Rubber bumpers on vertical bumperettes

A while back I asked about a couple of rubber bumper strips for my Kadett back bumper. Someone replied that OGTS carries them . . . they don't. Granted this was for my Kadett, but the following should also apply to the GT as the rubber pieces are similar in construction and mounting method.

The molded-in metal strip with two mounting studs had disintegrated over time ('69) and the rubber bumpers were hanging loose on what was left of the mounting strips. To remove these rubber pieces the bumper must be taken off and disassembled completely, BTW. Not a problem as I was going to have the bumper re-chromed anyway . . . there was some rust close to the two bumperettes on mine.

Once removed, I could take a better look and decide what to do. That's the point at which I contacted the group about them and had tossed them thinking I could find a couple of replacements in better shape than mine. No luck there, so I fished the old ones out of the trash for possible resurrection.

Here's what I did for a "temporary" . . . perhaps permanent, fix. Removed what was left of the brackets and excess "mold" rubber with an exacto knife. Just the rubber "bumpers" were left with a rectangular cutout going just about from edge to edge and end to end.

Luckily you could still see where the two mounting studs had been riveted to the metal strap before being molded into the back of the rubber bumper. Drilled pilot holes into the center of where the mounting studs had been in the rubber bumpers. Bought some stainless #12 metal screws and star washers and screwed them into the rubber pieces from the inside of the chrome bumperettes. Looks like new!