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Projects Slow and poor '37 Buick

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Stooge, Mar 15, 2018.

  1. Stooge
    Joined: Sep 9, 2015
    Posts: 504

    Stooge
    Member

    Now most of the puzzle pieces are made, I still have to make the side 'profile' corners pieces that the fender mounts to and add the weldnuts to them so theres something to actually bolt to, (i'll also be replacing some of the other threaded inserts with new weldnuts as a few of them are rotted away). Also need to add a bit of shape to the big lower lip section where it meets the side channels, not a lot but just to make it line up nice. i'll pull the trunk lid off this week, brace it all up and start cutting out the old this week and hope it will all fit together

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    if you see on the left side, my measurements where I started to make the curves were off by an inch :confused: There are some old trunk repairs that ive been humming and hawing over, part of me wants to just go replace everything, but they are mostly clean and well done for the period I suspect they were done in, so I think it would be cool to keep them as a little history of the car.......but mostly im lazy and cutting out the trunk will be another can of worms

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    Even had some time to play with the Edsel over the long weekend and start tearing apart the steering and suspension, not many pictures of that since it was pretty grimy and didn't want to keep reaching in my pocket to grab my phone. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting for being off the road since '68, some stuff was stuck pretty good but I remembered to bring home a small 3" cutting wheel to zip some of the bolts off. I need to go through and compare what came with the rebuild kit and what will still need to be bought. Not sure if we will be reusing the springs or getting a new pair, but leaning towards new from Eaton for the price. The 460 big block that's going in and the old E400 that was in there before were roughly the same weight so we don't have to do much figuring out with that, and the shocks reference as being the same for some flavor of tri-five chevy so we should be spoiled for choice of what to use there. Some of his intention is to use the station wagon as a family hauler and as a dog hauler for his dog walking business in the city, so we might do some brake updating and maybe a Scarebird kit while we have it apart for a little piece of mind

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  2. Stooge
    Joined: Sep 9, 2015
    Posts: 504

    Stooge
    Member

    Looks like I have a bit more work ahead of me than I was expecting in the form of some trunk floor/ corners/ inner structure after a somewhat unexpected fight cutting out the old tail panel. Some real shitty old repairs stacked on top of old rotted metal and brazed together made for some irritating surprises. I cant complain too much, it served its purpose and atleast gave me an idea and some measurements to go off of to make the new one. Glad to have it cut out though and that I didn't try and chase my tail on cleaning this up

    First making some side profile/ rear fender mount sections with a threaded inserts for the rear most bolts on the fenders to mount to
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    tacked onto the edges of the new tail panel, ( the inside lip of the panel wasn't trimmed back yet)

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    Started cutting/ started finding surprises

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    Old repairs brazed onto old rotted paper thin metal

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    i'll start cutting out some more trunk floor this week, bolt the fenders back up and use the new threaded inserts/ plate weld nuts to hold the new panel in place and figure out exact placement and make some new pieces to fill in the new voids.

    hard to see, but I hammered/ rolled the edges of the side profile pieces to make it look a little more finished and not have a hard edge where the sides meet back

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    backside of the old tail panel where the old repairs met the original metal.

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    Last edited: Dec 9, 2019
  3. Hnstray
    Joined: Aug 23, 2009
    Posts: 12,355

    Hnstray
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Quincy, IL

    @Stooge .....your metal working skills have long been established here....but I want to compliment you on the attitude you have displayed in accepting these hidden challenges and soldiering on! No trace of self pity :D you just hitch up your britches and keep on fabricating and welding your way to a very nicely done body restoration.

    Ray
     
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  4. @Stooge I did a similar fix to a 37 Chev coupe. We used a EMS tail pan but ended up cutting it in half and spent an unusual amount of time getting the rear to look correct. Takes time and effort all of which you always commit to your projects. It will look great when you get it in primer:)
     
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  5. Rickybop
    Joined: May 23, 2008
    Posts: 9,605

    Rickybop
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Stooge likes this.
  6. Stooge
    Joined: Sep 9, 2015
    Posts: 504

