Fiberglass bumpers on this G-body Sidepiece
We had a request come in asking for more detail regarding how the fiberglass bumpers are attached to the car. We went back and pulled together some photos to help breakdown how the Featherlite Composites fiberglass bumpers are installed on this 1980 Malibu.
The rear bumper is attached where the factory studs are used for the rear bumper fillers that have been permanently removed and cannot be used with this style of fiberglass rear bumper. The studs have been removed and 10 mm fasteners with larger washers are installed in its place. One dzus fastener has been added in the center for extra support. It is attached to a solid rod welded to the bottom of the trunk pan.
The front bumper is attached in a similar manner. The sides are fastened to the fenders and then two dzus fasteners are added in the center on top. The two dzus fasteners are attached to a piece of aluminum that is panel bonded to the bottom of the header panel. These dzus fasteners are also added for extra support. Where the front bumper wraps the fenders on each side, trimming was needed to achieve a better fit.
At the moment, there are no finished photos of the fiberglass parts installed on the car. Most of them are still in primer. The car has returned from Chris Terry Racing, but it is still undecided what can be shown. This car was built with a few proprietary components that will be left to the imagination. All of that will be saved for another post on another day.
