1948 Cadillac Sedan Bumper Guard Removal - Leaving A Custom Cadillac Unguarded

By the time the mark for the first cut is made, McClelland knows exactly where he’s going. Here we can clearly see the first section to be removed. Given the precautions taken, will the bumper spring out of shape once it’s cut? McClelland tells us that as a fabricator, he’s learned to expect the worst—that way he’s prepared for anything.

Just prior to making the first cut, McClelland explains how reciprocating saws don’t cut straight. This 3-inch extended-reach pneumatic cutoff tool certainly does, however. This cool tool is now available at Harbor Freight—so I went out and purchased my own right away.

Then with a half-round bastard file, McClelland takes the cleanup a step further. Both the insides and outsides of these fresh-cut edges are receiving equal attention.

It’s time to select a section from the metal donor bumper, and this is not the last time you’ll see a profile gauge in action here.

As we’ve said before, ’48 Cadillac bumpers varied in shape from the factory. This is the closest-in-shape area to be found on the metal donor bumper.

And away we go again with the aforementioned cool tool, as the section of selection is going where it’s needed the most. At first, the replacement sections will be sliced slightly wider than the initial cuts in the bumper to be used.

Straight from the metal donor bumper that’s the way it fits. Obviously, it’s not a perfect match, but Dr. McClelland is in—and his transplants are rarely rejected.

Several different hammers and dollies will be used as McClelland begins blending the contradictory metal shapes together. Taking care not to stretch the metal, McClelland has chosen a soft copper hammer for this phase. The horizontal scribes indicate a high ridge that needs to be worked down.

At McClelland’s well-equipped rolling workbench, equal attention is paid to the patch portion from the metal donor bumper—first on a small anvil. Then follows some fine finessing—still using the copper hammer, but this time in conjunction with a soft lead shot bag as a softer backup dolly.