front bumper for Masda pickup

The front bumper will serve as a means to store the tow bar inside of it and also there will be other storage areas inside the bumper for related safety equipment such as safety cables tow lights and a connector cord to plug into the tow vehicle
Attachment 24677
Cut out to be the door hiding the tow bar
Attachment 24678
bumper clamped in place
Attachment 24679
tow bar folded in stored position
Attachment 24680
Will have to add small cut outs so the door can be closed while tow bar is in use
Attachment 24681
Nothing beats my plasma cutter for these projects
Attachment 24682
Even though I may never finish doing the mods to my folding break it works perfectly
For bending the bumper parts shown is a plate which will serve as one of the mounts and a back for the built in storage compartment
Attachment 24683

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Thanks Frank S! We've added your Pickup Bumper to our Autobody category,
as well as to your builder page: Frank S's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-pickup-bumper"> <img src="/uploads/215907/homemade-pickup-bumper.jpeg"/> </a> </div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-pickup-bumper">Pickup Bumper</a> <span> by <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/builder/Frank+S">Frank S</a></span> </div> <div class="tags">tags: <a href='http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/autobody'>autobody</a> </div> </div> </div> </div>
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Update for the bumper
This is my plasma machine, In the construction of this bumper I used just about every cutting tool imaginable
Plasma, Oxyacetylene torch angle grinders, band saws, die grinders, belt sander Drill press, lathe, and a pipe cutter. About the only things I didn't use were the chop saw and the mill
Attachment 24732
fitting the grill guard
Attachment 24733
the door measurement is done via 2 captured bolts passing through the verticals
Attachment 24734
from inside the bumper there is a hole to access the nut that keeps the bolts from falling out when the door is open also should the need ever arise the bolts can be replaced
Attachment 24735
this is the mating nut welded inside the door hinge /lock channels when the door is closed you have to know to look behind the grill guard or you might not know that the door opens
Attachment 24736
A little etching primer
Attachment 24737
Black bumper ready to be re mounted
Attachment 24738

the bumper is now on the truck with the tow bar mounted inside
http://www.homemadetools.net/forum/tow-bar-mount-68720
Attachment 24748

Attachment 24749
Attachment 24750
In case anyone is wondering the push bars on the door serve multiple purposes
the hinges on the bottom and a means to secure the door
Attachment 24751

Nice work Frank. What happened to the cutouts for the tow bar when "in use"? Or did you use a different work around?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 12bolts

Nice work Frank. What happened to the cutouts for the tow bar when "in use"? Or did you use a different work around?

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Click on the first picture to blow it up and you will see the face of the bumper just hinges open while towing the pickup there is no need to close the face so there are no cutouts

Frank S,
Nice looking bumper!
Any pics of your tubing bender?

On the bumper cover that stays hinged open while towing, any concerns about it bouncing & banging with it hanging open?

Do you have to do anything special to the vehicle's drivetrain before you bumper tow it?

Thanks
Kent

No real concerns about bouncing or banging a simple bungee or tarp strap would cure that it it happened to be the case
As for the drive train it has a 5 speed manual transmission. I was initially concerned Since the newer manual transmissions with OD lace up differently. than the old Borg Warner and Muncie types. So while I had the transmission apart on the bench after completely going through it with new cluster shaft bearing kit seals 2 of the synchronizes and the input shaft I also replace the plastic oiling trough that lubes the front bearings. With the top still off and the proper grade of ATF in it I rotated the tail shaft to watch the gear splash. That was when I noticed they had finally engineered oil traps into these transmissions to keep oil on the bearings even if they are left sitting for months or years without being used there would still be oil on the bearings even the center shaft needle rollers have a small cup made in to the shaft
As soon as the tail shaft is rotated there is gear splash and as long as the fluid level is kept at least half full to spec there is lubrication.
the modern constant mesh manual transmissions have both advantages and disadvantages
the advantage is every thing spins all the time. the disadvantage is everything spins all the time.
By having everything spinning all the time there is constant lubrication everywhere by having everything spinning all the time there is an almost negligible amount of drag on the tow vehicle. If I were planning on towing this or any other vehicle for 100,000's miles behind a motor home I would install an electric drive line disconnect at the diff. And treat it the same as if it had an automatic I would recommend the disconnect even for 4 wheel drives if I were going to pull one for long distances frequently behind an RV

Wow! That's quite a piece of design engineering, Frank S. Thought through, and carefully fitted. And beautiful buttoned up too.

LOVELY work Frank. Will the extra weight affect the wear on suspension etc?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ranald

LOVELY work Frank. Will the extra weight affect the wear on suspension etc?

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The bumper itself weighs about 20 lbs more than the stuff I took off of it and the towbar weighs 32 lbs.
So if an extra 52 lbs is going to effect the suspension much then if will have to be what it is.
I've seen a lot of couples driving these and both persons would hit 350 lbs each me and my wife combined don't hit 350

OK, I was wondering as I've heard that the big bull bars really bugger up the front even on 60's & 70's tanks.During the early 70's I built a bull/roo bar for my ute and I used hi tensile thin walled RHS shaped & plugged the ends : put a bung top & bottom & it held a sumpfull of spare oil in case of needing it out bush. It didn't seem to affect the longevity of the front end but they were much heavier then.

By the way, I had a head on in that vehicle & walked away from it. Those old Holden Utes had a full length box chassis. In the same vehicle I copped a rear ender while stopped at a red light : the drunk who hit me was doing around 60+ Mph in a 35 zone according to an off duty police eye witness. the drunk walked from his vehicle (don't know how as the bonnet was pushed back to the front seats).

I always liked those old Holdens Also liked the older Toyota landcrusier UTE with the AU 6 wheel drive conversions I bought one while in Kuwait that had been converted to left hand drive it had the hard as an anvil 4.2 engine about all I did to it was to install duel wheels on the rear widened the bed so the fold down sides would clear the tires and sold it for a nice tidy profit

Very nice work Frank! Didn't you do one on a ranger a while back?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stillldoinit

Very nice work Frank! Didn't you do one on a ranger a while back?

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I think the ranger you are referring to is the wrecked one that I have been working on that had the crushed frame horns. Right now that one is just sitting under the tent while I try and complete some other projects