Question from Tony (1956):
A friend has a 1956 Imperial 4 door Southampton with a front bumper that is FLAT in the center, instead of coming to a point??? The bumper fits perfectly, but all the ones I have seen come to a point in the center. Any idea if this has been seen before? Could it be correct?
Replies:
From Ross:
This sounds to me like a '56 Windsor bumper, but I'm not 100% sure.
I located a photo of my dad's 1956 300 B, and the center of the front bumper is indeed flat. I'm fairly sure that the 300 used a Windsor front bumper.
From Ken:
The reason that the front bumper is flat is that it is missing a cover piece. Chrysler used a New Yorker bumper on the Imperial and put a cover piece over the flat place where the license plate goes. I have seen people take this cover off of the Imperial and put the license plate in the position where the New Yorker should go. It looks much better as the original position of the Imperial license plate holder took away from the beauty of the look by placing the plate in a bad spot. The guards are notched to fit over this plate when it is installed. That is why the guards are reversed when you look at them.
From Henry:
Yes it did as the 56 New Yorker bumper is a three piece affair and very different as it has pontoons on either end. However, the holes for the bumperettes or bumper guards are in different places--Windsor vs. 300. Also, the bumperettes for the 300 are stronger looking, though similar in shape, as they have longer sides than those for the Windsor.
Quite aware of these differences as we are working on a 56 now, and I had to spend a bit of time figure out which bumper was which as we had some extras from parts cars.
From Philippe:
According to "Hollanders" there're 4 different front bumper "face bar" for 1956.
Windsor: 1553853 (same as '55 Windsor). Back bars, don't know what these are: 1553902/3, same as '55 Windsor & NY, '55-56 "300". - NY : 1634055 with 1636110/1 back bars. Face bar extensions are 1636096/7 - 300 B: 1636118. Back bars are 1553902/3, as Windsor. - Imperial (55-56): 1553871 (back bars: 1553935/6)
The most expensive face bar was the Windsor: $75.50 followed by NY ($52), 300 ($40.50) and Imperial ($38.60).
Question from Mel (1957 - 1958):
I have a rechromed bumper for a 1958 Imperial. When I take a look at the pictures of the '57 and '58 rear bumpers the difference is not clear to me. Maybe it is for a '57! Would someone please differentiate between the two years?
Replies:
From Ernie:
It is said that '57 has ribbed inserts in the bumper and '58 has plain, however I know of several '58's with ribbed inserts.
From Philippe:
As stated, '57 and '58 rear bumpers are the same except that '57 (and early '58) have 2 ribbed inserts on each side of the back-up
lights, which are removable. The late '58 have no insert, the opening is filled and an integral part of the bumper.From Frederic:
My 1958 is an "early" one (11/1957 built) and it has no ribbed inserts ... But indeed, I've already seen 1958's with the ribbed inserts. On factory photos (early ?), I can see 1958 without ribbed insert. In the prestige catalog, there is no ribbed inserts.
Question from Mel (1958 - 1959):
I need some information on the front bumpers for a 1958 and 1959 Imperial. The information I need is there a difference and if so what is it?
Replies:
From Philippe:
According to the "Hollander", '58 - '59 front bumpers are the same except closure (1820065 on 58 and 1943552 on '59).
From Bill:
The front bumpers for the 1958 and 1959 are the same. The big difference comes in above the bumper starting with the grille, and then the headlamps.
Question from Casey (1965):
I've just purchased a 65 Crown and the chrome strip on top of the rear left fender and back door is missing the black stripe inside it. It appeared to be a black tape on the driver's door. Does anyone know where I can get more of this tape or suggestions to restore it?
Reply from Phil:
You should be able to use pin striping tape, just be sure to get good quality tape, 3M is pretty good. Just be sure you get the chrome strip very clean before applying the tape. Wipe it off with some sort of solvent first.
Question from John (1965):
I have a '65 Chrysler and I noticed that the bumper has a sort of grill look to it in the chrome. Looking at it closer I noticed that some of the valleys have a dull black look to them. They don't extend all the way in each valley but I was curious if this was do to long term exposure and it caused the chrome to acquire a black layer on some parts or if it was originally black and the color has faded.
Reply from Johan:
There is black paint in between the grill work on the rear "propeller style" bumper fascia, wheel covers, interior dash fascia (across the passenger side), the outside rail trim that runs from the front corner to the rear corner, left and right (the same trim that the 62+ Lincolns have) and the chrome trim around the front wind shield.
Question from Clay (1967):
The problem I am having is that though the FSM clearly shows the brackets holding the bumperette, it doesn't tell how to get at the nuts holding the bracket. Do the nuts holding the bracket have to be removed from underneath the car, or from the trunk?
Replies:
From Bob:
If it is like my '68 you have one bolt inside the trunk at the top of the bumperette. You have 4 bolts under the car. And there is one that is hard to get to I think you have to have the main bumper off. I had the main bumper off when I took mine off. The bolts that you see in the trunk on the bottom will come out with the unit.
From Dick:
Trunk.
Question from Tom (1968):
The bumper on my '68 Imperial convertible has a vertical gouge about three inches long. It's actually starting to show some rust. Can this gouge be repaired or must the whole bumper be rechromed?
Replies:
From John:
I believe that when they do those kind of repairs, they strip the chrome first then make the repair & replate it.
From John Harvey:
Unfortunately, you will have to have the whole bumper plated to correctly fix your problem. You can cheat a little by folding a piece of sandpaper and carefully sanding the rust out, and painting some "Tijuana Chrome" (chrome paint) into the scratch, but this will only conceal it from a 20/20 look (20 feet, 20 seconds). There used to be some home plating kits that used a brush to plate, but I never got one to work.
From Doug:To keep it short, rechrome the bumper or live with the gouge.
