Another Rear Bumper Build - Pic Heavy! (1 Viewer)

[scarydriver]

Beautifully executed!
Use that extra width to your advantage when you add rear quarter protection.

That's a good point - that is something I would like to add in the future, but I'd like to cut/trim my rockers down first... and that probably won't be happening anytime in the immediate future.

Excellent work !

Napa ? Did ya move ?

Yeah, I'm originally from Napa, but spent the last 7 years down in Santa Cruz. I just moved back to be closer to family/friends, and pretty happy I did.

Will you be building anymore of this fine art for sale?I'm only an hour away from Napa.great build up and awesome work.

Ha, I was wondering if anyone would ask. I'm flattered, but I'm afraid not. Even if I charged as much as the pro's do, after the materials cost, I'd probably be working for about $2 an hour... I'm not exactly set up for production, so I'm pretty slow.

However, I would be happy to take some measurements and draw up some basic plans if anyone's interested.

I can also provide the file I took to the waterjet guy for the can carrier basket if anyone would like to duplicate it. Other than a welder, you would just need access to a computer-controlled cutting method (obviously), and a sheet metal brake that can handle 14 gauge.

Everyone else - thanks for the comments/compliments!

 

[lcwizard]

QUOTE; Ha, I was wondering if anyone would ask. I'm flattered, but I'm afraid not. Even if I charged as much as the pro's do, after the materials cost, I'd probably be working for about $2 an hour... I'm not exactly set up for production, so I'm pretty slow.

That's funny because no one in the Land Cruiser market is really set up for production... not when 5 or 10 of something is a production run.. It's not like operating the assembly line for monster energy drinks. You'll build Land cruiser parts because you love Land cruisers not because you'll make a good living.

 

[FLNewt]

However, I would be happy to take some measurements and draw up some basic plans if anyone's interested.

I can also provide the file I took to the waterjet guy for the can carrier basket if anyone would like to duplicate it. Other than a welder, you would just need access to a computer-controlled cutting method (obviously), and a sheet metal brake that can handle 14 gauge.

Everyone else - thanks for the comments/compliments!

That would be AWESOME!!!!

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Very nice and clean work indeed. Great job.

J

 

[rustybucket]

scarrydriver, I think you could make some money on this if you reverse engineer this design and create a cad file with full dimensions. Then sell the cad files to anyone interested. Were the pieces cut on plasma cutter?

 

[TARTOOSH]

Nice work good finshing

 

[Heckraiser]

Looks huge, but some rear quarter sliders would work very well with that bumper. Nice design all around.

 

[shady]

You have inspired me to start my own bumper build.

I just went out and looked under the back end of my 62 and came away with more questions that answers.

Is it necessary to completely remove the rear crossmember? It looks like it is rivited on the top and bottom of the frame. So I assume, after grinding out those rivits, they are not the holes you used to attack the brackets to the frame.

Can you tell me how you get the frame ready to accept the brackets? Once I have clean frame rails I think the rest would be pretty straight forward. I do have some fabrication experiance.

My 62 is my DD and don't want to disable it for too long by hacking up the crossmember.

Some other threads talk about tieing the two brackets together, replacing the crossmember. In your design, does the bumper itself replace the crossmember.

Sorry for the long thread, just want as much info I can get before I break out the sawsall.

 

[scarydriver]

You have inspired me to start my own bumper build.

I just went out and looked under the back end of my 62 and came away with more questions that answers.

Is it necessary to completely remove the rear crossmember? It looks like it is rivited on the top and bottom of the frame. So I assume, after grinding out those rivits, they are not the holes you used to attack the brackets to the frame.

Can you tell me how you get the frame ready to accept the brackets? Once I have clean frame rails I think the rest would be pretty straight forward. I do have some fabrication experiance.

My 62 is my DD and don't want to disable it for too long by hacking up the crossmember.

Some other threads talk about tieing the two brackets together, replacing the crossmember. In your design, does the bumper itself replace the crossmember.

Sorry for the long thread, just want as much info I can get before I break out the sawsall.

I removed the rear crossmember, but that's because the hitch receiver I built into the bumper wouldn't have worked with the crossmember there. If you ended up using a standard hitch receiver that hangs below the bumper, you might just be able to leave the crossmember there. Also, I didn't fully remove it - I got lazy and just cut it off flush with the frame rails using a sawsall. I didn't have the patience to try and get the grinder or O/A torch onto all the rivets. So no, the holes left over (if you did go that route) did not get used for mounting the bumper - it's actually mounted further to the rear.

For prepping the frame, I didn't do much there - just blew out the rivets for the original bumper mounts using the O/A torch - as well as the farthest back two rivets on each rear body mount, as they were in the way of the brackets. I then welded all the holes shut (and ran some beads on the body mounts that lost rivets), ground everything smooth, and threw a coat of paint on there. Then, drilled the new holes for the bumper using a 5/8" hole saw.

Yes, my bumper replaces the original crossmember. With the two 3/4" thick brackets welded solidly to the main bumper body, and those two brackets bolted to the frame rails with 5/8" grade 8 hardware, I think it's more than up to the task. I thought about tying the two brackets together further, or adding some gussets of some sort, but didn't think it was necessary.

Of course, I'll be the first to admit that I'm no engineer so I may be way off, but my gut is telling me that it's more than strong enough. Time will tell.

Anyway, good luck with your build!

Also, for those interested, I'll get going on the measurements/plans early this week, and I'll post up when I've got something.

 

[Rin tin tinfoil]

So AWESOME! Great design!

 

[ThreeFJman]

Sioux-eet!

Scarydriver, you are def not "scaryfabber!" Very nice fab and design work! The latch and double shear look way over built and I LOVE THAT! Nothing more frustrating than a drooping bar to have to lift and align every time you swing the bar closed. I agree, some plans would be great! Keep up the great work!

Keep the rubber on the rox!

threeFJman

 

[ThreeFJman]

Air Tank

Another thought or question:

With internal air built into the bumper, do you need to fab a drain plug for airing it once in a while. I guess what im asking is, "Would condensation be an issue?" Just a thought...

threeFJman

 

[scarydriver]

Another thought or question:

With internal air built into the bumper, do you need to fab a drain plug for airing it once in a while. I guess what im asking is, "Would condensation be an issue?" Just a thought...

threeFJman

Damn, you're probably right, and that's something I completely overlooked. I'll have to figure out a trick way to get a drain low enough on there without it getting ripped off on the trails...

Thanks for pointing that out, and thanks for the compliments!

 

[alaska60]

I built one similar to this years ago. It had one spindle holding the entire gate. That spindle endied up failing on me and I have since gone to dual gates for less stress on one spindle having to support 2 full cans, spare tire, jack, and all the metal of the gate too.

Looks great bro... hope it holds up better for you then it did for me. Nice work!

 

[tucson_sailors]

Threaded plug, perhaps

Damn, you're probably right, and that's something I completely overlooked. I'll have to figure out a trick way to get a drain low enough on there without it getting ripped off on the trails...

Thanks for pointing that out, and thanks for the compliments!

Weld in a small bit of internally threaded pipe with a 3/8" drive square plug that sits flush? Shouldn't catch on rocks, and easily removable with ordinary tools. Similar to what plumbers use when capping off water lines that may need reuse later.

$.02

Love the bumper, btw! Been searching the archives for design ideas for my 84 60.

Glenn in Tucson