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#21
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yes, comes in different widths, i think i used 1/2" or 3/4". clean the inside of the bumper where the tape will sit real good & it should hold the grille down, clean the grille where the tape goes too, i put tape on all 4 sides of the grille for the most part. the tape was so sticky you had to be careful to get the grille all the way in the opening without the tape touching or it would grab anywhere it touched. if it still needs a little fine tuning try a heat gun carefully as mentioned above.
if its still off that bad, it could be the shape of the nose in that area is deformed. with the grille installed as shown in your pic, can you push that raised area down by hand to fit right? if so then the tape should do its job. |
#22
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Quote:
Yes, I can push the lower edge down to make it all even problem is the plastic is really stiff and that 3M tape really needs to be sticky to hold it in place for good. There is such pull back on it from the wide gap it may just pop back up over time IDK. There is thin sticky tape on it already from the mfgr but it's very thin and nowhere near strong enuff to hold anything down. The bottom is the only issue, all other sides are ok. Second set of grilles I got as a replacement are just as bad as the first which leads me to believe the bumper may be the issue but I just can't see that. Setting the grilles on a flat surface they both have an upward curve on the lower edge, not flat straight across whatsoever. Thanx for the help |
#23
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Heat gun the bumper too they often are a lot of the issue.
__________________
Skip Fix 1978 Trans Am original owner 10.99 @ 124 pump gas 455 E heads, NO Bird ever! 1981 Black SE Trans Am stockish 6X 400ci, turbo 301 on a stand 1965 GTO 4 barrel 3 speed project 2004 GTO Pulse Red stock motor computer tune 13.43@103.4 1964 Impala SS 409/470ci 600 HP stroker project 1979 Camaro IAII Edelbrock head 500" 695 HP 10.33@132 3595lbs |
#24
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So am I missing something here? I have 2 sets of original 79 grilles and both sets are rubber. Not plastic. The grilles Ames offers are also rubber but I see these ABS grilles advertised all the time. I figured it was a cost savings thing. Did the later cars come out with plastic grilles? Seems to me the rubber would conform better to mild imperfections.
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[/SIGPIC] Two marriages and one long term relationship later and it's the T/A that's always still there. When referencing gas, "regular" used to have an entirely different meaning. |
#25
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The GM ones I first used are a "rubbery plastic" that got brittle with time and would fall apart.
The newer repop ones are a little more "plasticy"
__________________
Skip Fix 1978 Trans Am original owner 10.99 @ 124 pump gas 455 E heads, NO Bird ever! 1981 Black SE Trans Am stockish 6X 400ci, turbo 301 on a stand 1965 GTO 4 barrel 3 speed project 2004 GTO Pulse Red stock motor computer tune 13.43@103.4 1964 Impala SS 409/470ci 600 HP stroker project 1979 Camaro IAII Edelbrock head 500" 695 HP 10.33@132 3595lbs |
#26
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I see. I haven't ordered any yet, but I do know Ames advertises theirs as being rubber like originals while other suppliers advertise ABS plastic pieces. Being a urethane front bumper supported by a foam filler I'd expect some amount of sag and distortion after 40 plus years. Seems to me the rubber originals would be a little more forgiving than a rigid ABS piece. I guess it all depends on how much you want to spend versus what you can accept when it comes to the fit.
__________________
[/SIGPIC] Two marriages and one long term relationship later and it's the T/A that's always still there. When referencing gas, "regular" used to have an entirely different meaning. |
#27
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the original & repros grilles are more of a flexible plastic as skip stated, they weren't made out of rubber like a tire. & the repros being advertised as ABS arent rigid, they are a very flexible material more like the nose than hard plastic.
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#28
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The repops I got were from OER and they were hard plastic with hardly any give at all.
To get them to fit correctly along the bottom and look ok it took some careful creative bending after using a heat gun. If Ames says the ones they sell are flexible, I sure would like to know who's making them. My bumper was not the issue, it was they lower edge of the grilles that curved upwards too much. |
#29
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I still have the original grilles in my TATA with 57k miles on it. They are most definitely not flat black. I would say they have the same sheen as the windshield and back window trim does from the factory. I removed them to clean them up and they were still held in place by the double sided tape. I used a heat gun to help remove them.
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1970 Trans Am 1971 Trans Am 1974 Trans Am 1978 Y88 Trans Am W72/auto 1979 10th Anniversary Trans Am 1984 Trans Am 1993 Trans Am 1999 30th Anniversary Trans Am 2001 10th anniversary Firehawk #104 2006 GTO |
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