FJC front bumper modification... (1 Viewer)

[Sedagive]

Hello h8rs,
Newbie and glad to be aboard...I'll cut to the chase: I'd like to make the front of my 2011 FJC more "old school" by removing the stock bumper and replacing it with a FJ40/45/55 bumper. Aesthetically, I know there would still be a major gap, but I would fill that by welding bracket mounts on top of the channel bumper and mount a Hi-Lift jack. I know anything is possible, but is this a practical project? Could you even bracket mount it to the existing front bumper extensions on the FJC? Your advice and expertise is greatly appreciated...

 

[1911]

Sure, a stock 40 bumper is simplicity itself, and I'd be surprised if you couldn't bolt it directly to the FJC front extension mounts. Have to drill some new holes for sure but not much else I'd guess.

But have you seen an FJC with all the stock bumper pieces and surrounding plastic removed? It's going to be fugly as hell with just that 40 bumper hanging on the front extensions, in my opinion - but YMMV and it's your truck, so have at it if you want.

 

[Sedagive]

Fugly factor? Agreed, 1911 thanks for your input...I'll pull off the front and play around with it
All the best

 

[NCFJ]

I formerly built bumpers for the front of the FJC and 1911 is correct, fugly. The 40 series was squared off so the square lines of the bumper worked. The FJC is nothing but curves. Take your time removing the plastic bumper surround, it is easy to break the mounting plastic where the bumper meets the sheet metal at the wheel well.

 

[Sedagive]

NCFJ,
Got any pix? It may be what I need to overcome my enthusiasms about the bumper mod...so even mounting a Hi-Lift jack on top and maybe a pair of Hellas wouldn't be enough to disguise the design variances between square vs rounded lines?
Much appreciated...

 

[ufg8r]

I know a guy that has this, not sure wether he documented it anywhere.

@4xphoenix

 

[ufg8r]

Well crap....here's a link to the image.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/media/scc-llk-4.36340/

 

[Sedagive]

Hmmm...that photo makes it look like it might fly - was that a stock FJ40 bumper? What was your opinion regarding the way it looked?
Thanks for the post, ufg8r

 

[ufg8r]

Yup, stock 40 bumper. I liked it, definitely unique. Bet you'd find some that like it and some that don't. Not sure what you'd do about a winch with that set up though.

 

[Sedagive]

ufg8r, any idea what they installed just under the front grille? It looks like a cut-down section of custom metal bumper painted to match(?) -that takes some of the fugly factor out...

 

[ufg8r]

Not sure, I've only been around the truck a couple times and didn't ask how he did it....so we've about hit the limit of my knowledge on this one!

I suppose you could make this piece with either metal or fiberglass.

 

[4xphoenix]

I used an OEM 40 front bumper, which was full length until it bent for me the same way it did for its original owner and I cut it where it kept bending. I needed some flat iron to extend from the frame; the old bumper wouldn't quite fit over the FJC "bumper", a flimsy piece that must be covered.

 

[Sedagive]

Well, took the plunge and pulled off the stock OEM bumper, staged a mock-up of what the FJ40 bumper and Hi-Lift jack initially looks like, and I've got to say, it ain't half bad looking...(I will post pix shortly...I hate this part of trying to download photos to create a URL - any suggestions as to the easiest way to accomplish this?). My biggest concerns is the exposed water reservoir on the passenger side and the aluminum cooling coil that juts out in front of the radiator. I'd like to try and rig up some type of cover over the water reservoir, so I'm open to any/all suggestions. I will be using a 6" angle iron brace bolted onto the bumper extensions to hold the Hi-Lift, and a flat iron bracket bolted onto the front of the existing FJC aluminum bumper to attach the OEM FJ40 bumper.
I look forward to your input/comments/suggestions...

 

[Sedagive]

 

[Sedagive]

I will also remove the fascia under the grill

 

[NyNomad]

Talk about approach angle killer

 

[Sedagive]

NyNomad...respectfully, what does that mean?

 

[NyNomad]

Approach and departure angles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[iwashmycar]

Its no worse than stock as far as approach goes, but man that looks pretty bad.

 

[BMThiker]

Here are the stock angles for a 2007 (probably not much different than the 2010+) and the numbers are better with larger tires