Rear bumper alignment

[IanB1978]

I have a large gap at the top of the rear bumper, is it easy to remove the bumper and realign.

[dapinky]

In theory, yes - but in practice, it will depend on if the bolts have been messed about with in the past.

There are small bolts at the ends, attaching it to the wheelarch (but mine had been removed and replaced with cable ties).

There are M8 bolts (bonded studs) going through into the boot, via a series of spacer washers to get the gap correct. These studs pass through large spreader washers to support the weight and just have a 13mm headed nut on them.

There are also a series of M6 bolts between the bottom(inner) edge and the boot floor, but they are nowt to do with adjustment.

So, in theory, if you just loosen the 4 main bolts into the boot (you will need to find them behind the carpet), the whole unit will move up and down, within the confines of the larger holes in the boot - this will allow a degree of adjustment to the height - if it needs more adjustment, you will need to remove the bumper and enlarge the holes to allow it.

So it may be a 10 minute job, or a weekend depending on how it goes.

[IanB1978]

Cheers David, fingers crossed for a 10 minute job .

[lotusflasherman]

How large is the gap and where ?

They all have quite a large gap below the light units, large enough to get some of my fingers in or a wet cloth in when cleaning (rare!), but there is virtually no gap beneath the number plate plinths.

My early SE with the perspex cover over the number plate had a new rear bumper fitted by a Lotus Dealer (Stratton Motors) as an 'insurance job' so should be as the factory intended...

bumper42.jpg

My late 93 SE (think they'd run out of SE badges) is same but photo taken from lower angle shows the gap more clearly.

bumperELN.jpg

Unless yours is a lot more than that I wouldn't worry about it...

[Steve A]

Just remember your dealing with a fibreglass car so the "shut lines" won't be the same quality as a modern steel car.
You will probably end up getting one side looking fabulous only to find the other side will look terrible
If you remove the bumper make sure you make a note of what washers/spacers went where and be prepared to compromise
Have fun.