[Mr Dave]

Fitting the front bumper on my 70 LeMans with a GTO bumper and fenders. Should the bumper touch the front of the fenders or should there be a gap? I'm thinking about what happens as the temperatures change and the endura expands and contracts. Thanks for the help.

[400 4spd.]

You don't want them to touch. Because the bumper floats in front of the fenders (bolted to your flexing chassis), simply driving your car would cause the painted surfaces to rub.
Here is how I gapped a fellow member's car that we are completing.

[Mr Dave]

Thanks for the reply! How much space did you leave? 1/8"?

[400 4spd.]

Probably closer to 3/16".

[scott70]

I dont know what they did originally from the factory but I set mine as almost touching with no problems and looks better. I do understand them moving slightly around from each other,,just jack the front end off the ground by the cross member and watch the fender and nose height change from each other,,,off the ground they seperate and back on the ground is the tightest.. I wouldnt even do 1/8th "..

[dataway]

I think every car is a bit different as to how much clearance they will tolerate. Depends on about a dozen different things, fender alignment, core support alignment, condition of support bushings, trueness of the bumper, squareness of the hood, cross member sag, etc.

Just make sure you do it last ... engine in, everything in, sitting on the ground.

I think the factory use pretty large clearances because they expected people to be jacking them up by the bumper ... in which case you need about 1/4" by the time the bumper, bumper mounts and frame horns stop flexing and you actually start lifting the car.