Finally got around to starting on my front bumper! Ive always liked the look of the ARB bull bars, but being a college student did not like the price. Thus, being an engineering student I decided to make my own. The main sections that bolt to the frame are 3/16" steel and the rest of the bumper is 12ga sheet steel. No fancy tools either, just a welder, grinder, and sawzall. These pictures represent about 3 days of progress so far. Some of the pics are a little small because they were taken with my cell phone because I did not have the nice digital with me. Let the spring break project begin!

Step 1: remove old bumper


Cardboard mock-up (minus hoops on top)


Front brackets attached


Testing fit of the front piece after bending

 

Top sections attached


Bottom sections attached


What small cars see before they die

 

looks great, do you plan on mounting a winch in the future?

 

I dont have the money for a winch right now, but im pretty sure that one would fit and the material should be strong enough with mininal reenforcements. How big are the spool parts of winches typically?

 

Looking good!

 

No new pics after working on the bumper today. I basically just finished fully welding the interior seams and started rounding the edges. Tomorrow I pick up the pieces for the hoop and will hopefully have time to attach those and cut holes for the turn signals.

 

Lookin good.

 

it might just be the angle of the pic, but that looks way wider than the body

 

It lines up with the fender bulges, not the corner lamps.....you can see it in the pic one of the otehr shots......totally the angle



Lookin good, Dude!

Hopw much would you charge to spray the carboard one silver? I coudl probably sell it to one of my dumb friend for a couple hundred....hahaha :pat:

 

If you look at the first pic in the second post, you'll notice that the ends of the bumper line up with the bulge in the fenders. This bumper does stick out a bit farther than the stocker, but it gives the wheels better apprach angles (And looks a helluva lot meaner).

As for the cardboard version, it was sacrificed to make patterns for the metal one, so it doesnt look quite as pretty anymore. The metal one doesnt sag quite as much either.

I hope to have some more pictures of progress added tonight.

 

what h4 conversions are those?

 

Here's the progress at the end of Wednesday. I cut the holes for the turn signals and acquired the pipe for the top hoop, which I hope to add on tomorrow. I decided to recess the turn signals to add a little bit of protection and give it a more professional look.

The bumper thus far


Close-up of turn signal detail


As for the H4 conversions, they were some cheapo ones I got from advance auto parts, I think the brand was APC and I do NOT recommend this particular kind. Because of the 'diamond cut' thingy in the center, visibility is crap. Everywhere except right in front of you is lit up, which kind of defeats the purpose of headlights if you cant see where you are going. They have silverstar bulbs in them which are excellent. In the (hopefully soon) future I plan to upgrade these to the Hella housings and maybe even their super yellow bulbs for better foul-weather visibility (the 'bling' white of the silverstars is wearing off in my mind).

 

Thursday progress update. I have the hoops on the top welded on and I am very happy with how its turning out. I wasted a lot of time tonight grinding the turn signal holes to look pretty, but I think the end result will be worth it. All that is left to be done is cut the holes in the bottom center panel for air vents and weld in a few tabs for the turn signals. I cant wait to get it on the truck so its driveable, but with the snow we got recently I dont want to rush paint prep and end up with rust coming through sooner than it should.

Front angled view


Front


Side

 

Very nice work.

 

Nice and fast build man! Now you need new springs and wheels+tires hehehe

David

 

want to make me one...lol...

 

Yeah, right now the truck is lacking the suspension and tires department. The eventual plan is to go with a 3-4" spring lift, 33" tires, and 4.88 gears. The tires will need replacing this summer so I think I will put on some 31" BFG M/Ts to give it a bit meaner look and better traction. These might be a little big with the 4.10 gears, but its a truck, not a race car so I think I can live with it.

 

yeah, dont waste your money regearing for 31s wait untill you go at least 33s

 

Finally done! Finished things up on Sat. night and primed the bumper. Here are a few pics of the completed work:





When the weather warms up a bit here I will spray it black to match the rear bumper I made last summer.

 

pretty clean for a MN truck!