OK guys; what's going on here?

Passenger side perfect, driver side way off.  I got everything on loosely and then attached the passenger side bumper end bolt. 

All the body panels are straight; everything lines up except for the bumper on the driver side.  Car has never been in an accident.

Both bumper brackets are identical length and profile (I checked).

I tried swapping them side-to-side; no difference.

The bumper brackets are all the way back in their slots behind the grille.

If I really force it, I can move the driver side bumper end close enough to fit the bolt, but it would be under some massive tension (would pull on the bodywork around the fender lip) and the part of the bumper under the headlight bucket still wouldn't align.

What am I missing here?

Edited October 3, 20204 yr by BoldUlysses

Is this a replacement bumper?

No sir.  It's original, but it got rechromed last year.

Here's a front view:

The bumper seems offset to the right just a bit.  Barring some "eureka moment," the only thing I can think to do would be to loosen the passenger side end bolt and try shifting it over.  I think the gap on the passenger side is perfect though...

If it fit before, it should fit now. Without the mounting brackets in play, the ends of the bumper should tuck right in to the fender recesses and I suspect they did just that prior to the chrome replating. To me that suggests that something happened at the plating shop that has warped or distorted the bumper. If you have a buddy with a OE bumper perhaps you could lay yours on his to check the shape and identify where the change is located. You are right in expecting stress on the body panels if you attempt to pull it in on one side or both - it should not need to be pulled in with the bolts.

13 hours ago, BoldUlysses said:

I think the gap on the passenger side is perfect though...

It looks a bit close to me..  Mine  (is a 1971 feb. 240z) has a bigger gap.  Maybe use a shime.. (inside bumper) .  Loosen also the bolts of the 2 front brackets when you install the outside brackets.  The bumper ends should not really be IN the cavety's of the bodypanel.. just in front of them.

otherwise take the bumper off, (put it on a stable not damaging floor..  towels!) use a string fit it to the ends of the bumper with some ducttape and then carefully bend the lower and upper metal to the outside near the middle tip.

Use some tape (more layers.) to protect the chrome and extra clothes. also you need some flat steel To spread the force from the pliers and 2 sets of pliers..  When you put a little bit pressure on the bumper you'll see the string slacken.

Hope i sayd this right in english haha...

You may have to split the difference,  your pic in post #3 distinctly shows the center of the bumper is off to the driver's side.

Sorry for the late follow-up here.  Been working on house projects for the last few months and today is the first time in a while I've been able to devote some time to it.

It actually only took me about 15 minutes to fix.  Undid the passenger side, centered the bumper, secured the middle and then cinched the ends down, no problem.

 

 

 

Thanks for the help guys.

You fixed it!  It looks very good now!!

Btw.. your left and right was wrong.. your bumper was offset to the left not the right.. when you look to the front of a car.. on the left there is the right side and on the right there is the left... confusing hey?  ( Always look at it if your in the car sitting behind the wheel.)

On 10/3/2020 at 11:33 PM, BoldUlysses said:

The bumper seems offset to the right just a bit. 

You need some rubber round thingy's to close those 2 holes in the front, orig. euro cars have them. these are about 3mm bigger then the hole is and stick out about 2,5 mm. And are a bit conical..

Here on the rear bumper to see, they are the same.

 

Edited April 18, 20213 yr by dutchzcarguy

Where to you get those "rubber round thingy's" ?😄   I could use a couple for my front bumper.

Thanks Steve

Where to you get those "rubber round thingy's" ?[emoji1]   I could use a couple for my front bumper.
Thanks Steve

Group Harrington make S/S bumpers and may be able to do some “spare” rubber round thingies for you if you contact them.

https://groupharrington.com/product/datsun-240z-and-260z-bumpers/

11 hours ago, dutchzcarguy said:

You fixed it!  It looks very good now!!

Btw.. your left and right was wrong.. your bumper was offset to the left not the right.. when you look to the front of a car.. on the left there is the right side and on the right there is the left... confusing hey?  ( Always look at it if your in the car sitting behind the wheel.)

11 hours ago, dutchzcarguy said:

You need some rubber round thingy's to close those 2 holes in the front, orig. euro cars have them. these are about 3mm bigger then the hole is and stick out about 2,5 mm. And are a bit conical..

Here on the rear bumper to see, they are the same.

 

Thanks!  I'm aware of the left-right distinction, but for clarity in this particular situation, given that all the work was done outside the car and facing the nose, I used left-right designations as observed.

Re:the rubber plugs, I'd rather have a couple of chromed "buttons" in those holes.  I honestly should have had the rechromer weld them up when he was repairing the rust and rechroming...