglass work already with stuff like vacuum bagging equipment, etc.
Using the plastic filler is kind of like fiberglassing, just using the plastic stuff instead of resin and aluminum mesh instead of glass cloth. Plastic filler is too thick for glass cloth.
Some people use fiberglass and resin instead of the plastic filler. It works, but because the fiberglass resin and plastic have very different thermal properties and flex characteristics cracking results.
Your cover looks pretty straight besides the plate area so I would just cut some slits in the stretched out part and clamp back into place with the plastic repair. Then fill any defects with plastic repair and sand. Remember to use plastic adhesion promoter when you paint.
I'm sure some brand of plastic filler is available by mail order, it's very common these days.
Note sure I understand what you mean by cutting slits on the stretched parts. I might try to clamp down with two pieces of wood back and front and will evaluate if it is over stretched or not. Didn't perform any attempts yet. For sure I will need some kind of plastic filler as there are some dents in the area currently painted grey. Maybe I manage to find some Wurth product.
The best and easiest way is to put a "PONTIAC" tag back on or just get another cover.
My 86 did that same thing,I changed it a while back with a different cover from another TA.
So you didn't manage to fix the bend. Was it a failed attempt or you didn't try the repair? Was thinking of getting two metal pieces to straighten it rather than wooden blocks. These would allow me to blow heat on them while the bumper is clamped.
Body shop said that's not going to be fixed properly, nor is it worth the time and effort. I did have them repaint and fix the other damage to it. I keep this one as a spare.If I have to reuse this one(God forbid) I would just reinstall the License plate brackets and put a "PONTIAC" plate on it(I live in NJ and front license plates are no longer required on historical cars)
The mounting screws for the brackets have pulled the plastic out towards the front. It might be too stretched to just flatten back down. In that case , you have to remove some material.
A relief cut or slit in the raised ridge should allow it to lie flat again.
When using the heat gun you can use metal but you need something with rounded edges.
When you test it, the plastic will get soft and sharp edged will leave a mark.
You have to heat before you clamp and the braces you clamp with have to have a large surface area or they will dig into the plastic. Heating around the braces will form an impression of the brace.
I'm with manta guy, you would probably be better off putting a plate bracket on the front, it doesn't fix the problem with the bumper but it covers it up.
My Front bumper cover on my Trans Am is also warped like yours due to a shitty front plate mount. I am thinking of carving out that section to make a bumper vent zone and forming up some mesh to fill in the cut out area.
For those interested this is how the bumper came out after spraying. It came out extremely good. One big problem though... the eyelet on the top which ensures the bumper sits flush to the fender has came off... this friggin material is sh.1ty. I will now see if I can glue some kind of metal support to the side. Will let you guys know.
Problem is that SEM is not available where I live and no one will post chemicals.
Re the support bar, yes I know about it but that is actually one of the problems. You cannot do a lot of thick stuff behind it for the reinforcement to be able to fit in.
Is there perhaps a JB weld equivalent to it? We do get JB weld here.
Aluminium mesh is also another unknown
I used JB Weld and some aluminum mesh (window screen repair kit) to repair my center pod. It's probably not seeing the stresses the fender will, but if you want to see it...
I finally decied to form a sheet metal bracket. It took me quite a few hours of wood forming but the end rusult is probably stronger thatn it is meant to be from the factory.