Bumper on the Ambulet

[Steve Lichtman]

Well, I finally installed the new bumper on the Ambulet yesterday. It's the correct bumper (yeah!) and it looks great.

For those who may remember, the rear bumper on my Ambulet was rusty and the chrome was peeling off. Just a week or so before the show in Mt. Laurel, I found a newly-chromed bumper on e-bay, bought it, and had it shipped to the hotel. It arrived Friday, and Friday evening, I enlisted the help of two of PCS's seemier mechanics, Jeremy and Paul, to help me install it. (See them at work below!) We looked like Moe, Larry, and Curly.

Alas, we found out after removing the old bumper that the new bumper was the wrong bumper! Turns out the one I got was for a coupe, while I needed one for a sedan or wagon. They look almost alike, but they are not quite. Larry and Moe put the old, rusty bumper back on. (Fortunately, I was able to return the incorrect bumper to the seller for a full refund, including shipping, so no financial lo$$.)

At a large Studebaker show in March, there was a vendor who sells rechromed Stude bumpers. I explained what I needed, and he had the right bumper in the truck with him. (I also needed a new front bumper for my '63 Studebaker sedan, which he also had in the truck.) I bought both for just a little more than what I paid for the wrong one originally.

Yesterday, I set to work installing the bumper on the Ambulet. Paul had warned me about the need to leave the bolts loose. Boy, was he right. The WHOLE thing is under tension, the arms, even the bumper itself has to bend a bit to settle into place once the bolts are all tight. WOW, what a pain.

I've figured out what the Studebaker factory folks did so differently from me:

1. They knew what they were doing when they installed it.
2. There were probably 3 or 4 guys installing a bumper on the assembly line.
3. They probably installed 50 bumpers a day.
4. They were standing up when they did it.
5. They had power tools.
6. The car wasn't dirty or rusty when they did it.
7. If they messed up the bumper, they could get another one.
8. They didn't have a dog barking at them or a Dad asking when we were going to get dinner.

So it goes. It's on, and it looks good. I can sell the rusty bumper back to the guy I bought the new one from so he can rechrome it and sell it to the next desperate '54 Stude owner who needs a bumper - recycling!

The pic on the right is the new back bumper in place. Shiny, I can see my own reflection in it. And no, I don't know what those extra washers are doing on the floor. And I really don't CARE! It's ON and tight!

The bumper for my '63 sedan is a project for another day.

 

[Paul Steinberg]

Steve......What was wrong with the old one? It looks every bit as good as the new one that you just installed in the pciture. It is no wonder those two clowns had problems mounting the bumper. The wrenches they were using were too small...
The only reason that they didn't have a problem at the factory is because the bumper was new, and so were the brackets. If you had a new bumper and new brackets, then it would have gone together easilly, and there would be no tension on anything, including yourself. The old bumper was probably bent is such a way that it wasn't noticable, and so are the brackets. When a bumper is rechromed, it is also straightened. No matter how good they straighten it, it will always be slightly off. Even a bend of 1/8" in the middle can equate to a 1/2" bend at the end. Welcome to the world of body shop work.

 

[John ED Renstrom]

you can't make no money on a job if you put all them parts back on.
finely nice to get the last piece in place. now if I can remember to get the dark blue paint to you the car will be done. for now here is one of larry Moe and curly together learning to hold the new bumper up to the old before they take the old one off. that way you don't have to but the old one back on.

 

[Richard Vyse]

you can't make no money on a job if you put all them parts back on.
finely nice to get the last piece in place. now if I can remember to get the dark blue paint to you the car will be done. for now here is one of larry Moe and curly together learning to hold the new bumper up to the old before they take the old one off. that way you don't have to but the old one back on.

This picture makes one think, "What are they doing?" and know exactly why there were fitting issues. Look at that crew!!!

Richard

 

[Paul Steinberg]

Larry and Moe thought that Curly had already checked the replacement bumper and verified that it was correct. No...... Curly just looked at a picture on eBay, and assumed that the description that the seller had provided was correct. To the inexperienced Curly, all those Studebaker's all look the same. Bet he won't make that mistake again...

 

[Brendan Martin]

Hey if Moe, Larry, and Curly are looking for work I've got plenty for them to do here in Rhode Island!

 

[Steve Lichtman]

Hey Moe, you thought it would fit, too......... After all, who unbolted the old one before checking to see if the new one was right? Hmmmm.

Besides, when the thing is 3000 miles away and time is short, you try to trust the photos and the description. Can't help it if he didn't know what he was talking about...

Bet Curly won't make that mistake again, especially since....the new bumper is already on the car!!!!!!! Why buy another one?????

That all goes in the "$#!+ happens" category.

 

[John ED Renstrom]

not a lot of difference in them at all. if I remember right the brackets would not fit the holes. I how ever lucked out and was gone when this went down so I only got to take a pictures of the event after the fact. so easy to point and laugh then. this has "never" happened to me and it won't again.