28/29 front bumpers

W

wrndln

Well-known member
I was wondering if anyone has purchased a new front bumper from Little Dearborn in Minneapolis. They have them listed on Ebay all the time. I am concerned if they are made correctly and they are straight across the long part. I had an original pair of front bumper bars rechromed, but they have a substantial bow in them. I have tried to block them up on the ends and jump on them in the middle, but since they are made of spring steel, they mostly return to their original bowed-in shape. I just don't like the looks of a 3/4" to 7/8" bowed in front bumper. If anyone has purchased a LD bumper or has a good method to remove the bow in front bumpers would you please post it here. My front bumper is just fine except for the bow in it.
Rusty Nelson
 
Rusty,
I purchased a "front" bumper from Little Dearborn a couple years ago. I actually used it for the rear bumper on my pickup, but as far as I am concerned, it's perfect. They are great to work with, especially on the shipping to Alaska, which can be a real pain sometimes. Of course, since they are in your neighborhood and you wouldn't have that problem.
 

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Carl,
Are you saying the bars are very straight? Yes, they are about 15 miles north of me. I wish I could find a way to remove the bow from the rechromed bumper I currently have, but so far, no luck.
Rusty Nelson
 
Seems to me when I first got them, they would lay flat on the floor. Of course, the 29 bumper isn't flat anyway with the loopdeloo at each end. If they are only 15 miles away, it certainly would be worth a trip up there just to satisfy your own self.

I'll look at mine tonight when I get home and throw a straight edge on them and see how they faired after installation.
 
Hey Rusty I helped a friend with that problem , ended up one of the bumper brackets was curled just a little different than the other. If you take the bumper off are the bars straight? Good Luck , Gary
 
I just threw a straight edge on mine. The front one -- the one that came on my truck when I bought it, is indeed curved. The rear one that I got from Little Dearborn is also curved, but not as much. About the only way you are going to satisfy yourself on what they have to offer is to see it for yourself, especially since they are practically in your back yard. And like Gary said, the bumper brackets may be causing the curve on mine as well.
 
Gary,
My bumper bars were bowed in before installing them. Both bars are bowed in about the same. One might be a 1/8" more bowed than the other, but they are close to being the same. I have toyed with the idea of putting one bar at a time under the jacked up front tire of my truck and letting the jack down slowly. I would place wood blocks under both ends first. I think if I over bend the bar(s), maybe the bumper bar would return to being pretty straight. I could end messing up the bar, but I think I could control the movement of the jack so it wouldn't ruin it.
Rusty Nelson
 
I agree with Gary in post #5 . If this is the case it will cause the bumper to bow in at the center. If you've got a used bumper that is straight, doesn't matter if its rusty, try bolting it up and see if it bows in at the center when the bumper clamps are tightened. If it does, this will prove what Gary said.
 
Purdy,
Like I mentioned in post #7, they were bowed about the same before I installed the 2 bars on the car. I don't think installing them made any appreciable difference in the amount of the bow.
Rusty Nelson
 
I bought a nice original front 1928-9 bumper at Hershey about 10 years ago. It was bowed in so I put the ends on a couple short 6 x 6's and jumped on the center. I had to remove the end bolts and do one bar at a time, but it worked great.

If I remember right, Marco stated that when the bumper bars are bolted in place the clamps will make the center bow forward just a tad.
 
Tom,
I tried what you said and set the ends on blocks and jumped on the center. I can't remember if I did the bars together of one at a time. I could remove them for the car, separate them and try again. How bowed were yours?
Rusty Nelson
 
I have a similar problem with the front bumper on my '29, except the bars aren't bowed in. When I was a kid, I pushed a '56 Buick and slightly bent the bumper support on one side - which causes the bumper to not be straight/parallel with the front plane of the car. It also bent in slightly the ends (both bars) where the "swoop" is on a '29 bumper. I've tried standing on the thing flat on the floor but need several fat friends or an elephant to hold the center of the bars down while I try to get the end bent back in place. Any suggestions would be appreciated....
 
I had a dumb mate back into my nice original plated front bar .

I had nothing to lose, so I put it in my 6 ton press and got it back out perfect and the chrome did not crack.

I doubt a re chromed bar would not flake .

I just went real steady and the bend came out fine.
 
Rusty, you could take it to a frame shop and see what they could do for you. Be sure to specify you don't want the ends straight!
 
Berts straighten theirs before they are sent out for plating. Maybe call Steve and see if he as any ideas or get a price on some replated ones that are straight and sell your slightly bent bumpers to someone less concerned with perfection. Rod
 
Thanks Rod. I will check with Steve. He has been very helpful in the past. My slightly curved in bumpers (maybe 1/2" at the most) are otherwise nice as far as the finish. I didn't get the bumper from Bert's, as I've had the bumper for many, many years, however I did buy two sets of front and rear bumpers from Steve about 4 or 5 years ago. Maybe I should dig them out and see if they are straight - hope, hope. I kind of thought they might be curved in to, but hopefully not. I could wait until my third car (29 pickup) to worry about straightening the curved in bumper.

Also thanks to Ray, Pooch and Carl for you suggestions.
Rusty Nelson
 
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Rojo,
Since the bumpers are made of spring steel, at least that is what I have been told, you really have to "overbend" the bumpers to try to make them the way you want. I tried jumping on the center of the bumper bars, one at a time, and nothing happened. You might get another bumper bracket for the side that is bent and see how much that helps. I think the brackets are also made of spring steel, so they are hard to re-form. I hope your frame horn isn't bent. I suspect only a big time press would correct the bent end.
Rusty Nelson
 
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