I’d be intrigued to hear how folks have fitted the trim to the bumpers. It turns out that my body has bumpers that are a different shape to an original, and the trim supplied has a sharper bend at the ends, so I’ve been trying to bend them into shape in the vice.
What a pain it is! If anyone had any tips, please share! Photos show the discrepancy plus the jig I’ve made up to try and get the right profile.
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What kind of car do you have? I know the Beck bumpers were different from the originals. Also, make sure you front and rear aren't swapped.
The front and back are very different - front is longer. It’s from a new supplier - Sebring in the UK. The angle at the ends are much sharper, not such a smooth curve as the bumpers.
I’ve bent the aluminium trim and going backwards and forwards. I’ve fitted it now but there’s a big gap behind the top edge and the bumper. These were obviously designed for a real Speedster and my numbers are of a different profile. To make matters worse, the bumper is more rounded vertically as well, and the trim has a flat back. It’s done now but with a big gap so going to take it off (again) and bend it some more before fitting again. What an absolute pain this is. So frustrating 
I think the CMC trim was very soft and malleable - plus the fiberglass bumper not as rounded! Are you not using the backing gasket which would help fill the rounded area?
I wrestle with these Deco trims all the time , usually the outer ends will not bend in enough to contact the FG bumper even using C clamps and the bolts to draw it in. So, pull back the rubber strip and use self tap hex head screws every inch or so and that usually draws it in then if you have a slight gap I use latex flat black caulk and only you will notice it, same goes for any other gaps.
Oh, great…
Now, everyone on here will notice the black silicone caulk I’ve used all over the place on my car.
Why did I use it? Because Merklin does!
(BTW, it works really great for masking things up. Thanks, Al!)
@Gordon Nichols posted:Oh, great…
Now, everyone on here will notice the black silicone caulk I’ve used all over the place on my car.
Why did I use it? Because Merklin does!
(BTW, it works really great for masking things up. Thanks, Al!)
Stay with me for more tips and how to do's !
@SteveMarson posted:I’d be intrigued to hear how folks have fitted the trim to the bumpers. It turns out that my body has bumpers that are a different shape to an original, and the trim supplied has a sharper bend at the ends, so I’ve been trying to bend them into shape in the vice.
What a pain it is! If anyone had any tips, please share! Photos show the discrepancy plus the jig I’ve made up to try and get the right profile.
Hi Steve, my trim and bumpers were the same as yours, so I used thick rubber in a vice to protect the trim, and worked the trim to the shape of the bumpers a bit at a time. But yeah it is a pain to do and the base gasket does cover the small gaps well 😃
@WOLFGANG posted:I think the CMC trim was very soft and malleable - plus the fiberglass bumper not as rounded! Are you not using the backing gasket which would help fill the rounded area?
Yes I’m using the base gasket. The bottom edge is perfect but the top edge has a 3 or 4mm gap. It’ll have to do - I’m considering using an additional rubber strip to insert and hide the gap.
@Alan Merklin posted:I wrestle with these Deco trims all the time , usually the outer ends will not bend in enough to contact the FG bumper even using C clamps and the bolts to draw it in. So, pull back the rubber strip and use self tap hex head screws every inch or so and that usually draws it in then if you have a slight gap I use latex flat black caulk and only you will notice it, same goes for any other gaps.
“Pull back the rubber strip”? You mean the thick central rubber? Is it then difficult to re-insert?
