Rear Bumper

Finished installing the rear bumper and bumper guards.  Hardware for the guards and bumper is all the original, replated as original.  This is a tricky area, because again the assembly manuals are for later dated revisions.  These fasteners were restored as they were for the June 64 time period of manufacture.  The hardware was also a little different than what was pointed out in the manuals, but documented as the same fore several other cars of this period.

The bumper bolts themselves were different that what was provided by AMK.  I didn't like that the heads were not flush with surface of the bumper  and that they were just plain different than what was originally there.  So it was several days of extra work, but I couldn't be happier with the restored hardware.  Note that the bolt, nut, and washer on the left is what came from AMK, the rest are the originals form off the car.

After restoration...the heads of the original bolts have a much tighter radius on the outer edges and the square area that fits into the bumper is smaller...both of which allow these to fit flush to the bumper surface.  Removal of nicks and dents from the stainless steel caps on each bolt was extremely tedious...but they look better now than the new AMK bolts.

Trunk

Since my last post have finished assembly of the trunk area.  I ended up inspecting and cleaning the trunk harness.  It is amazing to me how well this survived over 54 years.  Most people (including me) would send the harness out to have the woven covering replaced.  In this case, it was in nice shape and you just can't get the covering to look exactly like it did originally after having it re-webbed.  Note the two colors that are used...Dark bluish-green and grayish-tan.   The string is impregnated with a waxy substance, replacement string is not, in my experience. 

I also finished the rest of the trunk interior.  Here are some shots. 

Discovered yet another oddity for the 64 1/2 cars of this era - the bumper brackets are held to the body of the car by gold cadmium bolts, along with a cadmium lock washer and a clear zinc plated conical washer.  This is different form the phos and oil bolt and the zinc dichromate conical washer called out by the assembly manual. AMK provides a longer bolt and a larger conical washer, consistent with the assembly manual.  I have documented 3 other cars (with pictures) of this June 64 period that used the setup on this car.