ZUKIWORLD Online | Suzuki 4x4 Editorial and Forum
ZUKIWORLD Discussion Forum => Suzuki 4x4 Forum => Topic started by: paps133 on July 19, 2004, 03:21:35 AM
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Hey there, i'm interested in making my own front and rear bumper, i was wondering if any one had a template of a bumper that they are willing to sell. or may know of a place that i may obtain one. thanks guys, pierre
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i know that rocky road has a do it your self bumper im not sure if its the front or back but they have it so chack out there website.
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i think thats for a sammy, isn't it?
stu
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I made my bumper out of mainly 1/8" steel sheet. I ended up buying a whole 4x8 sheet as it was the same price as getting a piece cut big enough to make just a front bumper. The bonus is I had enough left over to build skid plates and I can still build the rear bumper. I started by removing the old bumper and using it as a guide for the shape of the new one. I put the old one on top of the sheet steel and drew an outline of the old bumper as viewed from the top. I installed a Harbor Frieght winch, so the center is cut out for it. The front and back pieces are hand formed without heat. The bottom pieces are fitted to the other pieces. I built the base for the winch first and welded it to the frame. I know some people prefer to bolt, but I figure I can always cut it off if I need to. The winch area is 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick where neccessary. 1/8 may seem thin for a bumper, but the center section is quite strong and the outside sections are a full box section. The 1/8 steel can be cut with a torch, plasma, jig saw or cutoff wheels. I welded both the inside and outside of almost all of the joints and then ground down the outside to make a nice radius. I used a small mig unit for most of the welding. I have a receiver and tow bar on the front and where it got really thick I used a stick welder. I welded a crossbar on the suspension lower ball joints and used that to weld bars from the bumper to the crossbar. The crossbar also gives you a place for the front skid plate.(http://www.kielbassa.com/pictures/bumper 1a.jpg)
(http://www.kielbassa.com/pictures/bumper 2a.jpg)
(http://www.kielbassa.com/pictures/bumper 4.jpg)
(http://www.kielbassa.com/pictures/bumper 5.jpg)
(http://www.kielbassa.com/pictures/bumper 6.jpg)
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Wow, man. That's a nice looking bumper! :o
Is that the 9000lb Harbor Freight winch? Any good?
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I have only used the winch once and it worked perfectly. It looks identical to the Mile Marker winch only cheeper. I relocated the control box to in front of the battery and the remote control can reach out of the back of the hood and into the drivers window for easy control. If you wait Harbor Frieght usually has them on sale for under $300.
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I know... they were on sale when I was looking at their winches a few weeks ago, but I got a catalog in the mail just a few days ago, and it was marked at $400-450 :-/
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"WOW" that looks pretty dang good, Looks like it belongs there ;D
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that is a hell of a bumper, i lover it. it's nicer then any other bumper i have ever seen, including proffesionally build ones. Just a comment you should consider making those things on the side to make some extra cash. good work , tahnks for the help, by the way i'd like to be the first to place an order. lol thanks for the help pierre
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WOW thats a nice bumper, kinda looks like it hangs low?
stu
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well, it doesn't look like he has a lift on there. thats my guess.
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Whe I first put the bumper on, the front end dropped quite a bit. I installed 1 1/2 spacers in the front. It raised the front end 3" which meant I had to install camber bolts. The front end was always lower than the rear so now they are even. I will take another photo from a lower angle so you can see the clearance and the skid plates tomorrow. As far as making them for a profit I really appreciate how inexpensively Calmini and the others make theirs. The material costs were under $50 but the time was seven five hour days. Building stuff is great and cheap if you don't count your time and consider it therapy or fun.
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;D