I just did mine. I tried heat etc. It wasn`t very successful. What I ended up doing (My car is a bit of a beater) was to place plywood behind the nose, then screw through the front clip into the plywood. I used 3 layers of 3/8 ply, layered kinda like a pyramid to match the 'peak' of the nose.
You could do the same thing with a fiberglass coat on the inside I think, rather than screwing through the front. My front was stretched in spot due to a front impact so it would never be perfect anyway. It looks WAY better now, even with the 4 stainless screws in it.
Otherwise, you need to find a replacment.
Chay
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12:35 AM
Raydar Member
Posts: 40756 From: Carrollton GA. Out in the... country. Registered: Oct 1999
Not on a Fiero, but I was given a bumper cover for our Miata that was deemed worthless by the guy who was parting his out. (It had been driven under a pickup and was crushed down.) An hour with a hair dryer had the nose looking like new, except for a couple of scratches.
A wood or metal backing glued on is the best method. You can get into a lot of trouble trying to heat it and reshape it. Same problem with C3/C4 Corvettes. I fix Corvettes with droopy noses by replacing them with fiberglass replica ones from Mid America or Ecklers. You wont get fiberglass to stick on the inside of the urathane. All youd have to do is push on it and it will pop right off, probably in one piece. A coating of urathane filler wont work (but will stick) either because its not rigid. Something Ive never tried is gluing some rigid construction foam to the backside. All new cars use it under front bumper covers to retain the bumpers shape from age.
[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 03-21-2013).]
You guys have given me an idea. I live in Texas so I will let the natural heat and weight work on it for a while. I am going to put rocks in the nose and let the weight and natural heat do its thing for a few weeks. That should push it back to its shape. Then use some foam to help keep it that way before I put it back on the car. I am tearing down this car and it has some structural damage So it will be a while before it is road worthy if at all.
[This message has been edited by hcforde (edited 03-23-2013).]
that's about what I did. the expanding Foam behind the whole thing ! covered the front part of the car (where the cover goes over) with saran wrap, put the cover on & filled it all up with expanding foam. next day, took it off, removed the wrap, & it's a perfect fit.
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12:43 PM
rogergarrison Member
Posts: 49601 From: A Western Caribbean Island/ Columbus, Ohio Registered: Apr 99
Im not talking about expanding foam just to be clear, im talking about sheet/block foam carved to shape. I had a friend put some expanding foam in the rear of his boat to reinforce and seal it. It looked like it worked great, but after it expanded and hardened, it had broke the deck and transom off of it. Just a word to the wise.
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08:50 PM
ericjon262 Member
Posts: 3083 From: everywhere. Registered: Jan 2010
Im not talking about expanding foam just to be clear, im talking about sheet/block foam carved to shape. I had a friend put some expanding foam in the rear of his boat to reinforce and seal it. It looked like it worked great, but after it expanded and hardened, it had broke the deck and transom off of it. Just a word to the wise.
if you're going to do this and buy the crap at lowe's in a can, buy the blue can to avoid this.
I "should have stated", you MUST leave a couple of "ways out" for the foam to expand. I've seen people seal around windows in their house only to find that when the foam expanded, it Bent the Aluminum Frame of the window & it would no longer open ! It's got some power behind it . once it hardens behind you bumper cover, it will no longer be able to "Move".
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05:45 PM
Mar 25th, 2013
jb1 Member
Posts: 2146 From: Tullahoma, Tennessee Registered: May 2003
I had the local Keystone ( link in previous reply) restore a front bumper of mine, they fixed a rip in the bumper and brought back original shape. It has been 9-10 years ago but they done a great job. It was around $200 or 250 best I recall..
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87 GT series 1 3800sc (7.597 @88.53 1.579 60ft) (series II swap in progress) 85GT Northstar 86GT 3800 n/a