Off Roading New bumper in progress...

[JFlagg]

Last week I started building the bumper I've had planned in my head for a year or two now. Started out with 3"X 6" rectangular box 6' long. Stared making some chalklines where I might want to cut to get an idea how this would go together. Of course there have been several changes as I've come along on this project:-laf



After I figured out how was going to bevel the corners and get it to look clean I decided that the 12K elec. MileMarker I had on the shelf needed a new home. I figured behind the rear bumper would be a great spot for it. So I made a hole for the roller fairlead so it would protrude from the bumper as little as possible. I will box the hole in around the fairlead too, will help keep junk out of the bumper. Also figured it needed some D-rings/clevis's, so I added two of them also.



After I cutout the corners to get better angles I used some cardboard to make some templates for the plates I needed to make. Its alot easier to cut the cardboard then the plate if I messed up... :-laf As of now I only have one end made, but hopefully I'll have it completely boxed in by this weekend. I was going to add some flush mount back-up lights 'cause my stock ones suck#@$%! , but I think I'm almost out of room, even if I use 4" round ones. They might fit to the outside of D-rings, but might look like I put too much stuff in the bumper and it would lose its "smooth" look. I'll post more pictures as I get more completed. Hope everyone likes it... .

 

[y-knot]

Keep us informed... ... ... gee I love stuff like this... nothing like making things with your own 2 hands.

 

[JFlagg]

Keep us informed... ... ... gee I love stuff like this... nothing like making things with your own 2 hands.

I agree, I always have some kind of project going on. "Idle hands are the devils playground" might apply here... . :-laf My problem is I usually have more than one project, usually several.

 

[csutton7]

looks good so far---I too love things like this----keep us posted... . chris

 

[y-knot]

Where did you get those bolt on shackles you have on the bumper? I did a set like that.

 

[JFlagg]

See that "Jeep" in the background, it's actually a Ford M151 from vietnam I "reappropriated" from Ft. Leonardwood. Those shackles are the ones that mount to the rear corners. Can't see them in any of those pictures, but they are there. They are rated at 9K each... . on a 2200 lb vehicle no less! I have a set mounted to the front of my truck, a set on my "jeep" and that set in the pics. They are pretty nice, I wire wheeled all the old olive paint, I'll repaint them when I finish the bumper. If you need a set, look on Ebay under M151 for parts. There usually are a few sets for sale, though sometimes its cheaper at a farm supply, people think they are worth more just 'cause they are army surplus, go figure.

 

[jtnm]

Looking sweet!!!

 

[y-knot]

JFlagg,

Thanks for the info, did a search and could not find any used but was able to locate some rather bold units rated at 46,000lbs each for $91. 00 each.

 

[JFlagg]

I imagine their alittle beefer than mine though:-laf Personally, I just like walking around the farm supply stores, they have alot of good stuff like that at pretty reasonable prices. STL has Bucheit's, Orchlens and Dickey Bub, could spend all day there Ebay isn't bad, but heavy stuff eats up your savings with shipping sometimes.

 

[y-knot]

I know what you mean, I love looking around at new gizmo's and trying think of ways to use them. Tractor supply is all we have here, they are OK. I usually buy off the web, not E-bay but retailers that sell specialized parts and pieces. The D-rings will be here next week, they didn't come from E-bay either.

 

[Nate]

Trailer shops have them. I bought some weld on ones a while back, they were about $10 each. 15,000lb rating.

 

[Simplysmn]

Is Your Jeep A 151 A1 Or A2? Nice Looking So Far

 

[JFlagg]

Its an A2. Believe it or not I found it in the woods, winched it on my trailer, filled with fluids, added 2 batteries and it cranked right up! Tires even held air. Had to remove about a truckbed of leaves and a few mice, but that thing wheels circles around any Hummer I've ever driven, will almost go places just a quad will. Got some pics of the rear bumber I built for that and some rocksliders I added too. I'll load 'em on tomorrow at work if you want. Done some other stuff to make it function better. Like a PVC pipe snorkel, 3" lift to clear 245/70R16s instead of the 7. 00x16 pizza cutters and flush mount tail lights. I kept smashing them on rocks Hopefully this winter I'll see how it will haul an elk or muledeer

 

[JFlagg]

Here are the pics of the sliders on the 151. You can see my PVC/Coleman lantern/ toilet base snorkel too:-laf Did have to cut about and 1-1 1/2" of the rockerpanels to get them onto some solid metal though. All in all an easy fab.

 

[Simplysmn]

I use to be real heavy into the military stuff like completely restroed m151 A1 or A2 even had a M274 mule that was a blast for a little thing . if you are even in need of parts give me a yell I know of alot of places that stock stuff

 

[JFlagg]

Here are the latest pics of the bumper. I got the brackets welded on and a test fit done. I also welded the bolts for the shackles on when I realized that after I finished boxing the bumper in I wouldn't be able to get inside to access the nuts if I needed to. I wanted to weld the nuts in so the bumper would basically be threaded, but I didn't have a drillbit large enough for a 3/4" nut to fit in, so I just put the bolts in from the inside and welded them in place, should work just fine. I also primered and painted the bumper so I could get it on for my roadtrip to NC this past week. Still have a few things to do, so I'll have to repaint it again when I'm totally finished, but this way it kept rust to a minimum. Only thing now is, my hitch looks like it hangs too low, thinking about filling the gap with some aux. lights or cut and reweld the hitch about an 1" or 2 higher. (Don't worry, it will probably be stronger afterwards)

 

[JFlagg]

Couldn't fit all the pics in the same post, so here are the rest. Gotta love those tailgate dents... :-laf

 

[jtnm]

Very nice work JFlagg, great job looks awesome!