Making sure there is not easy trick before starting.... Bumper Decos

You putting them on and them taking them off to paint bumpers?  How about double sided 3M sticky tape to position them temporarily?

Locate center across the length and width of the bumper, mark center on the Deco. Align center to center mark on bumper... I don't bolt the Deco to the FG bumper I use 5/16 head  x 5/8" hex head self tap screws. You will have to bend both L & R ends inboard against the bumper and install a couple of extra screws to hold it tightly against the bumper. It's a pita to reinstall the rubber some heat and WD 40 does help.

Thanks Alan. 

My decos dont have the rubber insert and are very rigid. Not much room to play.

Here's a pic on another car.

OK GT Deco's    Just mark center on bumper and start there alternating L and R

Scott:

Did you get those from GT Werks?  As I recall, theirs are about 1/8" thick aluminum.  I traded emails with the proprietor and he could not  tell me how to bend those, especially at the outboard ends. At that point I didn't persue them any further given the cost.

Art

These came from sierra madre. Yep, they are thick. However the bigger issue are the clips. They are awful. They fit very lose. I did some creative edge bending to try and secure them in the channel, but it was still hit and miss. I finally threw in the towel and cheated. I used a more industrial glue gun and put dabs on the clips to hold them until the nuts were secure. Worked like a champ.

Back to bending....

The bumper works as a decent form as you tighten the clips  (which is why those clips were SO frustrating). Getting it all tight gives you your basic shape. From there it is a good hour making very slight adjustments (I literally used my knee for 95%). The stress is knowing if you go to far you will kink the extrusion and have to buy another.

I went all in and wrapped the trim around the ends of the bumpers per the original. This required slicing off a section of the mounting channel which allowed the trim to wrap. It came out ok - but not perfect.

Will paint the bumpers tomorrow, get things mounted up and post a pic.

 Here is a pic of the extrusion.

Wow. As a guy who is rapidly learning how much I still have to learn about forming and bending aluminum, that deco piece looks like a bear. I don't understand why they wouldn't pre-form that to the bumper curve before selling it. 

Only way I could see to maybe make it bend smooth would be annealing—which would make it very risky, at best to use the bumper itself to form it. Best would be to slot in a piece of steel flat bar and heat/bend it using that. What a PITA. Good on you for getting it done cold.

Scarf cut the back side where it needs to bend.

Yeah, I thought it was more of a flat solid (not hollow with high profile) piece. 

Here you go. Rear will go on this weekend.

Nice work !

I have installed these GT trims many times, including a restoration GT.  The way we do them is to first anneal the aluminum which makes for a very tight fit and easy bends.  We actually bolt it not he first time, just as it will be bolted on when completed.  

You run the trim at full length and mark where the end of the bumpers are (on the backside of the trim).  When removed, you mitre cut the back side out of the trim to remove all of the return edge and then wrap what is left 180 degrees around the end of the bumper and bring it back to the last bolt so you can mark your drill hole.  This end bolt both holds the bumper trim in place just as the others do, and also captures the piece that wraps behind the bumper.

As for the bolts, the ones supplied suck, as you noticed.  We make our own out of 6mm weld bolts with the heads of them trimmed down to fit tighter than the factory bolts.  You have to be careful not to make them too big or they won't slide through the bends.

I know you've started your process already, but hope this helps (you or someone in the future trying this).

Scott, that looks really nice.

They look like the fit is perfect. Can’t get any better than that.

DANG! @Scott S you got some mad skilz. That looks awesome! 

Spot on. Looks great.

Rear is done.  Time for a wash and a drive. Wheel refinish and ebrake relocation can wait a bit.

Very nice looking.