Downeys4Runner
New member
So here is the whole process of my NEARLY complete build.
I have been in a manufacturing class this past semester. We needed a project to work on and I had been thinking of a building a bumper for a while. This gave me the opportunity with the tools that my school had, to finally design and build my own. I cant give you a reason why i cut my old one off other than i needed a project, wanted a hitch, and need moar coolz.
First thing first. I hacked the old one off with a torch. Just rough cut it off, then went back and cut the brackets and removed bolts. The one side was rusted to shit, so we basically ripped the whole side off. I LOVE CANADA'S SALTY ROADS
I looked online for ideas and found some bumper i liked. I wasn't gong to copy them. That impossible. But i liked the angles they had. I got a big sheet of cardboard and a ruler and started cutting and bending pieced to how i wanted. With only an hour to work on it everyday this took a while. I just did the back and the one side. That is all you need. NOTE: Take your time here. More than i did. If its designed right, it will fall into place. Well... It should. My design was good but could have been better.
Design 1
Design 2: Here i just change the back portion. I made it narrower. I loved the look of the truck with out the bumper its self. The low and wide stance it had was nice. So i designed the new bumper to be as low profile as possible.
Here I added the bottom plate tying it all together, you can see it easy cause its on stands.
Here is the view looking down the truck. Wanted it as tight as possible. With the final product it warped a bit. Got too horney with the squirt gun (Whole thing was migged together) Take your time with the welds if you can.
View of the side all broken down. Used the cardboard as a template. My advice, trace the part on the sheet. Cut the pieces out roughly, or a bit bigger. I had access to a plasma, then tack the whole one side together. I would bandsaw it to the size if your not to confident with the plasma. Or just take your time and get your settings right if you can. making sure it fits together. Break it down then copy it EXACTLY on the other side. Again using the bandsaw to get exact. Its too hard with the plasma i found. Ididn't do it this way, but I think it would work better.
Both sides nearly all together
The nearly finished product. It is mounted by the two 3/16 rectangular tubing, held on by 4 1/2 bolts. The fit is super tight so there isn't any movement. I need to add two side brackets connecting from the side pieces to the frame. there is a lot of banging when i hit bumps, drives me crazy. I am going to connect it towards the bolts on the frame so it is still removable.
On the truck:
I will add more when its finished and painted. It is all made of 1/8th plate. Not to heavy, I can take it off and put on by myself, haven't seen any suspension sag.
Thanks
I have been in a manufacturing class this past semester. We needed a project to work on and I had been thinking of a building a bumper for a while. This gave me the opportunity with the tools that my school had, to finally design and build my own. I cant give you a reason why i cut my old one off other than i needed a project, wanted a hitch, and need moar coolz.
First thing first. I hacked the old one off with a torch. Just rough cut it off, then went back and cut the brackets and removed bolts. The one side was rusted to shit, so we basically ripped the whole side off. I LOVE CANADA'S SALTY ROADS
I looked online for ideas and found some bumper i liked. I wasn't gong to copy them. That impossible. But i liked the angles they had. I got a big sheet of cardboard and a ruler and started cutting and bending pieced to how i wanted. With only an hour to work on it everyday this took a while. I just did the back and the one side. That is all you need. NOTE: Take your time here. More than i did. If its designed right, it will fall into place. Well... It should. My design was good but could have been better.
Design 1
Design 2: Here i just change the back portion. I made it narrower. I loved the look of the truck with out the bumper its self. The low and wide stance it had was nice. So i designed the new bumper to be as low profile as possible.
Here I added the bottom plate tying it all together, you can see it easy cause its on stands.
Here is the view looking down the truck. Wanted it as tight as possible. With the final product it warped a bit. Got too horney with the squirt gun (Whole thing was migged together) Take your time with the welds if you can.
View of the side all broken down. Used the cardboard as a template. My advice, trace the part on the sheet. Cut the pieces out roughly, or a bit bigger. I had access to a plasma, then tack the whole one side together. I would bandsaw it to the size if your not to confident with the plasma. Or just take your time and get your settings right if you can. making sure it fits together. Break it down then copy it EXACTLY on the other side. Again using the bandsaw to get exact. Its too hard with the plasma i found. Ididn't do it this way, but I think it would work better.
Both sides nearly all together
The nearly finished product. It is mounted by the two 3/16 rectangular tubing, held on by 4 1/2 bolts. The fit is super tight so there isn't any movement. I need to add two side brackets connecting from the side pieces to the frame. there is a lot of banging when i hit bumps, drives me crazy. I am going to connect it towards the bolts on the frame so it is still removable.
On the truck:
I will add more when its finished and painted. It is all made of 1/8th plate. Not to heavy, I can take it off and put on by myself, haven't seen any suspension sag.
Thanks
