I got the Bel Air out of the garage as normal to work on the truck, and left the door open for some fresh air. While i was working away on the truck I kept looking at the bumper on the Bel Air and thinking how much it bugged me. I didn’t like the gaps between it and the body, the fact it was up on one side where the hanger was bent, and the overrider indentations. Apart from that I loved it!. I hit a bit of a snag with the truck which needed a think, so as I went in to make a cuppa, I decided the time had come for the bumper! With it dropped off and on the floor, I set about breaking off the bolts for the hanger from the wing

They turned out to be rusted solid, and even after letting them soak for an hour, I had to snap them off with a long bar. With it off, I hit the crap out of it in the vice until it was roughly the right shape again. With it back on loosely, I balanced the bumper on a jack and pushed it back as far as I could. With a bit of trimming on the brackets, I got it flush against the frame horns. Happy with it’s new position, I took it back off and trimmed the brackets to go over the massive rivet on the horn, then set about cutting out the dent for the overrider. I kept measuring it and putting a straight edge on it as I did it but it’s got a few low patches in it which I reckon will take quite a bit of work to get out. I’ll have to see if it can be filled with braze or similar before chroming, or buy an anvil! I’ve moved the mounting bolt holes 4cm (just over an inch and a half in old money!) further forward, and I’m happy with how it sits now. Will weld the bolts on and fill up the other holes next week. An enjoyable bit of random work.