I just went to install the front bumper on this 70 cuda and it dosent seem to fit. it is supposed to be a factory bumper but i have no way to know for sure. do these things normally fit bad?

somethings bent.

this is an OE original bumper and it fits the body perfectly

Is there any chance this bumper could be a challenger bumper? i dont know whats different between the challenger and cuda bumpers exactly. the bumper wasnt beat up when i got it so i didnt think it was bent .

That's a Cuda bumper.. Wrong brackets are holding it out from the body & in the pictures it appears the center is pushed in tighter than the ends but that may just be the picture...

Ah, the old "add the rubber bumper to the car with the metal bumper brackets" trick...And when you first put them on they look just like your pic... ...You do know there's a different set of brackets between the two don't you ??? ... Anyhow, cheer up you can get it to fit...You've got the bumper center rolled up too high which kicks the ends out like a pair of wings...Loosen all the bolts and rotate the bumper down and push it back as far as it will go...Then see where that puts you{usually at the end of the adjuster slots}...Here's where the fun part comes in...You'll need to file some of the slots to gain more travel depending on how the bumper fits...Supposedly the slots are the difference between the rubber/metal brackets besides the obvious part numbers... So take your time and get it to fit correctly...And this is what you'll look like at the car show.......

Dirt, I just want to mention, since you seem to be somewhat unfamiliar with the rubber bumpers, that there is a cosmetic difference between the 70 and 71 front rubber bumpers regarding the length of the valance panel-to-bumper-gap covers/tabs on the the bottom of the bumper. The 71 covers/tabs are longer due to the 1971 model having the valance mounted turn signals requiring extra space in the valance panel.

the bumper brackets are repro. i still have the original ones but some one drilled a bunch of big holes in them to loose weight for drag racing back in the day. i will compart the brackets to see what the difference is. but i am not completely sure they were the original ones since some one put on a metal bumper. i only knew it had the rubber ones because the build sheet was still in the car and called for them.

that stuff about got to have special bracket is just not true
i have a repo rubber bumper on my cuda (gregory) it fits like a glove like on the green aar above
its on the orignal 70brackets my car was born with and never had to slot anything
that being said differance between 70-71 is the open on the bottom and if you had a 71bumper you would know it the sec you hung it cause it would over hang the valance open
if you had wrong brackets it either would not bolt up (challenger brackets) hold bumper to far from the car all the way across
trust me i did both above lol
now... either your bumper is bent/tweeked or needs to rotated (ends pulled up) then slid back
do you have road lamps on the bumper?? if so take them off till bumper fits nice

also thats a cuda bumper as a challenger is way differnt

I added an OEM elasto bumper to my '70 Cuda, used the original chrome bumper brackets, fit was fine.

My understanding, there IS a special bracket for the elastomerics. Same stamping as the chrome bumper bracket but the mounting holes are larger to allow for more adjustability.

Bumper shown has the wrong brackets, or it's bent. If it's bent, staighting it is almost impossible. The rubber covering makes it so you can't tell exactly were it's bent and where to put it in the press to straighten.

i bought a factory rubber bumper and placed it on my 70 barracuda convertible, the brackets came with the chrome bumper and it fits fine...... on one side...my rubber bumper is bent on one side...was thinking of ramming it into a tree to push it back in...

i figured out the problem. the bumper was bent. i had to cut it and pull it back and reweld it. then i had to fix the rubber where i welded it. i used something 3m had to repair flexible bumpers and it seems to work well. i will get some pictures up when i get a chance