Eliminate bumper fascia
 

I just bought a 99 Monte C and I want to get rid of the bumper fascia (the piece with the peeling chrome) but there are holes in the bumper that it mounts to. I saw a different type of 5th gen. bumper that did not have this piece. Is it possible to swap out the bumper cover with one that does not have this fascia?
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k...-12-53_294.jpg

Yes you can swap the bumper covers. The Z34 monte's don't have this molding and they also have a more aggressive lip. The two are interchangeable. If you can find one in white it will be an easy fix/upgrade :thumbsup:

You can remove it, but the bumper underneath will look like ****.

Thanks for the confirm on the bumper cover. I will be on the look out for one.

Maybe you could sand the peeling chrome off an paint it flat black or some other color..

Cheapest option would be sand and paint. Keep in mind - the strip of fake chrome on your LS bumper is gunmetalish on Z34 bumpers.

True, I forgot about this. If you swap a Z34 bumper your chrome strip wont match around the whole car. I've seen people black out this strip with paint, vinyl, or plasti-dip, and it usually looks pretty good if done around the whole car.

The entire piece is cracked and brittle. If I remove it to repaint it will probably break. I will probably end up removing it and filling in the holes and repainting the bumper. I also am removing the front license holder so will need to fill those holes as well.

Any recommendations on what to use to fill the holes on the bumper?

Great Idea :thumbsup:

You will destroy it if you remove it. The double sided tape under it makes sure of that. Tape off the bumper if you want to paint it. If you want to remove it, you'll need to take off your Chevy emblem, it's held on with 2 nuts I believe. Those are the only holes you'll need to fill, if you don't just put the emblem back on. But it will be yellow, peeling, and quite gross underneath and will require painting. Best thing for filler would probably be some sort of body filler that can flex because the bumper is plastic... Bondo will likely fall out after a short amount of time (I'm not sure on that, but that would be my best guess). You could try fiberglass resin I suppose...

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6...3/IMAG0435.jpg
i removed mine painted it black where it was and later lost my embelm when a guy backed into it you barely notice the 2 holes my chrome ring is also plastidipped

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--...3/IMAG0002.jpg
this was when i kept the embelm and painted the grey surround black. Wd40 and a flathead and pull the that crap away

Good Ideas here
 

Lots of good ideas here:thumbsup: This looks like the best approach with the least amount of $ and toil.

Thanks everyone. I will post pics once I git er done!

Definitely post pics and good luck :thumbsup:

Removed it all and filled the holes
 

Removed the fascia trim and bow tie. Was able to remove all the sticky body tape with nylon scrappers and Citusolv. Citrusolv works great and doesn't hurt the paint. Filled the holes with PC11 marine epoxy which is flexible and sands pretty good. I bought a rattle can of matching paint from AA for $5 (beats the dealer paint at $15 a can). I filled it and let it set up for a week then sanded it with sander to get it flat than started using 600 wet sandpaper and finished with 1000 wet sandpaper. Sprayed it with 3 light coats. Let it dry overnight and wet sanded again with 1000 grit. I can see some slight barely noticeable marks but overall from 2 feet away it looks pretty good.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V...onte%2B005.jpg

That turned out very well! Great job!

Thanks! Couldn't have done it without the advice and support here!!:thumbsup::congrats:

Yes you can exchange the fender includes. The Z34 monte's don't have this creating and they also have a more competitive lip. The two are exchangeable. If you will discover one in white-colored it will be an simple fix. . . . .

My 1997 LS has the same issue with the gray insert panel. I need to think of a solution for mine.

Just an FYI, about the Z34 bumpers...the strip around the whole thing can be removed, and chrome to replace it. When I had my 1998 LS, I had put a Z34 bumper on it, and I was able to peel out the color matching trim, and I bought a roll of self stick "wheel opening molding" from the auto parts store. Was a perfect fit, and looked authentic.

I must say, it heavily surprises me that there are none of these "inserts" out there. Since they are a separate piece of the bumper, one would think that there would be some floating around.