    Stooge
    Member

    Thanks fellas! I knew there was some brazing around the floor where that recessed section in the trunk is, but it looked to be fairly clean so I might have been a little optimistic. When I started making cuts that should have been releasing it and letting it go and I started prying at it a bit more, and I could see into the hidden crevices, it made a bit more sense. I was a little bummed, mostly because I wanted to atleast get something tacked into place over the weekend but no sense in trying to rush it now. really making the pieces for the floor shouldn't be too bad, they don't have to be too aesthetically pleasing since its all just flat areas that are mostly hidden, im just not sure yet how much i'll be cutting out. Im thinking of cutting out just after the recess so I don't have to really deal with the old brazed metal after what a pain it was working around it on the GTO. It will be stored inside, but I'd really like to keep it a driver and take it on some road trips, so maybe i'll try and incorporate some sort of drainage hole to keep water from possibly collecting. @vtwhead I hadn't even really thought about trying to use an aftermarket patch panel, they have been pretty hit or miss, favoring the miss when I have used them before, and figured there was a good chance there would be some aspect of it that would be wrong, and I would be out the money and time rather than just the money. im fine wasting my time, but wasting money always hurts a bit more! ...that and honestly I didn't think it through enough to consider what a big project the tail pan was going to become :rolleyes:

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  7. bhemi
    Joined: Sep 1, 2010
    Posts: 102

    bhemi
    Member

    I am doing a 1937 Buick business coupe. We dipped it and thought it was pretty rust free. The bad spots turned out to be the reinforcements on the lower cowl attaching to the toe boards and the inner rockers. We ended up taking the whole floor out to get better access and to make a new transmission tunnel for the 6 speed
     
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  8. Stooge
    Joined: Sep 9, 2015
    Posts: 504

    Stooge
    Member

    Yeah, I remember your thread either on here or the aaca I think. Didn't you swap frames as well? Should be a cool car!

    Decided to just go ahead and cut out the end of the trunk floor rather than dick around trying to patch it here and there, and after seeing it cut out, it was a mess and this will just be easier. I'll probably try and make it a similar shape though im not so sure of the reason for the recess in the middle. Spent some time lining up the fenders, and used the new threaded inserts/ weld nut plates to hold the new pan in place. Lined up pretty well with the fender, but I ended up moving the threaded holes out a little bit to pull the pan in and give me a little more window of adjustment for when theres fillers, primers and paint on there. Then when I was happy with that, slowly started trimming back the opening to get the trunk lid to line up with the opening. theres still a bit of a crown I need to add to the center of the pan to line up with the trunk, and the opening will get trimmed a bit more when the bottom trunk channel is in place. Still a lot of work to do, but nice to see the trunk basically closed with the fenders on and nice new clean metal instead of rotted old junk.

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  9. DIYGUY
    Joined: Sep 8, 2015
    Posts: 883

    DIYGUY
    Member
    from West, TX

    You made the right call. Looking good.
     
  10. bhemi
    Joined: Sep 1, 2010
    Posts: 102

    bhemi
    Member

    Yes. I got an Art Morrison frame. My thread got a little too "resto-mod for HAMB so they deleted it. I went 4 link and IFS with a T56 magnum (try fitting that to a 64 nail head) I should be in paint by June. Love your thread. My tail pan was also gone when I got the car and a decent repop of unknown vintage/origin came in the car.
     
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  11. Stooge
    Joined: Sep 9, 2015
    Posts: 504

    Stooge
    Member

    A bit of a lazy weekend since I have the week off and figured I would be at my shop enough, but got a few steps closer to everything fitting right and started planning out how i'll do the trunk floor/ recess. While im in the trunk, I think im also going to make a battery tray/ box somewhere back here rather than under the passenger seat and recessed in the floor just to make it more accessible, I just want to track down an old 6v battery to use to figure out a position for it. Probably just on the trunk floor somewhere, maybe flush with the trunk tray that stores the spare tire so it doesn't look too out of place.

    Some more trimming on the opening of the tail panel, a little shape added to match the trunk lid and got the lower channel tacked in place. Lines up pretty good, with some room left for adjustment afterwards. The blue dykem spray and the overhang of the channel makes it look dented in but it will look fine when its trimmed back and sanded.

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  12. Hnstray
    Joined: Aug 23, 2009
    Posts: 12,355

    Hnstray
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Quincy, IL

    Ho hum.........just another update on excellent workmanship and determination......what else is new?

    MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and your Family, Stooge.......:D

    Ray
     
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  13. Stooge
    Joined: Sep 9, 2015
    Posts: 504

    Stooge
    Member

    Hey thanks Ray! you as well

    Its nice to see it looking like something and to see the trunk lid closing and lining up as it should, and especially nice to think, (outside of a new sill for the driver side door) this is basically the last big project before I can start bodywork I think. I have a pretty good idea what im doing for the end of the trunk floor, and I want to make the cut outs for the bumper brackets have a finished look so im thinking of folding the edges over, either onto the trunk floor section that will butt up against the tail pan, (kind of crimping them together) or just over onto itself on the backside so its not just a straight cut out edge. I think next is to pull the front sheet metal off so I can do the repair rockers that are covered by the front fenders and modify the front engine mount ears to fit the earlier frame. I lucked out and found a couple of the stock mounts with some pretty decrepit rubber in my pile of stuff but atleast i'll have a better idea what im looking for as far as fitment without having to cough up the $100 or so for new re-vulcanized mounts just yet.
    Still need to track down clutch stuff and another set of drag link cups, springs and set screw to complete the steering.
     
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  14. bhemi
    Joined: Sep 1, 2010
    Posts: 102

    bhemi
    Member

    We found '55-'57 Chevy Urethane bushings were a good substitute. Summit carries the Energy Suspension ones and the stock Danchuk replacements as well. $75 - $100
     
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  15. Stooge
    Joined: Sep 9, 2015
    Posts: 504

    Stooge
    Member

    Good idea, i guess where im making the new mounting area i can kind of do whatever. I used some non specific body mount bushings from energy suspension for isolators on the raised bed floor to clear the air suspension on my off topic truck, but hadnt really thought about them for engine mounts. I really just need a specific height donut after all, and i still need to get the specific transmission mounts so if i can save some money, it works for me
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  16. Stooge
    Joined: Sep 9, 2015
    Posts: 504

    Stooge
    Member

    Spent some time starting the new trunk floor edge section. I wasnt so worried about it matching the stock one exactly, i just didnt want it to look blaringly obvious that it wasnt what is supposed to be there. I had a sort of plan, and im sure there would have been a better way to do it, or if i had a radius brake. Still needs to be trimmed, some side pieces to make it a bit more rigid, and fully welded but its enough to get an idea

    52" long, marked out and a "flap" cut out. Infront of the flap gets folded down, i used a steel rod to bend it as i wanted to keep the transitions and edges curved like as if it was stamped
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    Rounded 1 side of the new recessed piece over a T dolly

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    Front section rough cut out

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    And a few more cuts and tacks and cleaned up a bit. To get the back "flap" section to fit nice and tight, i cleco'd the curved edge of the recessed piece to the back section and cut along the edge with an air saw, tacking the new edges together as i went. When i rolled the edges of the recess piece, it wasnt a uniform straight edge anymore so this just ensured a mated edge.

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    Still rough, i need to trim it back to fit around a few areas where it will get welded to the old floor, bumper bracket holes need to be cut, fully welded, etc
     
  17. Stooge
    Joined: Sep 9, 2015
    Posts: 504

    Stooge
    Member

    Took a few weekends off the buick to futz around with some other cars, but spent some time over the weekend trimming and fitting the end of the trunk floor. I was really expecting to have to take a lot off, but was pretty close when i put the outer panel over it, but i trimmed it back to let the outer sit just below flush of the fenders so it will allow for adjustment with the fender itself, and body work as the fenders already had a skim coat of filler it looks like, and a few coats of primer.

    i think most of these were taken before i trimmed the back of the inner panel to take it in since the outer skin is sticking out passed the rear fenders, they are now slightly below flush. I cut an undersized opening in the inner panel for the rear bumper brackets, but there is a factory grommet on the outside that I'd like to buy first so i can cut the outer opening to fit the grommet.

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    Also, picked up a cowl vent that i saw pop up, probably not the most pressing thing I needed to buy, but with so much of this car missing, I need to grab stuff when it comes up. i had already had a vent cowl, but in the history of the car being parted out, someone probably offered him $5 for the bracket off of the vent because i was missing the main bracket.

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    i did still have the original knob and some of the linkage. Planning on reusing the original dash knobs where i can. The lower under dash knob that controls the vent looks a lot worse in the picture and is actually pretty smooth and not crunchy.

