I had an offroading mishap where I pushed my stock front bumper into a dirt wall. The factory supports crumpled like tinfoil, and the bumper pushed up into the trim. I couldn't believe how easily it bent.
I could have straightened out the stock bumper, but I wanted something beefier with more protection for offroading. In looking around at options, this front bumper from Coastal Offroad caught my eye: 80 Series Land Cruiser High Clearance Front Bumper Kit | Coastal Offroad. It is a DIY weld-together kit, made from 3/16" steel, and only weighs 72 lbs. So after a few days, the kit arrived:
The bumper mounts using 6 bolts on the bottom of the frame rails and 6 more on the sides. I tacked up the center section without much trouble but did have to enlarge one of the bolt holes on the side a little to get it to mount.
Then I started on the driver's side wing. One thing I noticed is their template seems to be based on a de-flared FZJ80. I had to angle down the side wings a little lower than the level of the center section to avoid contacting the flares, which required grinding on some of the pieces to get them to fit flush, because the angle was off.
Another issue (not mentioned anywhere on their site) is that you absolutely must relocate the AC dryer, otherwise you can't even build the bumper. I pushed mine out of the way by bending the lines, but it is nearly horizontal and I'm considering relocating it up into the engine bay.
I could have straightened out the stock bumper, but I wanted something beefier with more protection for offroading. In looking around at options, this front bumper from Coastal Offroad caught my eye: 80 Series Land Cruiser High Clearance Front Bumper Kit | Coastal Offroad. It is a DIY weld-together kit, made from 3/16" steel, and only weighs 72 lbs. So after a few days, the kit arrived:
The bumper mounts using 6 bolts on the bottom of the frame rails and 6 more on the sides. I tacked up the center section without much trouble but did have to enlarge one of the bolt holes on the side a little to get it to mount.
Then I started on the driver's side wing. One thing I noticed is their template seems to be based on a de-flared FZJ80. I had to angle down the side wings a little lower than the level of the center section to avoid contacting the flares, which required grinding on some of the pieces to get them to fit flush, because the angle was off.
Another issue (not mentioned anywhere on their site) is that you absolutely must relocate the AC dryer, otherwise you can't even build the bumper. I pushed mine out of the way by bending the lines, but it is nearly horizontal and I'm considering relocating it up into the engine bay.
