Anyone Install A Fiberglass Front Bumper Or Nose On Your 70-76 Firebird?

[TOG]

We have a '73 ex-race car with a 'glass nose on it now that does not align well with the front of the hood.

I am looking to replace it with one that fits well.

We have found a few but cannot find any info on how to mount them.

The one we have now has flanges on both sides along the headlight's outer edges that make it easy to bolt to the front of the front fenders.

We would like to find one that mounts like this one.

Has anyone done this?

Does anyone know of a good source?

THANK YOU!
TOG - The Old Guy

 

[Pontiac Trans Am]

Keep that nose and redo it!

Thank you,
PTA Staff

 

[TOG]

That's an option, but it would take someone very skilled at fiberglass work and fabrication, and that's not me.

 

[Pontiac Trans Am]

How bad was the fitment before you took it off?

Thank you,
PTA Staff

 

[TOG]

Images attached.

It never aligned well when it was new 40 years ago, but it was a race car at the time, and weight savings was the objective; cosmetics were not a high priority.

She and I are both retired from track work now.

Issues:
1. Nose-to-hood gap larger in center Vs. side, not that big of a deal
2. Severe sag (top of the nose relative to the hood) on the driver-side
3. Minor sag (acceptable) on pass side

 

[VetteTek]

Hey there, it looks like this guy went through an extensive fitment process to make a fiberglass nose fit properly.

MetalWorks Firebird

 

[Brentco]

The front ends are a PITA to get aligned properly.

And I’m not sure if a new one will help you much.

Many of them weren’t that great even from the factory, and the assembly manual had pretty generous tolerances for gaps for new ones off the line.

Sagging/excessive gaps are usually fixed by adjusting the brackets and positioning of mating parts rather than replacing the exterior pieces.

You have to get the fenders, hood, and everything else positioned correctly.

Your sagging and gaps seem like they could be caused by the bumper and adjoin parts being misaligned on the frames and supporting brackets.

I’d try to fix it by adjusting those first.