Can't buy the bumper I want, so I'm going to build one...

[bamachem]

Prelim design in CAD.

Bumper Mounting Brackets on Frame and central members will be 3/8" thick, CNC cut. Thinking of 3/16" thick for the sheet. Hoop is from a TJM T3. Will eventually add a "tray" to the frame bracket to house a 9500# warn.

Any pointers?

Any possilbe interest for a "kit" of pieces to have a final fitting and fab by owner (or shop of owner's choice)?

http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/bumper-design-rev1.jpg

[olharleyman]

Are you gonna make it multi generational?

[bamachem]

LOL... simply put, no.

It's for a UZJ 100. I don't have a 4Runner any longer. Sorry!

[Bob98SR5]

looks good andy, cant wait to see the photo play by play :)

[Erich_870]

Cool looking design.

I'm most interested to hear how you find a fabricator to cut and build to your dimensions. Are you going to find a separate place with a water jet/ plasma table or just have one guy do the whole thing?

Erich

[DHC6twinotter]

Nice! I'm leaning towards a uzj100 as my next vehicle, so I'm really looking forward to how this comes out! Is a rear bumper in the works too? :thumbup:

[bamachem]

Cool looking design.

I'm most interested to hear how you find a fabricator to cut and build to your dimensions. Are you going to find a separate place with a water jet/ plasma table or just have one guy do the whole thing?

Erich


I have a local place that dropped by my office a month or so ago to talk with us about doing work with them. They have a CNC water jet for cutting. They also do any type of fab work, so I may just have them weld everything up as well.

[Erich_870]

I have a local place that dropped by my office a month or so ago to talk with us about doing work with them. They have a CNC water jet for cutting. They also do any type of fab work, so I may just have them weld everything up as well.


Sounds like they have some incentive to take on your project. :clap: I've been having a heck of a time finding anyone remotely local to me who'll discuss some of my projects. They are only interested in doing a large run of items. :(

Erich

[Crinale]

that sucks... no private fabricators in your area? i know of 3 within an hour of me that specialize in off-road, one of them is even toyota (land cruiser) based

[bamachem]

ended up going w/ a shop that had a CNC plasma machine. the winch plate, frame brackets, and center section is 1/4", the bumper "skeleton" is 1/2", and the wings are 1/8" on the prototype. i can tell you now that the center will be 1/8" as well, and we will probably go ahead and cut a new one. i wanted 3/16", but they didn't have any drop for fitting this first one together.

tomorrow we will be bending the pieces on a 10-ton press and tacking some up for initial fitment.

now that i have the shop w/ CNC table and press, the welder/fitter is ready to go, i'm all set. i have the powder coating shop on notice, and the greyhound bus terminal is only 100-yards from my day-job desk. we also have a freight dock here with regular drop offs and pick ups, so UPS or FedEx freight is also a decent shipping option.

First cuts in the 1/2" plate:
http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/cut1.JPG

Pieces ready for the press:
http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/cut2.JPG

[Erich_870]

Cool! Can't wait to see more progress.

Erich

[Erich_870]

that sucks... no private fabricators in your area? i know of 3 within an hour of me that specialize in off-road, one of them is even toyota (land cruiser) based


We have a couple welders and one machine shop and they are either too busy or too poorly run to get back to me.

Get this, we don't even have a gun smith in town any more! :screwy:

Erich

[DHC6twinotter]

Andy, when you bring the machine shop your CAD file, can they just load the file and the CNC machine figures out the best cut patern? Or do you have to tell the CNC where to start/finish each cut?

[bamachem]

in AutoCAD, I had to use the section lengths and angles of the planes to determine what the flat piece of plate would look like for each part with the compound angles included. Once I had the flat plate drawn full-size, I took the file to the fabricator. He takes the DWG file, saves it as a DXF file, then transferrs it to another machine loaded with his CNC programming software. At that point, he lays out each piece on a virtual sheet for each thickness required. Each cut file is then loaded as the sheets are loaded on the CNC table. The operator selects the "corner" for the 0,0 start point, and then he begins the program to cut the parts.

[DHC6twinotter]

Awesome, thanks! That's exactly what I was wondering about.

