Do bumper guards really fit this badly???

[davepl]

So I first bought a set of NOS chrome bumper guards for my '70. Didn't have the brackets or template, though.

Then I bought a painted pair on eBay so I could get the brackets and template that would have originally come with them.

When I went to start mounting them, they don't fit very well. And yes I've confirmed I have them on the right sides (they're not the same part left to right). But they sure don't fit the bumper profile well, and this is indeed my original, factory GM bumper. So far as I know anyway. It's not LMC or anything.

Here are some pics. Can someone compare to see if I'm just being too picky or is this about as tight as they ever did fit to the bumper?

The top photo is just to show you where it is horizontally (used the original GM template). I had assumed they went where the bumper bolt was, but it's about 7 inches outboard of that.

The bottom two photos show you how poorly it fits the profile of my bumper. And just to be thorough, I tried the one from the other side (way wrong) to rule out maybe having them reversed.

Now if I have them upside down, please PM me so I can run back and delete this thread before I look stupid. Otherwise I don't know what I could be doing wrong.

I could grind on them, but the flash chrome on the NOS ones wouldn't survive the heat and I'd wind up re-chroming this white pair, but want to avoid all of that if I can.

Thanks,
Dave