January 25, 200917 yr Picked up this '87 GL10 back in November for $500, with 98K miles on it... Had a crappy auto tranny, so I swapped in a D/R 5spd from my last wagon and still need to swap in the rear diff and driveshaft, thanks for the parts mdjdc Sry for the bad angle but if you've seen one you seen them all... While I was searching for the diff and drive shaft, I figured I would start fabbing up a front bumper... Played around with a few ideas but after picking up 2 Hella 500 fogs and 2 Hella 500 driving lights, this is what I decided to go with... Don't know why but I absolutely love the beehive turn signals and I think the sheet metal turned out rounding nicely... Still have to mount the rear wheels and eventually fab a rear bumper... Controls for the driving/fog... Camber issues, once I drive it I know it will settle some but this seems like some very bad camber for a non lifted vehicle... Eventually I will lift it and see if I can angle the tops of the struts in more on each side to fix the camber... I am toying with the idea of mounting some obnoxiously loud air horns behind the sheet metal part of the bumper and cutting slots in the sheet metal to allow for more annoyance, lol... Also plan on adding a TMIC and some rediculously ricey BOV, can't wait to see the look on peoples faces when a old lifted scoob blows off at them lol... Anyway, hope yall like the bumper, opinions good or bad are welcome... -caleb
January 25, 200917 yr I like the bumper a lot!! It looks nice and clean! I'm jealous of the car too! What a deal! I'm also very jealous of your shop! Edited January 25, 200917 yr by bratman18
January 25, 200917 yr Author Forgot to add one of my big inspirations, its my best friends 89 Honda Civic Hatch, don't want to be out done by a honda so I figure I needed to get started on a subaru... Hope his car doesn't overshadow my bumper though...
January 25, 200917 yr Author Nope yours is definitely better!!!!!!!!! I'd like to think so, though when I get some time I think he is going to want some custom bumpers too...
January 25, 200917 yr love it....that thing is pretty nice.the only thing is maybe some expanded steel so you do not kill them,or the factory hella drivable lense covers.other than that,it is s really nice bumper.cheers, brain
January 25, 200917 yr That's a nice bumper. As for light protection when you want to use them. http://www.lamin-x.com/ Love the stuff. Been using it for years without one broken light on my DD (glass factory fogs, and Hella 500 fogs). And the gravel they use out on HWY 26 here is scary.
January 25, 200917 yr I like the bumper, it's different, kind of rally like. Curious, what did you use for steel? Jesse
January 25, 200917 yr Author Thanks for all the compliments As for the steel used; basically consists of 1"x2" box tubing that iirc was 3/16" thick or so, might have been 1/8", the ends of the bumper were then just covered in sheet metal... I wish I could have had more pictures of the actual build but I didn't get my hands on a camera till yesterday...
January 25, 200917 yr Author Looks great. You did a great job. Are you taking orders? lol. Enjoy, John I suppose I could take orders, though I dont think some of yall would be happy with the turn around time lol... Once I get this thing to the condition I want it to be in, I would seriously consider making more bumpers though I dont know if there would actually be any interest...
January 25, 200917 yr that would be a great rally bumper, but i wouldn't use it for off roading, something zap pointed out about mine before i finished it was i had no way of seeing where my corners are, now that i extended it i know where the 4 points of the car are so i don't destroy taillights, corner lights and fenders now. so that might be something to concider. i do like it though, nice finished look, and follows the body lines nicly.
January 25, 200917 yr Author is the honda one of those rare 4x4 ones? Unfortunately it is not... The only 4WD honda was the late 80's model wagon, ugly damn thing... we have toyed with the idea of converting it but the car would be down for sometime and he would have to find another DD first...
January 25, 200917 yr Author that would be a great rally bumper, but i wouldn't use it for off roading, something zap pointed out about mine before i finished it was i had no way of seeing where my corners are, now that i extended it i know where the 4 points of the car are so i don't destroy taillights, corner lights and fenders now. so that might be something to concider. i do like it though, nice finished look, and follows the body lines nicly. Probably wont do any real offroading other than some trail riding, not very much out here for us off roading subarus... So its alot more for looks, which is exactly why I tried to follow the body lines... I have ideas for other more suitable off road bumpers but they were far bigger than anything I would need... If I ever do an EJ swap then this thing is going to be a true off roader and will get a big lift and a tcase, then it will have some beefy bumpers...
January 26, 200917 yr I like it, but can't imagine it taking much of a bump. It's tucked very close to the body. If it bends, so does the body. But it does look the goods.
January 26, 200917 yr Author I like it, but can't imagine it taking much of a bump. It's tucked very close to the body. If it bends, so does the body. But it does look the goods. It definitely has a weak spot, which I am sure most of you have already noticed... I did however want to chop up the fender to remove everything from the bodyline down then build the bumper out as marked in yellow... I just couldn't come to cutting up the car yet...
January 27, 200917 yr If you did what you describe in the above photo, you could then run a support of the back side of the bumper and hook it into something a little stronger to give it some strength
January 28, 200917 yr Author If you did what you describe in the above photo, you could then run a support of the back side of the bumper and hook it into something a little stronger to give it some strength Yeah if I cut the fender away there would be plenty of room to put a brace in whether it be back to the bumper or to the "frame rails" probably where the bolts for the bumper mounts are... Ought to be uber strong then... Until I swap in an EJ I dont plan on doing anymore than trial rides and such so no huge beefy bumpers are needed, but when I do build one I will most likely sell this one and start from scratch...
February 5, 200917 yr That is a very aesthetically pleasing bumper, housing the 500's! Nicely done! And your friend's civic hatch, i love it!! If only I knew the possibilities (looks lifted w/ nice luggy tires) when i had my 91 civic.... I'd be interested in knowing how and what he did to that rig. fun stories in there I'm sure. . .
February 5, 200917 yr Author That is a very aesthetically pleasing bumper, housing the 500's! Nicely done! And your friend's civic hatch, i love it!! If only I knew the possibilities (looks lifted w/ nice luggy tires) when i had my 91 civic.... I'd be interested in knowing how and what he did to that rig. fun stories in there I'm sure. . . I'll have to ask him but I know he toyed around awhile with different springs from various hondas, i think its early 90's accord springs up front and 96-00 civic springs in the rear... though I think that we may be putting the stock springs back on and putting blocks on top of the strut similar to our suby lifts in hopes of correcting his camber some... Oh and thanks for the compliments on the bumper, I still have the rear to do and probably some half doors and whatever else I can think of...
February 11, 200917 yr Just ordered a set of 500 fogs for my GL and was wondering how I was going to mount them. This looks excellent. If you ever decide to put a couple of these together for sale I would definately be interested. Also, what wheel / tire combo is that up front? Looks much better than the dinky little 13's. Edited February 11, 200917 yr by BigAl
February 11, 200917 yr Author Just ordered a set of 500 fogs for my GL and was wondering how I was going to mount them. This looks excellent. If you ever decide to put a couple of these together for sale I would definately be interested. Also, what wheel / tire combo is that up front? Looks much better than the dinky little 13's. Tires are Bridgstone APT III's, can only get them at Sears and maybe SAM'S... If I remember correctly they are 225/70/14... Rims are from a late 80's/early 90's mazda truck 2wd...
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