[Okie81]

Looking forward to seeing the end-product. I wish I knew AutoCAD a little better; it's a limitless program.

[AlexJet]

LOL... simply put, no.

It's for a UZJ 100. I don't have a 4Runner any longer. Sorry!


Andy, your red one was awesome. Why you gone with LC100 instead of 4Runner? Was it space issue? I have 2 Runners and absolutely love them. The only thing I'm missing on both of them is D-4D...

[Crinale]

he sold both 4runners... and he doesnt do much (any?) serious off-roading anymore, and the UZJ100 was his wife's ride... but she got a new vehicle and he sold the black one to a guy doing a south of the border expedition.

[bamachem]

he sold both 4runners... and he doesnt do much (any?) serious off-roading anymore, and the UZJ100 was his wife's ride... but she got a new vehicle and he sold the black one to a guy doing a south of the border expedition.


wow. Do I have a stalker? LOL :D

That pretty much summed it up. We've had the 100 for about 3 years now. We used to live 45-min from Tellico in East TN. We moved to the gulf coast a couple years ago and no need for a rock crawler down here at the beach, so I sold the red 4runner to get another one and build it for mild offroad stuff. I got the black 4runner last year, and got started on it. At some point along the way, we decided to get a car (instead of two SUV's), so we got a convertible solara (great at the beach and with our warm weather) and I had to choose between a 99 4Runner Limited or a 00 Land Cruiser. Land Cruiser had payments, but offered WAY more space and comfort along with lower miles. 4Runner had rear locker, but UZJ has ATRAC which works very well offroad on both front and rear traction. Only thing I do offroad anymore is going hunting in the winter and I get off the beaten path from time to time. The sad thing is there just aren't any trails withing 100+ miles of me. ZERO.

[Crinale]

wow. Do I have a stalker? LOL :D


:bowdown: :love: *hides in the bushes*

:rofl: :lol:

nah, i just have way too good a memory for stuff i read :-P

[bamachem]

Ran into a couple interferences on the fab up that needed to be worked out in CAD, recut, then re-bent.

Final thicknesses:

Frame Mounting Bracket: 1/4"
Winch Mounting Plate (direct to frame): 1/4"
Bumper Mounting Plates (at frame rails): 3/8"
Bumper Skin: 1/8" (thicker than ARB and TJM)

New plate will be cut and bent by lunch tomorrow. Part of the reason it's taking so long is because we're doing a 91 Toyota P/U at the same time with a very similar style bumper. The UZJ will be tacked up first (tomorrow after lunch) and hopefully welded out by quitting time. I'll take pics of the build-up along the way.

The P/U bumper will be completed over the weekend, then they will both go to the powder coater next week.

Plan for later this week will be for me to get the CAD drawings finalized (dimensional changes from what we learn at fab-up) and we will probably go ahead and build the first "production" bumper next week. Any additional tweeks to the CAD files will be done after that bumper is complete. After that, we should be ready to go.

For now, looks like pricing will be $800-$850 range + shipping for a complete, welded out, powder coated bumper with winch plate for the frame on a UZJ (no hoop). Kit *may* come later with the pre-cut and pre-bent pieces, un-coated and/or un-painted of course. These would be in the $400 range and would require only a 3-4 hours to do final fitting and welding, then finish coating (paint or PC) of your choice.

Now that TJM is off the market, there's plenty of room for some additional "mom&pop shops" in addition to ARB and slee - really not much else out there. Looking to just help some fellow cruiser heads out.

I'll have the weight tomorrow.

FYI: Sales of bumpers and kits will be operated under an LLC (in Alabama) and will have a website with pics, prices, etc and Paypal payment acceptance up and running in January. I'll be adding sliders and a rear bumper to the offerings as well!


Pics tomorrow! :D

[DHC6twinotter]

Awesome! I'm looking forward to how this turns out!

[DHC6twinotter]

btw, you should make high steer kits for the 80 series. Slee's are $$$$$$. :D

[bamachem]

Got the center section (frame to frame) for both trucks tacked and mounted up. Very little adjustments needed there. Got the front-facing section of the wings trimmed and tacked on the cruiser. Pics posted below...

