cotter pin or split pin

Nope. Just bend the tines back together underneath the cap and pull the pin out. You'll need to remove the cap to access the screws holding the bumper body to the playfield anyway.

yes, they're chewed up, and yes Steve has them:

http://www.pbresource.com/pfbumpb.htm#skirts

Probably, but PBR has them...

Lots of folks do.

Should be two screws holding the bumper body to the playfield. Two hex nuts attaching the yoke to the ring posts. And then unsolder the bulb socket leads.

Picture?

Undo the yoke nuts first. I then like to remove the whole coil and bracket, so it's out of the way for unsoldering the socket leads (the coil/bracket will just dangle to the side, attached by the coil wires).

Unsoldering the socket leads isn't going to burn the bumper body.

But it looks like those bumper skirts may be the style with the graphite ring and not the spoon switch. PBR won't have that style (nor anyone else), so you may have to either modify the game to use spoon switches, or modify a new skirt to work with the graphite ring. I think there have been a couple threads here on that.

yes - that's where they're soldered.

No, that's just the pop bumper ring.

Nothing. Folks are using 'carbon' and 'graphite' to describe the same ring (below the playfield).

I've circled one socket lead in your picture. There should be another one on the other side. The leads poke down below the playfield and the wires attach there (with solder).

UtahSocket.jpg

No, just nailed. The separation is probably from lifting up on the siderail to raise the playfield. Can (hopefully) squeeze it back together, no glue.

Just play the game. Air and time will take care of the white soon enough.