Hi Andrew,
Having completed a substantial amount of work on the front suspension of my 410, I can confirm that the front bumper is often out of line/level, this was confirmed after I checked a few other 410s.
The front bumper is attached to the car off a tubular framework which in turn is attached to the front of the chassis; midway between the chassis and the fixing bolts for front bumper is the anti-roll bar brackets. As you will expect these brackets take quite a lot of force and can distort the alignment sufficiently to move the bumper out of line/level. Another issue that occurred on my car (I am told is quite a common shortcut) at some point in the past the lower wishbone bushes were replaced; to do the job properly the framework supporting the bumper should be removed but for quickness in replacing the bushes, mechanics will cut the tubular framework out, replace the bushes and weld the frame back in position. This type of procedure will obviously distort the alignment slightly.
If the bumper is not parallel with the front of the car, spacers can be positioned between the bumpers and the fixing points.
To summarise, the simplest way to adjust the line and level of the bumper is to try and adjust it at the bumper fixing points to the framework, provided it’s not too far out of line. The only other alternative is to carry out the adjustments on the tubular framework but that involves removing the radiator, grill, upper and lower cover plates, anti-roll bar and a few other bits before having full access to the framework.
Hope this helps a little.
Brian
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