My welder is certified for working on US Navy ship building along with high pressure vessels and piping. Think stacked dimes...

He's taking what's done so far on the center of the UZJ and his stuff for his P/U and welding them up tomorrow & Friday at home. Monday is when we're going to get the wings completed and finish off the winch plate for the UZJ.

Going good so far...


http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/Bumper-Build-01.jpg

http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/Bumper-Build-02.jpg

http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/Bumper-Build-03.jpg

http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/Bumper-Build-04.jpg

As you can see in this last pic, the wings will need a few CAD adjustments before the next one is cut. We're going to just fill in the gaps on this one, then take final measurements and get the files updated. At least it's progress though!

http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/Bumper-Build-05.jpg

[DHC6twinotter]

:drool: :drool: :drool:

[4x4mike]

Very nice. It's cool to see it coming together.

[Crinale]

its looking real good! and those are amazing prices... theres a local guy (i dont know if he makes ujz100 stuff) that specializes in land cruisers, and his bumpers are between $1200 and $2000 depending on options...

[bamachem]

crappy blackberry pics from today...

http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/pic10.jpg

http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/pic11.jpg

http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/pic12.jpg

http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/pic13.jpg

http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/pic14.jpg

http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/pic15.jpg

http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/pic16.jpg

http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/pic17.jpg

http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/pic21.jpg

http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/pic22.jpg



mo' betta pics coming tomorrow. weather is supposed to be nice and sunny, so you'll see more details in the black that just don't show up at night.

[bamachem]

factory horn on frame is retained. you will have to drill one hole in the frame for the winch bracket - only modification to the truck.

winch plate will bolt from the 1/4" thick winch plate, thru the frame, and thru the 1/4" thick bumper bracket riser on the other side of the frame. it will also attach to the frame crossmember in front of the radiator, so it's pulling from 4 points on the frame.

[AlexJet]

Looking good and it's close to original shape, only better.

[Obi..]

*Waiting to see how far this little project goes after drooling over both a 80 series and a 100 series this past weekend.

What prompted the housecleaning and purchase of this since I'm curious. For me it is the logic now that the 4Runner, although fun and easy enough to park in the city, still leaves me needing a little more room for family and all our supplies for trips, etc.

[corax]

crappy blackberry pics from today...

http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/pic17.jpg


love the side profile of this - :thumbup: excellent job

[Obi..]

*Going to upgrade the recovery/tow points also?

[bamachem]

yeah, the factory hook is on there because the bolts are about 30mm too long w/o the hook installed. new bolts on the way...

[benp]

That thing looks awesome Andy and those welds are absolutely beautiful

[bamachem]

thanks. that guy can lay some bead...

didn't get a chance for any decent pics, but here's a couple more w/ the HELLA 2000's on it...

http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/pic25.jpg

http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/pic24.jpg

http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/pic23.jpg

[Seanz0rz]

DANG that looks nice!!!

[Lee]

nice work, I think it matches the truck really nicely :)

[Scuba]

Looks awesome. Now go test it out on some deer, Or an unsuspecting bystander

[YotaFun]

Looks Great!!

Are you still going to put the pre-runner hoop on?

[DHC6twinotter]

Sweet! That's a nice bumper.

[BruceTS]

You planning on running dual winches in that beast? :flipoff: note... the 2 slots....hehe

[bamachem]

LOL... On the T3 - and this one - the winch is actually in the bottom center hole, not the front slots...

[bamachem]

Progress pics. Hoop is finished and welded on. Going to be sand blasted and PC'd tomorrow before heading to it's new owner next week! :D


Pics:

http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/Bumper100-1.jpg

http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/Bumper100-2.jpg

http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/Bumper100-3.jpg

http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/Bumper100-4.jpg

And here it is with the "dishes" from the Hella Rallye 2000's.

http://4rnr.net/cruiser/front-bumper/Bumper100-5.jpg

[Erich_870]

I've been wondering what happened to your bumper build. Did you ever progress with marketing your design?

Erich

[bamachem]

Naaah... I ended up getting a promotion and got really busy at work. Now I'm selling the 2000 to get a newer Hundy. I won't be doing any offroading in it...