Truck rear-ended yesterday

[XXL]

:lol: I don't know what pretzels look like where you live, but around here they look like figure 8s, 

 

I started with "banana," but figured that wouldn't convey anything but the bow... so I figured pretzel might be better.  What can I say?  I was hungry at the time ;)

[laotsu]

never mind answered my own question.

[mrbigtanker]

And a few 'after' pics...

 

 

 

That was a after market bumper,and it looks like a torch and a hammer can fix that followed by with some silver paint. 

[thisismatt]

Man, these guys really don't want you to get a new bumper!

[XXL]

Man, these guys really don't want you to get a new bumper!

 

 

No kidding!

 

But I got a bumper today, thanks to EastBay521, who was nice enough bring it to me.  

 

Still no contact from the insurance company on how to proceed with claim and getting the truck fixed... surprise, surprise.

[laotsu]

Still no contact from the insurance company on how to proceed with claim and getting the truck fixed... surprise, surprise.

I had Ins. deny responsibility in my case and then send a check over four months later.

[XXL]

Check finally arrived to settle the property liability.  I took off the old, damaged bumper and did a test fit of the replacement unit I bought from a board member.  The replacement bumper is different enough that I'm not sure I want to use it (as is).  See pic below.  It's not bolted to the truck but is very close to the "correct" placement.  Note the huge gaps that the old bumper didn't have (see pics in previous posts).  I'm guessing this is mainly to clear the larger taillights found on the 521 (???).  However, the fingers that reach around the sides of the truck are shorter too.  They don't quite reach the wheel opening.  It's probably only 3/4" shorter than the original bumper, but it seems odd.  

 

I realize if I had bought the truck with the new bumper on it, I probably wouldn't see all of these "flaws," but since I know what I'm looking for, and have a predisposition toward what was already on the truck, I can't see past the differences.

 

Perhaps I could add some diamond plate fillers below the taillights and toward the license plate area... sort of like what the original bumper had, but then the height of the bumper is lower as well.  Hmmm... just rambling at this point.  Maybe I need to find another bumper that is more like what came off the truck.  Or, as some have suggested... try to get the original bumper straightened (BTW, it's been 30 years since I did frame crash straightening work, so I'm out of touch with current methods... but this bumper is BENT and TWISTED... and I don't have a frame rack and Port-a-power setup to do any straightening... so I'd have to find someone I could drop this off with, and then pick up a finished product.  Suggestions for anyone in the SF Bay area?

 

 

 

[wayno]

This is a tough one, no matter what you do it will look different, if it were not for that space under the taillights, it might be an easy fix.

I would have thought a roll pan of sorts would fix it, but that space under the taillights and how the rear fender aprons are made make it hard to fix and look proper.

Your original bumper did not have the drop in the middle, it was level all the way across, I would just put this one on there, and continue looking for the type of bumper you had before. 

[Charlie69]

Straighten and chrome the original bumper.

[XXL]

Straighten and chrome the original bumper.

 

Straightening it might well be what I have to do, but as I mentioned above, I won't be able to do the work myself.  So, I need some pointers on specific area shops that might do it properly.  If you have a SF Bay area bumper shop you can suggest, please let me know.

 

As for chroming... absolutely not.  First, I think it would look uglier than a man's ass, and second it would cost $1000+ for all the sanding/buffing/polishing labor to get the bumper looking good enough so that the chrome looked decent..  Quality chrome jobs have skyrocketed in the last 20 years with labor and EPA costs.  I did a custom bumper on a project about 10 years ago that cost me $800, and I supplied the bumper, did all the cut work, all the structure welds, and all the rough weld grinding.  They finished, filled, buffed, prepped, and plating process... that was very much the going rate for quality work.  But... that's another discussion.  I don't want to chrome the bumper. 

 

I bought some TPO scraps for plastic welding on a custom bumper fascia on another car of mine a few years ago from Auto & Truck Bumper Recyclers in Hayward.  They commented that 90% of their business was now plastic bumper fascias... since, of course, newer vehicles don't really have steel bumpers of this sort any more, not even trucks.  I haven't called them yet, but they didn't seem especially well equipped to do "real" bumper work like would be required for the Datsun bumper.

[thisismatt]

No offense, but those bumpers are already uglier than a man's ass, but I understand and respect the decision to run it if nothing more than for the protection it affords your Datsun pickup!  On the flip side, it seems like more bedsides have been harmed by the wrap around portion than have been saved, from the back being hit and having the side pinch the bed.  Have you considered a custom round or square tube bumper, ie something more minimal?

[XXL]

No offense, but those bumpers are already uglier than a man's ass, 

 

Sort of "hairy ass" instead of "hairy lumpy ass" in this case ;)

 

 

 Have you considered a custom round or square tube bumper, ie something more minimal?

 

 

I have, but am most interested in retaining the stock/original look.  I have entertained the idea of going with bumperettes (repop shiny pieces are available offshore, but brackets are not)... which would also give me a stock look, and compliment the shape and shine of the front bumper.  However, it would significantly reduce protection.  I'm still up in the air as to how to proceed.  In the near term, I'm going to try to find a shop that makes me feel good about their ability to straighten the damaged bumper.  If so, that is the best solution for my needs.  If not, I may continue trying to find a comparable replacement.  

 

Unfortunately, as I study my current replacement further, I figured out why it looks out of whack to me... and it's not the gaps I mentioned above.  The entire bumper is lower (which explains the gaps, of course).  However, it also means the side pieces have a downward slant to them that the original bumper did not... and that is what's throwing off everything visually.  Note the original bumper's approx 4" wide band that runs around the side of the truck.  And then compare to the trapezoidal band on the new one that goes from 4" to over 6".  That sounds trivial, but it makes the new bumper look like it's sagging when it's not.

[wayno]

All these bumpers are aftermarket, the only stock type I know of are the bumperettes, and who knows, they may be aftermarket also.

I had one of these type on my datsun 521 when I bought it(used), I left it there till I made it a flatbed, then it got scrapped, you can actually look around the wrecking yards for these type bumpers you want, they did not come on just Datsuns, they were put on all these small trucks, personally I would look for the type that don't go all the way to the rear fender well, as mentioned before in this thread, when an impact occurs, it actually will bend the box also, but if it is not connected to the box in the first place, the bumper will take the impact and the box will be fine, depending how hard the impact is of course.  :)

[XXL]

All these bumpers are aftermarket, the only stock type I know of are the bumperettes, and who knows, they may be aftermarket also.

 

I understand.  I was in the car business in the early 1980's, and regularly dealt with the bumper vendors... our dealership sold 90% trucks, so we went through a lot of them (bumpers and vendors :( ).  That is why the 2 bumpers I have are different... they came from different vendors, who each had their take on what a diamond plate steel bumper should look like.  For simplicity's sake, I have been using the word "stock" to describe "original" (or at least "original-ish").

[Z chopper]

why not check out a metal fabrication shop. if they can not fix your bumper, they should either be able to fab filler panels for the 'new' bumper or fab a whole brand shiney new bumper

[datsunrides]

why not check out a metal fabrication shop. if they can not fix your bumper, they should either be able to fab filler panels for the 'new' bumper or fab a whole brand shiney new bumper

 

That would be pretty cool to have a new one fabbed from aluminum diamond plate. About a metric shit ton lighter and could leave a satin finish all the way to full polish. Downside would be the cost and you probably could not use it for a tow ball unless it was reinforced.

 

Mark