10 replies to this topic

[PeterD]

a good friend of mine has offered to help me make some nice bumpers for my 84 gl. right now they have thoes nasty plactic covered cheap ones and i don't like them. i have searched for different ideas and have come up with some nice looking custome bumpers, i just curious what type of steel i should be using, i kinda like the look of some of the square tubing used though i have also thought of tubular bumpers....has anyone done a tubular bumper yet or can i be the first one..., also i would like to add some nice tow hooks so i can pull people out of ditches or the other way around, the tow hooks that are on these don't seem very sturdy, they have worked for me in the past but im not sure who much tention they will take. anyone have some tips, Thanks.

[rallyruss]

Soobme has been building some nice ones.
I made my own using his idea.
I used 2 by 3 square tubing for the bumper itself. 2 by 1 square for the lower drop down part. 3/4"? tubing around the lights and some chanel for the mounting point.
I cut bent and rewelded the the main tube to contour with the front of the car.

[rallyruss]

http://www.ultimates...ttachmentid=313

I know its not a good pic for the detail but its the best one I could come up with. I have made some changes since then. It now has lights and an oil cooler in it too.

[Jibs]

Do Gen 1 bumpers fit on Gen 2 subaru's? Specifically my bumper from my 81 Brat onto my 82 Brat? Just wondering. Thanks

[thealleyboy]

Pete:

There are many types of materials you can use for this type of project. You might want to check out some places that make customized playground equipment. They can get some very nice looking round and square tubing that's already painted. I've even considered fabricating something out of threaded iron pipe (the king used for plumbing!!). The most important thing is to use something strong enough to take a serious smack.

Whatever material you decide on, I would recommend you figure out a way to retrofit the mountings that slide into the frame rail. This will help maintain the structural integrity of your car. It is tempting to attach the new bumper across the front. You could easily bolt or weld it onto the header panel, and it would pass the "look test".

However, you'll soon regret it - especially if you are serious about pulling people out of the snow, mud etc.

good luck, John

[PeterD]

Pete:

There are many types of materials you can use for this type of project. You might want to check out some places that make customized playground equipment. They can get some very nice looking round and square tubing that's already painted. I've even considered fabricating something out of threaded iron pipe (the king used for plumbing!!). The most important thing is to use something strong enough to take a serious smack.

Whatever material you decide on, I would recommend you figure out a way to retrofit the mountings that slide into the frame rail. This will help maintain the structural integrity of your car. It is tempting to attach the new bumper across the front. You could easily bolt or weld it onto the header panel, and it would pass the "look test".

However, you'll soon regret it - especially if you are serious about pulling people out of the snow, mud etc.

good luck, John

Thnaks guys for the tips. I was planning on using the stock mounting points, possibly beef them up.

[subiemech85]

pipe is NOT for strength, cast is too brittle, breaks, Iron bends

TUBING is what you need

I collected some steel [ long enough for what I want to do, and is strong

[rallyruss]

pipe is NOT for strength, cast is too brittle, breaks, Iron bends

TUBING is what you need

I collected some steel [ long enough for what I want to do, and is strong

true and its also rather heavy.

but you would definately want to build brackets that attach to the stock points on the subframe. thats how I attached mine.

[northguy]

It would be pretty hard to outdo Soobme's design and fab.

[thealleyboy]

I agree that tubing would be best for fabbing something, but there are other readily available materials that can be used for this purpose. Heavy duty galvanized steel piping (as used in fenceposts) would seem to be the right diameter and strength, IMO.

You don't want something too stiff - else the full impact of a collision will transfer into the passenger compartment (you might end up under your dash in a head on collision!!). The OEM bumpers that came on these cars were rather flimsy. They were desinged to "give" after absorbing the initial blow.

good luck, John

[PeterD]

my plan was initialy to use the stock monting brackets but mount a much sturdier bumper, in order to scrap the plastic that is all bent out of shape. i want to use the stock monting points to make it more simple and also i wanted to make it strong enough to add some usefull tow hooks if i need to use them, not thoes flimsy looking things on the car right now. I have some ideas on using the original brackets and welding them on to a pice of rectangular tubing or round steel tubing but im kinda stuck on how to make a good tow hook mounting point.