Freakin' Bumper Bolts!

Don't laugh at this but I broke about 3 of mine off when doing this. I wound up using a 2 part bonding glue (putty) to put new 3/8 hex head bolts in. I bolted my strip back in with no problem. I think you can see it on one of my pics. I painted to match car color also.

Use rapid tap or another drilling oil and you wont kill your bits. I have broke half my bolts pulling my bumper apart they were cut off the parts car.

Alas...sweet victory is mine! Spent the better part of the afternoon getting the last two bolts out and now have the two pcs separated. Can now gain easy access to the 14 or so rub strip nuts. Was pleased to find that the inside of the bumper support was solid; albeit lots of surface rust. Will work on getting that taken care of so I can get some paint on it before the cold weather sets in.

The bumper itself is pretty decent...although it has a shallow dent where it looks like someone backed into something. Anyone ever try pounding out a dent on one of these bumpers? Or, are they just too strong to do this by hand?

I don't ever remember seeing your Laguna. Are there any pictures of it on the forum?

CONGRATULATIONS! Never doubted you'd get that {expletive deleted} thing apart.

The only success I've had getting shallow dents out was with a press. The problem there is pushing the dent past neutral, because it moves back in a bit after pushing it out. With some fooling around, and some time, it can be done though.

And I always use a wire cup wheel on a 4-inch grinder, to get the rust polished off in the back-side of the bumpers, and maybe a sanding disc to get it good enough to paint the inside surface. I use Rustoleum for that, but I suspect POR-15 would work great for that...

Yeah...I go through the sanding discs by the gross when I'm doing this kind of rust removal. Wish I had a media blast setup.

Here is a pic of Project Laguna as it sat For Sale when I picked it up about a year ago. Was only intending to part it out as it has significant rust. Has a nice maroon swivel bucket interior though (except for the dash). Anyway, drove it home and son-in-law and I decided it was too cool to send to the crusher...so, he offered to help with the restoration. Unfortunately, he's been busy with his military duties (currently in Kuwait), so it sits in his garage relatively untouched. I've been busy collecting rust-free fenders and doors, cutting out floor and trunk pans from a Texas donor car and finding odds and ends that will be needed. Car came with new qtrs, too. Hopefully, we'll get on this next Spring.

Very cool.

I agree, way to cool to crush. Glad another one made it.

I agree also, too cool a car to get crushed......

Yeah...it will never reach show car status, but will sure make a cool daily driver. Was funny to watch the looks on some people's faces when we would take it out for a spin...like they couldn't figure out just what kind of car it was!

Say, just a side note on the bumper bolts...I was out grabbing some parts today and decided I'd try removing the bolts off a '74 California Laguna rear bumper sitting out there. Took me all of about 10 mins to remove 15 of them! What a treat to be able to simply put a socket on them and unbolt. Didn't even have any PB Blaster with me! You guys/gals out there don't have any idea what we, who live in the rust belt, have to put up with when it comes to working on our cars! By the way, if anyone has a need for either the black (with white stripe) rub strip, bumper support, or bumper...they are all available for sale. Bumper rub strip is the style used with bumper guards.