Proto Fab Bumper is coming along...

[tx1ton]

Great Shot Dusty! Can I ask what you coated your's with? It looks like perhaps powder coated Gray?

 

[Dusty]

Great Shot Dusty! Can I ask what you coated your's with? It looks like perhaps powder coated Gray?

Nope I just painted it. Rattle-can etching primer then Rustoleum Smoke Grey. I figured I'm probably going to be banging it on stuff a lot, and plus I have plans to do some welding on it in the future. I figured the rattle can paint was good enough, and easy to sand off when I need to weld to it, and I can always find the right color when I need to touch it up.

Dusty

 

[tx1ton]

Gotcha, looks good! I also am considering some welding on mine, I've thought about adding a reciever. Only thing is it would "ruing" the smooth angled front which will make it less slippery going over bolders... I also am thinking of tow tabs for flat towing the EB. What are your plans?

 

[tx1ton]

It's nice to see your priorities are in order.....Bronco and boat in the garage and the car outside.....my garage houses the Harley and the Bronco and the car gets to stay outside too.....

Yeah, all the toys stay inside. Only regret is the garage is too low for the F350 to get in, with a 4" lift and 35's I need just under 8' clearance. So my daily sits outside, jealously looking in on the EB. You can't see it in that first pic, that's the wifey's SUV (I know I know but I do love her and she never minds my toys!)...

Next time I'm going for a 4 car elevated ceiling extra deep with lift and pit! Oh yeah, bathroom and shower, full heat and A/C too. I guess I need a bedroom too on the house for those few hours spent inside...

 

[Dusty]

Gotcha, looks good! I also am considering some welding on mine, I've thought about adding a reciever. Only thing is it would "ruing" the smooth angled front which will make it less slippery going over bolders... I also am thinking of tow tabs for flat towing the EB. What are your plans?

I want to add a light bar that goes over the top of the winch. I saw a Hanson bumper with this at Fab Fords one year and it was really slick.

I also want to add a tab to secure a quick disconnect for my onboard air.

I also want to add tabs to attach a tow bar to. I'm thinking of attaching them to the side of the frame rails, just beind the bumper. They won't protrude past the imaginary line where the sloped surface of the bumper continues. I was thinking I could weld them to the inside of the bumper and also have a bolt to attach each one to the side of the frame rail.

I've also thought about placing some recessed rock lights in the lower outboard surface, pointed down at the terrain. But these I may just mount behind the bumper, if I ever get around to the rock light project at all.

With my HS9500 winch, the leftover space in the recess to the right of the winch fits two 1 qt. oil bottles perfectly. I'd like to finish whatever apparatus is necessary to secure them there. Always looking for extra places to stash stuff!

Dusty

 

[tx1ton]

Great ideas - I especially like the light bar one. I'm not totally sure I can picture what you're describing on the tow point mounts - would you cut holes in the bumper so the tow bar could reach the tow points or am I thinking too low and you'd mount the hook ups up on the top of the frame? Sorry, not enought coffee yet to think that one through I guess!

 

[Dusty]

Great ideas - I especially like the light bar one. I'm not totally sure I can picture what you're describing on the tow point mounts - would you cut holes in the bumper so the tow bar could reach the tow points or am I thinking too low and you'd mount the hook ups up on the top of the frame? Sorry, not enought coffee yet to think that one through I guess!

Let me see if I can whip up a quick illustration...

 

[Dusty]

OK here is an illustration of what I was getting at:

The added piece is in yellow. This would allow the tow bar to be attached below the bumper, which would make for much better tow bar geometry when towing. The closer the tow bar is to level, the better. Putting the tabs on top of the bumper would result in an extremely unsafe tow bar angle, especially on a lifted Bronco. With this setup, I believe there wouldn't be much loss in effective rock clearance, since the added steel plate doesn't protrude past the imaginary line already set by the slop of the bumper. This could also be used as an extra attachment point for a shackle or for tie-downs. Let me know what you think about the idea.

Dusty

 

[77TexasBronc]

Looks like a good idea to me

 

[tx1ton]

I think it's perfect! Was thinking, after the fact of course, that you could go under the bumper - but your illustration really shows it well. Thanks Dusty, I think you're onto something!

 

[tx1ton]

Grrr!

Well, I got to try mounting the Mile-Marker E9000 on the Protofab today...try being the operative word. Turns out the winch mounting points did not match up, holes pre-drilled were set too far forward and not the right distance apart front to back...