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    And im trying to put together a clutch for this thing. i have the rear flywheel for the back of the 320 straight 8, the bellhousing, and transmission and pedals that hang off the side of the transmission. I missed out on a take off one a few weeks ago when it got a little too spendy, but i did manage to find a rebuilt 11" disk to atleast fit the spline and start collecting parts. i can buy the throwout bearing new, but im trying to find an off the shelf pressure plate that will work. Supposedly for the smaller engines, mid '90s jeep stuff works, but not for the bigger ones. So far, fullsize 70's ford stuff and early 80s jeep v8 that used an 11" pressure plate are looking the most promising.

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    And while I was working on another car, I also tore apart the front end of the '58 Edsel wagon. Bought the rebuild stuff from Kanter's and with the exception of the sway bar links, it all looks like it should work. I was really expecting something to not be right just because of what the car is and how uncommon they are. We were thinking of going disc up front because its getting a 460 big block ford, but he wants to use the stock wheels, caps and he has new tires on them, but they are only a 14" wheel which wont fit any of the kits in the budget, so just rebuild the drums. The stock drums were pretty crumbly, but most of it wasn't in bad shape for being off the road since 1968

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  18. bhemi
    Joined: Sep 1, 2010
    Posts: 102

    bhemi
    Member

    Check out Bob's Automobilia he has the knobs pretty reasonably priced. https://bobsautomobilia.com/
     
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  19. Stooge
    Joined: Sep 9, 2015
    Posts: 504

    Stooge
    Member

    Finally stopped dragging my feet, made a few little tweaks and got the fitment of the new tail pan where I was happy with it and started burning it in. The outside edges still need to be welded up, but im going to do that as part of some small repairs/ cleanups to the wheel tubs, and I cut out the tacked in lower trunk channel to accommodate the changes so the inner area looks a little messy here, but it will get cleaned up. also started cutting out the old rotten channel and test fitting the new ones I made.

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    Nice to have it look a little normal again

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    Since I was pulling the rear fenders off to finish welding up the tail pan, I figured I should probably, finally blow the rest of the body apart Saturday. I have a bit of a plan to have it in paint this summer, though I originally had plans for paint this spring, but I underestimated the trunk project and its just a little easy to get a little lazy in the winter months here

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    I already knew that the bottom cowl areas were going to need work, but the fenders were obstructing them and the driver side had a rough patch screwed in place over it, so I couldn't see it much. Driver side is obviously looking a little worse and I'm probably going to make one big piece that includes so of the door sill/ corner, but I think with all of the brazing on the passenger side, its going to be a bigger pain since the other side was just left alone but covered.

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    before I started pulling anything off, I was a little worried about the condition of the frame since it looked pretty crusty and a little rough, and that I would have to have it sandblasted, and have some repairs to it. Hit it with a wire wheel on the crossmember just out of curiosity, looked promising, and spent maybe an hour or so going over it and Im astonished how well and easy its cleaning up, so I think, wire wheel, some air sanders, etc, I should be all right when I pull the body off in the next few weeks and can get to the rest of the frame.


    Also have to say that im pretty impressed/ more surprises how good of condition the inner areas of the front sheet metal is
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    Last edited: Feb 24, 2020
  20. bhemi
    Joined: Sep 1, 2010
    Posts: 102

    bhemi
    Member

    If you're missing the center nose emblem i actually had them reproduced. Not cheap but I know they used mine as a pattern and did a batch of a dozen or so. PM me for the guys details if yours is toast.
     

    Attached Files:

  21. Hnstray
    Joined: Aug 23, 2009
    Posts: 12,355

    Hnstray
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Quincy, IL

    @bhemi WOW....that is beautifully done!!

    Ray
     
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  22. Stooge
    Joined: Sep 9, 2015
    Posts: 504

    Stooge
    Member

    That did come out beautifully! Really well done. I know where mine is, but its been tucked away for safe keeping in an envelope with the fisher tags since I bought the car, though I forgot exactly how it looks condition wise. There's some other pressing things I need in the short term and a fair bit of money to be spent for this so i'll probably hold off on some of the shiny bits for the time being, thanks for looking out though!

