Bullbar

[Living in the Past]

I picked up this bumper today. The ad claimed it was custom made but it looks ARB to me. Bought in it Mesa AZ and came off of HJ45/47 troopy out of Australia. Or at least that I was told by the shop that had done work on it. The troopy wasn't there. It has BHP weld on the back side on the left. It this a Rip off of a ARB or the real thing? I have been seaching for a old school bullbar for a long time. Either to late, too much or just too much with shipping. This was local and cheap. Needs repair from where it was cut for a Thomas winch they removed and sold. The offroad lights came with it plus the bracket the lights are mounted on.

So ARB or copycat?

 

[KY Longhunter]

Very cool! Don't know how much you paid for it but looks like a sweet find.

 

[Poser]

I thought there was a shop in Texas making them?


Where is Grant?
He will know.

 

[Living in the Past]

I feel I got a real good deal. Even if it isn't a ARB. Local Craigslist ad $85.

 

[cruiserjunkie]

Scrap prices more than that nice old school look

 

[Living in the Past]

I thought there was a shop in Texas making them?


Where is Grant?
He will know.

Not sure if it is a ARB and BHP is a PO initials. The letter are welded on the back and very cleanly done so I guess it could be a copycat. The shop I picked up from was a imported auto repair with a Toyota shop connected. The shop said it was off a troopy from Australia. It was a diesel with a Thomas electric winch which they had sold. Thomas winch were much more common in Australia. Doubt it was made in Texas It could be a copycat but well done copy and for the price I'm still happy.

Did ARB have a plate like this on teh back side?

 

[grant5127]

Knock-off variations floating around....

 

[fjwagon]

Not sure if it'a bullbar from ARB but I concur for 85 bucks...it's a really good deal.

 

[kling-on]

ARB has roller bracing on top so it's a copy ... Very nice I like it Great score on the price... I paid alot more for mine and think I got a deal

 

[Assassin]

nice find---looks cool

 

[Eshu Elegua]

i read that,besides ARB it's in Aussie ,parts are more expensive for the locals,i read that on a forum in Facebook,fj40 series. My ARB bull bar has the tubes in the lower part that i cut here for better angle, its have the plate on the back like the one you are asking but more longer,i can check that tomorrow. For $85 it a gift,very nice made in my opinion,more round in the corner than mine,but who cares its does have the old school look..congrats.

 

[Travis22]

Ive seen a few variations, winch / no winch. Indicators / no indicators, bolt on, one piece etc. Ive never seen an ARB bar with the recovery eyes welded on the front like yours.

Personally i do not think that bar is made by ARB.

In Australia, there is one other maker who i know that used to make bar's just like that. He might even argue that ARB copied him....

Ken - from Eureka 4x4. He is IMO the 40 Series God in Australia, he's been working on them exclusively since the start. He is a great bloke who loves to chat. Classic old timer, and lucky for me he is only 15minutes down the road.

If that bar was made in Australia then my money would be on it being made by Ken.

BHP is a Steel manufacturer in Australia. Any locally sourced steel channel, tube, SHS, RHS, flat etc... is generally 'BHP'

Hope this helps.

Travis.

 

[Living in the Past]

Ive seen a few variations, winch / no winch. Indicators / no indicators, bolt on, one piece etc. Ive never seen an ARB bar with the recovery eyes welded on the front like yours.

Personally i do not think that bar is made by ARB.

In Australia, there is one other maker who i know that used to make bar's just like that. He might even argue that ARB copied him....

Ken - from Eureka 4x4. He is IMO the 40 Series God in Australia, he's been working on them exclusively since the start. He is a great bloke who loves to chat. Classic old timer, and lucky for me he is only 15minutes down the road.

If that bar was made in Australia then my money would be on it being made by Ken.

BHP is a Steel manufacturer in Australia. Any locally sourced steel channel, tube, SHS, RHS, flat etc... is generally 'BHP'

Hope this helps.

Travis.

Thanks Travis. Not really a big deal if it's ARB or not. I have no doubt the recovery eyes were added later. May even be for a towbar. But either way the quality of the welds is not near as nice as the bumper itself. Where the bumper was cut to add the Thomas winch to the cruiser was also far from a quality cut. But not only was the price right these don't come up locally very often.

 

[Living in the Past]

For $85 it a gift

Today is my birthday

 

[Living in the Past]

ARB has roller bracing on top so it's a copy ... Very nice I like it Great score on the price... I paid alot more for mine and think I got a deal[/QUOTE


]I am curious how far back the ARB bullbar were made. I know my FJ62 ARB is set up for the two different winchs. I also have seen the ARB bullbar for the 40 series with angle ends on the bumper for better clearance. So over the life of the 40 series the bullbar had some changes. I also find it interesting at least one other option was out there for this style bullbar in Australia.

 

[Travis22]

No worries.
Personally id rather a bar made by Ken over ARB anydays.

ARB have long discontinued making that style of bar, today they only offer the 'Deluxe Winch Bar - looks identical for both the 40 Series Toyota & TJ Jeep' etc.

Ken also makes a very similar bar to the 'new' ARB style, and he can still make up the old design as requested.

FWIW, the old ARB's do come up on the the local Ebay etc... Just last week there was one however IMO the owner was dreaming. It was in good condition with no visible dints however the paint was stuffed so it would have needed a couple of hundred dollars worth of sandblasting and powdercoating to make it look like new again. His starting price was $600AUD. I do not believe it sold.

Generally most of the older ARB bar's sell on ebay for around $200-300.

I picked up my bar for $110 on ebay, however it is a totally different design - 4 poster Aluminum job... If and when it does need replacing (current score is Bar 2 - Skippy 0) i will go for the same 'older' style ARB / Ken bar. They might be heavy but they sure as hell are tough, and offer 10X more protection then the new style.

Travis.

 

[cjgoode]

If that came up on my CL for $85 it would be on the front of my 40 now for sure. I love that look. Good find.

 

[Eshu Elegua]

I paid $300.00 for mine,drove 4 hrs from Orlando to Miami each way and a day off with no paid @ my work + gas....today i still in my soul.

 

[xtremitys]

Seen those bars around this land , shorty 40/45 have them mostly , heaps of bar manufacturers over here ( kangaroo land ) arb is 1 in 10 . Bhp is one of the main steel suppliers here ,

 

[Living in the Past]

I guess part of the confusion is ARB was the only company to import and sell bullbars here that were made in Australia so we tend to think of all of them made by ARB. Just like when you need a adhesive bandage we say Band Aid or petroleum jelly we say Vaseline. But just like adhesive bandages and petroleum jelly they are more than one manufacturer. Same goes with bullbar in Australia. Probably never know who made this one but I have no doubt it was from Australia and not made here in the US. The CB antenna mount is on the left side which would it in front of driver here.

If you look at the third picture in the first post you can see a small bracket on the middle horizontal bar just outside of the vertical brace. This runs vertical not horizontal like I would think a light bracket would. Anyone know what these two brackets are for?