If I used them the clutch level could not be used as the Mile Marker would sit too far forward. Drilling new holes is an option but not a good one as they would be pretty close to the other holes and I think would be too weak...:-[

So, now I've got another project...fabing up a steel plate to mount the Mile Marker to that I can Weld to the existing points on the Proto...this is taking longer than I planned!

I think the holes were intended for a Warn but "thought" they were pretty much interchangeable...anyone else have similar problems? ?:?

 

[tx1ton]

More questions!

Uh, meant clutch Lever not Level...my bad.

Also, as I expected the bumper and winch together are pulling my front end down 2" compared to rear. I'm going to add a Cross Enterprises rear bumper and tire carrier with a spare but don't expect it to drop my rear as much...and I don't even have the 2nd battery in place yet! So, another question is what have y'all done to recoup the height? I have stock suspension - so far. Was planning a 2.5" Wildhorses lift but am now thinking I'd need to go to 3.5" to clear 35" tires - I have a 3" body lift by the way...

 

[TexasBronco]

tx1ton and Dusty could either of you please give me a few measurements the length, and both depths of the top piece. Here is a link to help explain what I am asking

http://texasbronco.tripod.com/Bronco/bumper.html

also is there any kind of support in the lift areas?

and to anyone who has a little free time, how wide is bronco?

 

[tx1ton]

Hey Tex, I'm going to try to attach a drawing I just whipped up...it's crude but you should get the idea.

 

[TexasBronco]

thats perfect! and with some simple math i can even guess the width of a bronco

 

[tx1ton]

Sorry for the small size...but you should get the idea. The bumper actually wraps around the corner of the front fender, it stands out ~4" from sheet metal to outer edge of bumper, which is darn near what my flares extend so it does not look odd. Overall width is 71" (roughly) so the EB is about 63" wide in total. Front to back at it's widest the top plate of the bumper is ~8" give or take.

As to the lift points they are placed pretty close to where the bumper slides into and bolts to the frame, they use very heavy steel for the mounts, I would guess ~3/8". The bumper plates are all 1/4", which is the same for the lift points but the proximity to the frame mounts looks like they'd be plenty strong - and as you can tell from Dusty's shot they seem to be. The winch mounts are also 3/8" - very heavy.

This bumper is built like a tank, it weighs about like one too...I'm now having to deal with a front sitting 2" lower than rear with the bumper and winch...guess it's time for some WH springs!

Hope this helps!

 

[72Sport]

The bumper and Bronco looks great. Since your garage looks like a doctor's office I have to diagree on the source of the lint. I have a very limited amount of painting experience but I would bet a six pack that you (or someone) wiped the bumper down with a rag before the Por 15. Usually the source of lint is from the a rag rather than the garage. The rough metal surface or primer pulls the lint out of the rag when it is wiped down and shows up very well in a shiny black finish.

Tack rags were they right thing to use many years ago. Wet sand and then remove the dust with a tack rag. You can buy them at any paint store or Home Depot etc. Wet or dry sand then wipe the surface down with a tack rag. No bare hands or shop rags.

If I lost the bet you will have to come out and pick up the six pack.

 

[tx1ton]

Nah, you probably are right and I owe you a 6 - come on out anytime and get it: your choice of Shiner Bock or Celis Bock (my personal preference). I did not hit it with a tack rag, should have but got in a rush to do the POR15 base coat and see how it turned out. I know I have to wet sant anyhow prior to the topcoat and will definitely do it right with a tack cloth first. Guess I was also figuring a little lint wouldn't hurt the bumper much, it will get a good bashing soon!

Appreciate the comment on the garage, I have thought many times of performing brain surgery on myself in there - usually after doing something dumb...

 

[Howdy]

guess it's time for some WH springs!

Unless they have redesigned their springs I would consider another brand. My WH coils sagged the second I put them on and that was with the stock crome bumper and no winch. I returned them and got some of BC's springs that were made for having a heavier bumper and a winch, which I now have. They haven't sagged in over a year. Something to keep in mind when you start shopping for springs. Do a search on here and you will find a few discussions about the WH coils and the same problem others have had.

 

[77TexasBronc]

I just ordered a set of BC springs yesterday to help compensate for the extra weight of the winch, bumper, and the 351 power plant. I hope your not in a hurry though because they are waiting on a shipment for the 3 1/2" coils and it will be about 3 weeks. Their Dec sale must have been great success. I know I did my part. ;D