rear bumper reinforcement

Hello, Long time member although I haven't posted in a while. I was wondering if anyone knows why the rear bumper steel reinforcement on my 92 2 door Cavalier is signifcantley different from the replacement that I got from a junk yard. The old one is almost rusted away but still the shell of whats left is smaller in all ways than the new one and although the new one will bolt up to the car the rubber cover will not pull in to it's mounting position by about 3 inches. The old bumper doesn't have the shock absorbers that the newer one has. They push out the bumper farther that the old one with the plastic honey comb that was fastened to the old bumper. I would appreciate any ideas. I watched the new one be taken off of a 94 2 door in the junk yard so I know it did not come off something else. I was told that at least from 90 to 94 they were all supposed to be the same. Thanks.