    still on the lookout for;
    -a correct yr front engine mount plate since my engine is a '47 that used an engine cradle/ crossmember mount before I start cutting my '47 mount up to fit the '37 frame. this could happen sooner than later while the front is off the car and I'd like to test fit the engine to figure out a throttle assembly/ pedal.
    - clutch fork, I think I've found an off the shelf pressure plate im going to test out, but I haven't run across the bent fork with a through hole for the pedal side, but theres a good chance I'll just modify one
    -Radiator, though I get nervous about cooling systems so I'll probably buy new, leaning towards a Walker brand.
    -Bumpers, I have the stock ones but they are completely trashed and are going to cost to get up to snuff. a buddy who's in the refinishing/ paint/ powdercoat industry said count on a grand a piece to get them shiny again, so I've been keeping my eyes open for used similar yr/ non descript ones in driver condition, or aftermarket ones from chevsofthe40s, and the like to find one that doesn't look out of place

    obviously theres plenty of other stuff, but those are what are at the front of the line currently
     
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  23. patmanta
    Joined: May 10, 2011
    Posts: 3,872

    patmanta
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Woburn, MA
    1. MASSACHUSETTS HAMB

    You could get some Stainless or even just DOM tubing and bend up some bumpers of your own. Paint, polish, or coat whatever you like and end up with a nice minimal bumper setup.
     
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  24. Stooge
    Joined: Sep 9, 2015
    Posts: 504

    Stooge
    Member

    I sort of thought of trying to make a bumper awhile back, but it definitely seems like someplace I would have a hard time being happy with a finished product and would take a lot of time and work to get to that point. Bumpers have been in the budget for some amount, but 2grand is a little steep for this modest project. So far the front runners are the Chevsofthe40s chrome '37 chevy car bumpers https://www.chevsofthe40s.com/detail/6439/Chevrolet_Bumper_Master_Chrome_Front_Or_Rear.html
    or the Desoto copies from Briz but probably in a 3 rib since it looks a little less busy https://www.chevsofthe40s.com/detail/19837/Bumper_Briz_Alloy_Narrow_3_Rib.html While most of this car is being done by hand on a budget, i'll spend a few bucks on making it look nice and shiny if I can
     
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  25. Hnstray
    Joined: Aug 23, 2009
    Posts: 12,355

    Hnstray
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Quincy, IL

    @Stooge the ‘37 Chevy bumper is one style I was inclined to recommend......but you are already on it!

    Ray
     
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  26. Stooge
    Joined: Sep 9, 2015
    Posts: 504

    Stooge
    Member

    For $100 more a piece, they have a polished stainless one with studs welded to the backside as not to have bolt holes, like the stock buick one. I like it better without the bolt holes, and can probably pretty easily convince myself to spend the extra, especially since I'd still be in the black compared to getting the stock ones refinished and chromed. Also figuring out some adapter to the brackets I already have seems like it would be pretty easy https://www.chevsofthe40s.com/detail/9048/Chevrolet_Bumper_Front_Or_Rear_Master_Deluxe_Polished.html

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  27. Hnstray
    Joined: Aug 23, 2009
    Posts: 12,355

    Hnstray
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Quincy, IL

    I agree the stainless is worth the extra $$.

    Ray
     
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  28. bhemi
    Joined: Sep 1, 2010
    Posts: 102

    bhemi
    Member

    I am keeping my stock bumpers I think. Just working out how to bring them in a little as the brackets are ugly and they stick out a ton to clear the nose.
     
  29. Stooge
    Joined: Sep 9, 2015
    Posts: 504

    Stooge
    Member

    I like the stock bumpers, even the little spears/ decorative pieces, but I think a nice smooth simple one will work well with the overall look im imagining. I was thinking of sucking the bumpers in as well, did it on my last project but was a truck and was too easy. The rear ones seems like a piece of cake, though I don't know how your new frame is shaped, but either way, theres only so much room to play in between the bumper and the grille up front. I'd be interested in seeing how a very subtle bend in the middle to sort of V it and theoretically kick in the sides closer to the fenders but still clear the nose. it could look like ass or cool. maybe a split bumper/ bumperettes on either side of the nose? gut instinct says it would look off, but ive been surprised before
     
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  30. bhemi
    Joined: Sep 1, 2010
    Posts: 102

    bhemi
    Member

    I thought split bumpers might look cool too. Something more substantial than Nerf bars but just far enough out to protect the very fragile grill a bit. I have seen no bumpers but I plan on driving mine a lot.
     
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