# 1968 Hideaway Cover Hitting Bumper



## young99 (Oct 4, 2010)

I was test fitting my hideaway covers and ran into a fitting issue. The right side cover seems to fit fine goes up and down. The left side comes in contact with the bumper when opening closing. I attached a pic of the cover coming in contact with the bumper.

Is there a way to adjust either the nose or light assembly fix this problem?


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## rvp986 (Sep 19, 2012)

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I had the same trouble with the endura bumper on my '69 GTO. If it isn't the Hideaway Headlight frame, it's the bumper. Luckily I have a buddy who has a frame straightener at his body shop. He and I spent an hour one summer day tweaking it to make it work, or get it close, anyway. All I can tell you is this. If it lays on a flat surface and doesn't teeter one direction or another, it getting close to being square with the world. Keep working with it and you'll eventually get it close. 

Personally, I've never seen one that fits the car or fenders 100% true and perfect. That's just the nature of the beast, but then that's my opinion, only. If I'm wrong, I'd like someone to show me one that's perfect.

Good Luck. Keep working with it and you'll get there... or closer than you are now. At least I'm not the Lone Ranger on this one.


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## young99 (Oct 4, 2010)

Thank you for the update. I will work on taking the nose off of the car and check the squareness.

I'm at work now and cant look at it until i get home. 

I know the nose is held by 4 large bolts under the hood. Can the nose be taken off with leaving the hideaway system in the car?


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## jmt455 (Mar 26, 2012)

Headlights are bolted to the bumper. 
That's good news though. It means that you can diagnose and align everything off the car, then install it as an assembly.


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## young99 (Oct 4, 2010)

After I got the bumper pulled off and everything dissembled I can now see the issue. You are right the bumper has a very small bend. I was surprised I could not see it with the bumper mounted to the car. The other problem was that the head light assembly has a little arm that goes down at a angle and bolts to the bottom of the bumper. This was not bolted and was not pulling the head light back some. 

So the bottom of the bumper need to be pushed forward about 1/4". I have been to 3 body shops and no one seems to want to touch it. Is there any tools I can get to try and repair this myself? I have read that people use heat when working on this. Will heat melt or burn the coating off the bumper?


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## rvp986 (Sep 19, 2012)

OMG! Don't use heat. If you understood how they're build, you won't want to use heat. They are quite flexible. If you've ever worked with one, you will understand how any little bit of damage can bend them. The only reason my guy (at the body shop) worked on mine is because he's a GTO guy himself. He has build many of his own and done a nice job at it.

I had to laugh after I asked if he and I could tackle mine. He said, "Piece a cake"! I kid you not... we spent almost a good hour bending and straightening it. At one time, we had a couple other individuals giving us suggestions and even helping with hooking up chains, etc., trying to assist any way they could. LOL! One just needs to work with it until you get it close, lay it on a flat surface and check it out. We theorized the individual who had the car... who knows... forty some years in the making had run up on a curb or tree stump... something like that and bent it upwards, just enough, to knock it out of straight and square alignment. Seems my left hideaway headlight cover did the same as yours. 

That's good you found the bolts missing on the bracket. At least your part of the way there. Keep looking for a body shop with a 'frame straightener' and most importantly, a good 'ole guy that will work with you. They're hard to find because for liability reasons (it's hard to replace what isn't available) or just pure laziness, but they're out there. Worse comes to worse, I do know where these is one over the border in South Dakota, but he was wiping the sweat off of his forehead when we were done. I think he regretted his eagerness, afterwards. I did pay him $75 for his services and a six-pack of beer. Now, do you understand why I call them good 'ole guys? It was worth every penny, though.


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## jmt455 (Mar 26, 2012)

There are some creative methods in this thread on the PY forum:

http://forums.performanceyears.com/forums/showthread.php?t=643370


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## young99 (Oct 4, 2010)

Thank you guys for the update on my post. 

They are all helpful. I will let you know how it works out.


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