Front bumper fitting woe's...

Rust problems and repairs, leaky sunroof... Battery, starter, lights, fuses, airco, heating unit, stereo... | Tuning: custom spoilers & bodykits, fiberglass parts...
NO parts requests here, please use our V3M BUY & SELL corner
Post Reply
Attack2001
Posts: 1015
Joined: 05 Jun 2011 03:45 pm
Location: Rochester, Kent
Contact:

Front bumper fitting woe's...

Post by Attack2001 » 28 Jan 2012 11:17 pm

Hi all, tried a mk3 bumper on my car today, tried it last weekend then found out you need mk3 bumper mounts as well (i've got a mk2), so got it all on and bolted up, but end up with this.

Image
Image
Image

Is it the fact the cars a mk2 making any difference, or is the bumper bent? If you think it is bent, any ideas how i can attempt to bend it back? Is the metal plate behind it most likely bent or is it just the plasic?

Any ideas? Thomas................
Image

Ride_on
Posts: 2262
Joined: 26 May 2009 05:34 pm
Location: Belfast, N. Ireland

Re: Front bumper fitting woe's...

Post by Ride_on » 29 Jan 2012 03:33 am

If you have changed the box mounts then it should fit IMO. Looks if it is bent from the edges as you say. The plastic is very flimsy so yes its the metal bar, not sure how easy to bend back, worth a try but very hard to know when it right. Perhaps a hook in the top middle, tie to a tree and reverse bumps until it looks right.

I've just been looking at the grill, looks like the MK3 grill is different to the MK2, it should not sit over the bumper like that... more parts+mods.
1980 345 DL_______1987 360 GLE (project car restored to GLT spec and B230FT'd)
1984 360 GLT______1987 360 GLT
1983 360 GLS______1989 360 GLE
1985 340 GL_______1986 340 1.4
1985 360 GLS______1995 940 SE 2.3 Turbo Estate (daily)
1987 340 GL 1.7

macplaxton
Posts: 3283
Joined: 09 Feb 2008 02:29 am

Re: Front bumper fitting woe's...

Post by macplaxton » 29 Jan 2012 06:19 pm

Ride_on wrote:looks like the MK3 grill is different to the MK2
Indeed they are different as winter grille muff avocados would know. :mrgreen:

The bumper looks like it's sitting along the front okay. Are the wrap-around ends of the bumper correctly slid into their plastic brackets on the front leading edges of the wings? If so, are those brackets different?

Just looked up the parts list. Quick glossary: The "member" is the metal bumper bar behind the plastic. The "slide block" is the plastic clip at front edge of each wing which holds the ends of the bumpers. The "front brackets" are the big lumps of metal bolted to the front panel which carry the bumpers. Note: Just because the part numbers are different, does not mean that the part is (substantially) different.

Front bumper
1982-1985 MY

3296874 front bumper member
3296333 front slide block
3287103 front bracket, L.H.
3287104 front bracket, R.H.

3296874 rear bumper member
3296333 rear slide block
3296335 rear bracket, L.H. 3/5DRS
3201327 rear bracket, L.H. 4DRS
3296336 rear bracket, R.H. 3/5DRS
3201328 rear bracket, R.H. 4DRS

1986 MY onwards

3207586 front bumper member
3207238 front slide block
3342286 front bracket, L.H.
3342287 front bracket, R.H.

3207587 rear bumper member
3207239 rear slide block
3296335 rear bracket, L.H. 3/5DRS
3201327 rear bracket, L.H. 4DRS
3296336 rear bracket, R.H. 3/5DRS
3201328 rear bracket, R.H. 4DR

I would look closely at the plastic slide blocks that hold the ends of the bumpers against the wings.
72 DAF 44 Estate 78 Volvo 343DL Black BeautyImageImage
82 Volvo 343DL CVTImageImage 88 Volvo 340DL Diesel

Attack2001
Posts: 1015
Joined: 05 Jun 2011 03:45 pm
Location: Rochester, Kent
Contact:

Re: Front bumper fitting woe's...

Post by Attack2001 » 30 Jan 2012 12:26 am

Thanks for the replies :) I like the idea of the tree haha, could hook it onto my valance while im at it and see if it'l pull the dent out as well :roll:

It is a mk2 grill yes, it does fit ok, on the bottom is three pins sticking out that should fit into holes in the metal strip that runs under the headlights on mk2's, with mk3 bumpers the 3 pins just slot behind the bumper so its all good :) Plus a well known purple 360 is the same :mrgreen:

I have changed the plastic clips on there as well as they were different. Hmm, bend it is :lol:
Image

User avatar
Hell Driver
Posts: 1415
Joined: 18 Aug 2009 09:58 pm
Location: Doncaster UK

Re: Front bumper fitting woe's...

Post by Hell Driver » 30 Jan 2012 09:23 pm

I have a Mk2 grill on a Mk3, yes the grills are different, I've just put up with the slight uneven gap near the lights and having it overlap the bumper slightly at the base. The fit should be ok next to the indicators so not sure whats going on there.
360 GLE Saloon (D 86)
360 GLS (A 84)
343 DL (W 80) :-)
340 GL 1.7 (G 89)
360 GLS (Y 83)
440 Turbo (J 92)
Transit Tipper 125 T350 (02)Alive Again!
Transit Tipper Smiley face Q reg
Mitsubishi Colt 1.1 (54)
R.I.P. 77 343 DL vario :-(

Ride_on
Posts: 2262
Joined: 26 May 2009 05:34 pm
Location: Belfast, N. Ireland

Re: Front bumper fitting woe's...

Post by Ride_on » 31 Jan 2012 07:54 pm

Attack2001 wrote:Thanks for the replies :) I like the idea of the tree haha, could hook it onto my valance while im at it and see if it'l pull the dent out as well :roll:
How bad is the valence, is the whole front panel caved in slightly? If so the bumper mounts might be pointing towards each other slightly, although they are at the end of the chassis leg, they overlap the edge.
1980 345 DL_______1987 360 GLE (project car restored to GLT spec and B230FT'd)
1984 360 GLT______1987 360 GLT
1983 360 GLS______1989 360 GLE
1985 340 GL_______1986 340 1.4
1985 360 GLS______1995 940 SE 2.3 Turbo Estate (daily)
1987 340 GL 1.7

Attack2001
Posts: 1015
Joined: 05 Jun 2011 03:45 pm
Location: Rochester, Kent
Contact:

Re: Front bumper fitting woe's...

Post by Attack2001 » 31 Jan 2012 08:01 pm

Ride_on wrote:
Attack2001 wrote:Thanks for the replies :) I like the idea of the tree haha, could hook it onto my valance while im at it and see if it'l pull the dent out as well :roll:
How bad is the valence, is the whole front panel caved in slightly? If so the bumper mounts might be pointing towards each other slightly, although they are at the end of the chassis leg, they overlap the edge.
The dents not that bad, its really only folded the skin up under the box section thats behind it. I had a look across the back of the box section and its straight so its only the skin thats bent :|
Image

Post Reply