front bumper mock up pics

gunna make a new front bumper soon. I have always felt that the bumper on the 80 series looked kinda disconected from the the rest of truck-it just doesn't seam to flow. i think part of this is caused by that facia piece that fits between the lights/grill and the bumper. (the piece with the turn marker lights). so why not just eliminate this piece and pull the bumper all the way up to the lights. By lifting the bumper, approach angles laterally could be better optimized. (cant go higher than the frame in the middle).
of course a bumper like this causes problems. first off the turn markers are eliminated. I plan on using a combination brake/tail bulb in place of the current marker bulb in the front corners so that those corner bulbs can serve as turn blinkers instead of just a marker light. all that needs be done is to buy a generic tail light bulb assembly that will fit into the current marker holes. i will need to do some simple wireing to make this work. I got the idea for the blinker after seeing something similar on the tech section of sleeoffroad.com.
another problem i ran into when mocking up this bumper has to do with the dryer assembly-of course it sits too low. after reading similar on this forum i loosened the clamp screw that holds the dryer in place and was able to push the dryer up a full 1.5 inches before retightening the screw. if you plan on doing this mod be prepared to do a little simple trimming to non-critical plastic on the back of the blinker light- very easy. also be prepared to do a little trimming to that piece of metal facia that houses the light-or you can leave the facia alone but it will be distorted a bit by the dryer that is pushing on it-no big deal. as i wont be needing the facia anymore this is mute for me.
I dont want to haul a heavy winch around as i have in the past so was considering a front reciever so the winch could be removed easily if needed. i wonder if a single reciever will sufice for how heavy my rig is getting with all the steel I have been adding lately-so I am considering placing 2 recievers in front-about a foot apart-side by side-so the winch could be mounted to the front by a pair of recievers.

i like this look. comment please

Nice, I'd keep it as high and tight to the body as possible. As far as pulling in up and doing away with the turn signal area....I think it makes the front look to bull nosed and flat, I would keep the design and just bring it level with the body line.

Looks good!

i agree-high and tight. i plan on placing the bumper only 3-4 inches from the grill. if you see that last pic it becomes apparant that the lateral aspects of an 80 series bumper can only go as high as that front member behind the bumper. my mock up goes as high as possible on the sides. Any higher and that member will not be protected

Leave the section with the front indicators there. The bumper looks too big makes it look like snow plough (Sorry) just my 2 cents.

Looks aggresive...I like it! Another idea for adding a turn signal would be to add one to the front of the bumper...like an ARB or search "Mirror Signals", there are several of us who have added these - or another type of front corner panel side marker.

I like the high and tight idea as well...reminds me of what Podvin did on a couple of his bumpers.

that is a trick bumper. in the pic it looks as if the bumper is on top of the frame rails-makes it look even tighter. Is that the case?

I dunno...I agree with the snowplow look.....too boxy and big.....imo. what purpose really will all that upper metal serve anyhow....If you did add some lights, like that Povdin one, it would at least break up all that huge sheet metal....

Dusty...I think it is on top of the rails...check out the Hi-Lift points where the frame horns go..

davegonz said:

I like the high and tight idea as well...reminds me of what Podvin did on a couple of his bumpers.

Click to expand...

Does the Podvin Bumper shorten the frame rails?

I like it.

I'd find some lights to put in for blinkers - look at some hot rod places. Kit Car had an article several years ago about doing custom tail lights - it wouldn't be as hard with a flat surface.

Could break up the big front panel with a winch, or a few horizontal slots to improve air flow, or two big openings with a mesh grill. Or leave it like it is....

or you could use it to practice your air brushing.....

nice pics. good ideas. i like the light ideas. There is enough room in the bumper to place 4 hella 1000's. but i think i just want flat steel without lights or decoration-purely function. with how high the bumper rides i don't even think ill put a bull bar above.

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That Podvin thing up top is bad ass!! Your mock up reminds me of the old Lambo SUV type of style for some reason...

How do I get a Podvin bumper? That thing is truely bad ass.

It does.

It reminds me of what would be a cross between this:



and this:



I'd drop the metal down to reveal the indicators.... looks like just too much as it is.

JMHO.

Another option

Here's another option for you. Could be pretty cool...

lights would break it up