'55 rear bumper question

[Tom Coughlin]

My bumpers stand off from the body more than they should so I'm in the process of adjusting them. I find that the inner rear bumper brackets have tube like sleeves which the bolts pass through and fit between the bumper itself and the bracket. I don't see these pictured in the shop manual so I suspect they are wrong.

What say my Pre-A friends?

[Jim Wayman]

Hard to visualize from your description. A picture should help.

[Tom Coughlin]

I'll try to get a picture but the question should be "Are there any more components other than a bumper, bumper brackets and bolts?"

If no other parts are needed, then this tubular standoff sleeve that the bolt runs through was not put there by the factory.

[Martin Benade]

Yes it sounds like the tubes do not belong.

[Spencer Harris]

No tubes on my 55 bumpers Tom - only bolts, washers and threaded plates.

[Tom Coughlin]

Thanks Guys: My suspicion is confirmed!

[RSTOAD]

Well maybe not! There is a box about 1 1/4 wide and not quite a foot long with three slotted holes in it welded to the battery box side wall. This would not be called a tube as a tube would be round. This stand off as you might call it is factory. The bumper brackets along with the nut plate taped to them are slid into it and then bolted to it from the outside. How do I know, it is the same on my 55 coupe owned for the last 48 years and now under a professional restoration utilizing some 50 odd years of experience using mostly NOS OEM accumulated components.

[Martin Benade]

Tom’s car has the bumpers too far from the body. They are spaced away from the brackets by the added on tubes he mentioned, the equivalent of a stack of washers on each bolt. You are describing the normal mountings of the brackets to the body.

[Tom Coughlin]

Martin has it spot on. The extra parts in question were on the rear bumpers, outside the car's body and visible.

RSTOAS you may have missed "I find that the inner rear bumper brackets have tube like sleeves which the bolts pass through and fit between the bumper itself and the bracket..."

[Phil Planck]

This is 55 bumper, I think rear:

Aug14_01.JPG (129.84 KiB) Viewed 669 times

[Victor Ingram]

Tom, here's a visual of the distance.
Hope this helps, if you need measurements let me know

[Spencer Harris]

I took these measurements off my (restored) '55 coupe a couple years ago as a guide for fabricating new bumpers for my '53 cab.
Not as assembled by the factory, but will get you in the ballpark.

Bumper Spacing.JPG (39.65 KiB) Viewed 659 times

(Victor, I would be curious to know how the measurements on your car match up to these.)