[Gator67]

Does the inner bumper impact absorber (or whatever it's called) help the front bumper retain its shape, or is it there simply to absorb impacts (or meet impact requirements)?

[78w72]

It does help retain the shape somewhat but these bumpers can still sag in the flat area below the headlights... on my 81 I put a length of thin plate aluminum in that area to keep it supported & not sag, has worked great & retained its shape after 15+ years. should be other ways to help support that or other areas like styrofoam if needed.

[Gator67]

Thanks. I asked because when we installed the bumper fascia on our '79 we forgot about the impact absorber and because it looked so good, we considered leaving it that way. We decided to install it. It took a while to line everything up because there are areas where the fascia fits pretty tight over the impact absorber (the egg crate version) which makes it difficult to secure fascia to the fenders without leaving a gap.

[nUcLeArEnVoY]

Are you talking about the dense foam cushion absorber?

Those pieces are single handedly responsible for bumper cover warpage. Ever seen a 1979 car with the notorious grille opening warpage? That's because the foam cushion beneath the bumper is warped, causing the bumper to appear misshapen. If the cushion absorber is warped, the bumper cover itself follows suit and there's no way to fix it unless you replace the cushion itself. The actual urethane bumper covers themselves are actually pretty sturdy and are very easy to heat back into their original shape even after all these years, but like I said, if that cushion absorber is out of shape, the bumper cover won't ever appear straight.

In late 1979, they replaced the dense foam cushion absorber with a flexible plastic eggcrate design that isn't as prone to warpage.

Pictured below is the 1979 early style foam cushion absorber which they also used in 1977 and 1978... maybe for 1976, too, but I'm not sure:

*Note the warpage on the top part of the driver's side ^^^ That warpage is going to make the bumper itself appear warped, too.

Here is the late 1979-1981 improved version bolted to the impact brace:


For awhile, OER reproduced a solid fiberglass version of these absorbers that does not warp at all and you can still find it at most retailer outlets, but it has been on backorder for years now.

[78w72]

Originally Posted by Gator67

Thanks. I asked because when we installed the bumper fascia on our '79 we forgot about the impact absorber and because it looked so good, we considered leaving it that way. We decided to install it. It took a while to line everything up because there are areas where the fascia fits pretty tight over the impact absorber (the egg crate version) which makes it difficult to secure fascia to the fenders without leaving a gap.

Originally Posted by nUcLeArEnVoY

Are you talking about the dense foam cushion absorber?

Those pieces are single handedly responsible for bumper cover warpage. Ever seen a 1979 car with the notorious grille opening warpage? That's because the foam cushion beneath the bumper is warped, causing the bumper to appear misshapen. If the cushion absorber is warped, the bumper cover itself follows suit and there's no way to fix it unless you replace the cushion itself. The actual urethane bumper covers themselves are actually pretty sturdy and are very easy to heat back into their original shape even after all these years, but like I said, if that cushion absorber is out of shape, the bumper cover won't ever appear straight.

In late 1979, they replaced the dense foam cushion absorber with a flexible plastic eggcrate design that isn't as prone to warpage.

Pictured below is the 1979 early style foam cushion absorber which they also used in 1977 and 1978... maybe for 1976, too, but I'm not sure:

*Note the warpage on the top part of the driver's side ^^^ That warpage is going to make the bumper itself appear warped, too.

Here is the late 1979-1981 improved version bolted to the impact brace:


For awhile, OER reproduced a solid fiberglass version of these absorbers that does not warp at all and you can still find it at most retailer outlets, but it has been on backorder for years now.

The egg crate absorbers can have warping issues too, my 81 TA nose had some slight warping in the area of the skin above the grille openings, it lived most it's life in southern arizona so the heat/sun could have contributed to it.

When I repainted the car I removed the nose skin and saw an easy way to fix or greatly improve the sagging in that area by gluing in a flat piece of aluminum plate to the nose skin the width/length of that area, anything will work like thin piece of plastic but the aluminum was more rigid and worked great to support that area, it also fills the gap between nose skin & absorber in that area to help or prevent any sagging. Been 10+ years since doing that and its still holding its shape nice.

[nUcLeArEnVoY]

Originally Posted by 78w72

The egg crate absorbers can have warping issues too, my 81 TA nose had some slight warping in the area of the skin above the grille openings, it lived most it's life in southern arizona so the heat/sun could have contributed to it.

When I repainted the car I removed the nose skin and saw an easy way to fix or greatly improve the sagging in that area by gluing in a flat piece of aluminum plate to the nose skin the width/length of that area, anything will work like thin piece of plastic but the aluminum was more rigid and worked great to support that area, it also fills the gap between nose skin & absorber in that area to help or prevent any sagging. Been 10+ years since doing that and its still holding its shape nice.

Very neat idea, I may have to look into that! How thick is the aluminum stock you used, and what kind if cement did you use to stick it to the urethane?

[78w72]

Wish I woulda got some pics, but pretty sure it was just thin plate, not like a license plate but not very thick, from memory I'd guess about 1/8-3/16", cut the width/length of that area.

For the glue I used... SEM flexible bonding filler I use for endura noses & honeycomb wheels or other plastic body panels like 78-81 front noses. They dont make the same product anymore called Flexible SEM-weld but its similar to the 3M stuff. Im sure other products would work, just need to clean & scuff the area for the glue to adhere, JB weld or 3M emblem adhesive would work too, I just happened to have the SEM stuff on hand.