In a message dated 4/2/00 11:52:47 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
marcperdue@ADELPHIA.NET writes:

<< but I was thinking that the bumper would
 lose a significant amount of its strength if beat back into shape.  >>

vw van bumpers ...strength???   LOL   hah..!!!  dont you know they're for
decoration only?
anyway, if the bumper isnt bent bad, use some wooden 2x4 blocks and a mallet,
and you can straighten it out quite well.  i straightened lister Karl Bloss's
'87 van rear bumper with quite impressive results.   fyi, i also have some of
the rear bumper strips.   ya gotta take the end caps and trim strip off
before you straighten it, ya know....  ;<)
chris