How to fix my SC front bumper?

[911sc79]

The black plastic part between the hood and the front bumper of my 79 SC has become unglued. How can I fix this?

[Paulporsche]

I don't think you can repair the part. You will probably find there is a lot of rust under the black portion. When mine went, I just replaced it with a new one as there wasn't enough unrusted steel underneath to reconnect the rubber.

[toolman]

Yep, time for a new one. You must remove the front bumper to get at the sheet metal screws. To remove the bumper, you have to remove the bellows, and the wiring for the turn signals, which means you have to remove everything in the front trunk,........

[911sc79]

How did you take it of? Which part did you have to replace? Where did you buy the replacement from?

Details will be appreciated. Total newbie here.

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

It's not glued to anything. You take it off by removing the bumper, and the rest of the process should become obvious. You replace the plastic part, generally referred to as "the smile." You buy the replacement from Pelican Parts.

Stephan

[geof33]

If you have not removed a bumper before, or your not very handy it's not just a "fluff" job. There are bolts under the front rubber. The rubber needs to be lifted (one phillips on each side) to access the bolts. Take these off and the bumper slides off... You need to undo the rubber "bellows" as well. These are little 8mm nuts accessed in the wheel well. Adjusting it when putting it back on is a little tricky but take your time and you will be fine...

[911sc79]

I will order a new plastic part. It seems to be part no PEL-RDP233

Paul is also talking about rusted steel. Which part is it that rusts? How can it be fixed?

[geof33]

The part is actually rubber. The metal inside (stiffener) rusts and gets funky. No fix.... trash can works. Install your new one and move on down the road.

[911sc79]

Does that mean that I only have to replace the rubber part to completely fix the problem?

Is the rusted metal part of the plastic part I will order? Sorry to be slow to understand.

[geof33]

Originally posted by 911sc79
Does that mean that I only have to replace the rubber part to completely fix the problem?

Yes...

[alfizzo]

911sc79 i have one of those rubber smiles off my 77 911s. its in excellent condition. $10 if you want it.

[Bill Douglas]

It's an arse of a job getting the bumper and bits off just to fix a bit of rubber. Why don't you just glue it down until such a time as you want to do a bumper removal job.

[Paulporsche]

911sc79,

The black part (I think it is plastic, not rubber) comes attached to a steel backer. That is the part that rusts. Too bad it doesn't come in aluminum like the bumper.

I didn't think of this at the time, but, when you replace yours, you might want to treat the steel w/ something like POR 15 or some other rust preventive. It's been years since I did mine, so I can't remember if you can get in there to treat it or not.

[geof33]

The metal is encased in the moulded rubber piece. There is no access to it. But, considering these cars are 20+ years old... it's not too big of a deal.

To the glue it down thought, the problem is there isn't much to glue to. The piece is a cover for a big gap between the bumper and chassis. There might be a 1/2 inch of bumper to glue it to. It'll make a mess and most likely not stick. I'd just replace it and you never need to do it again...

[911sc79]

How many hours should it take to fix it?

[Bill Douglas]

How rusty are the nuts and bolts...

Sorry. I'm being a kill-joy here. I think the other guys advice is better than mine.

[toolman]

The part is designed to slide over the bumper if an impact occurs.

[Hetmann]

I have replaced mine twice. First one I put on lasted two weeks before a lady in a 4X4 backed into me and put a rip in it. I have a Bently book that shows how to get the bumper off. Lots of pics etc. Chances are you will also need to replace the pads on the ends of your bumper shocks too. Those get funky after awhile. This is a good DIY job and and opportunity to get in and clean in areas you don't often see. Good luck.

[DDD]

Excellence magazine had a great article about this a few years ago. I can't find it now, but I think it was a 1999 or 2000 issue. It shows you exactly how to do it. I did mine about 4 years ago. I would rate it a 3 on a 1-10 scale, with 10 being hard. (to calibrate, I would call adjusting the valves a 3 too). Not too bad.

One thing to be aware of is where the trunk seals that run down the sides of the trunk meet the smile. Check to see how they look before you pull the smile off. I THINK they are supposed to go under the smile, but that didn't work for me. The smile was too "lumpy" as I recall, so I ran the trunk seals down on top of the smile. You only see this when the trunk is open though. I am pretty sure they were under the smile before, but I didn't look before I took it off.

Good luck -- this makes a HUGE difference in your 911's appearance. --DDD

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

911sc79, since you don't sound fully ready to tear into this--forgive me for putting it that way, but that's the impression I get from the questions you ask--you might want to start the job by first trying to remove the rubber bellows. that's the hardest part of the job, and it might present you with a major stumbling block. Maybe not, but those tiny studs embedded in the rubber, and the weensy self-tightening nuts that go on them, sometimes become serious corroded and almost impossible to remove, at least not without ruining the bellows. It'll probably require application of some serious mouse milk to break them loose, and that may be as far as you want to go. The rest of the job is pretty easy, and it would be a sham to get everything else loose and then find tht you can't get the bellows off.

Stephan