Winch bumper for the Eagle

Ever since I built the rear bumper with tire carrier, I've wanted to build a front bumper. Well, I finally made the time to do it. It took a few days but got it done. I didn't take many pics of the build like I did with the rear bumper so I can't go in as much detail.
I started with a piece of 1/4" steel that I had made for the winch. I believe it was 8"x 33 1/2" and a 4"x 33 1/2" piece
welded to make an L. I then took 2 24" pieces of 3/8x5" flat stock that I made the frame mounts out of. I removed the bumper brackets and installed the 3/8" steel to the unibody using one of the bumper bracket bolt holes, a steering box bolt on one side and idler arm bolt on the other side. I also added 2 more 1/2" bolts that I drilled through the frame and sleeved. I bought premade recovery points that are made out of 3/4" stock. The rest is 1/8" steel. The winch is a 9,000 lb Harbor Freight Road Shock that I got in a trade. I am going to upgrade to a Warn some day in the future.
I had to notch a little bit of the front valance for the mounts.


Here's my 79 year old uncle stick welding the 1/4" winch plate to the 3/8" mounts. All I have is a 120v welder and wanted to make sure the critical stuff was done right.











Here is the only place I ran into trouble. The steel moved during welding. I guess I got too much heat in that area. I will have to figure out how to fix it.

 

I like it! I thing it suits your car too...is there a 79 year old aunt? I have an 81 year old mom who finds herself single again...that's if he doesn't mind older women.

 

That looks like it belonged there all along.

 

Great work, it looks original! Fits the vehicle very well

 

Read your post on The Nest. I'll say it again, EGGsellent job. Especially like the way you made the end caps into the bumper! Congrats on a fine job! :2_thumbs_up_-_anima

 

Thanks for all the kind words.

Sorry, he's still married to his high school sweetheart.

 

Great job Eagle Freek! Can you add a small angled filler at that top side to blend with the curve of the fender? Or just leave it cause it looks great!
Or cheat and paint that small area of the body black.
I just double checked. The other corner looks perfect.

 

Your little trouble erea give it the..... I've been out playing look.

Leave it alone, looks freeken wesome

 

As usual, freek...nice design and fit. Great job!

 

I'm always envious of people that can build cool stuff like this. I'm good at remove/replace stuff but my fabricating skills are lacking. Great looking bumper. I think you will be the only one that notices that slight shift of the bumper. And if someone says anything say you bent it while winching a tow truck out of a snowdrift!

 

I'm far from being a fabricator. There was alot of grinding of crappy looking welds and some body filler involved. One day I decided to buy a welder off of Ebay and figure out how to use it. Most of my career I've been a carpenter and that experience has come in handy with my car projects. Accurate measuring and a calibrated eye are great assets when doing this kind of stuff. I've come up with a plan to fix the left side of the bumper but won't have time till the end of the week to attempt it. It really bugs me, there is no way I could leave it.

 

Excellent job, EF. It looks incredibly rugged and like it really means business. I wonder if there might be a market for these on ebay or perhaps an Eagle website.
Hey, come to think of it, do you think you could make one for a Colony Park?!!

 

Eagle Freek, I hated to even mention that little boo boo. I could never do that well. But I figured you'd end up making it perfect in time.

Still those other suggestions sound good. After all, it is for work!
I'd just tell people you had to pull an eighteen wheeler out of a ditch and the angle you were pulling sprung it.