DIY Bash Bars/Bumper Bar

Smaggo
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Mar 27, 2013 5:00 am
Location: Florida

DIY Bash Bars/Bumper Bar

Postby Smaggo » Sat Mar 30, 2013 7:48 am

I was rear-ended by a minivan, and I'm too cheap to pay for anything I can do myself.

I didn't write down any of my measurements, I can take the bumpers off and measure, but I would recommend measuring everything on your own car/bumpers to be sure fitment is tight.

TOOLS (You will either need to buy, or borrow the following) :

Welder - I used a MIG - Lincoln SP-140T with .35 flux core wire. I payed $250 from Craigslist with a tank of Argon, then picked up a auto darkening welding helmet from Harbor Freight $50.Image

Angle Grinder - I started with a cheap one from HF but it broke after two days, I recommend a Makita for $60-$70 new. You will need atleast 5 metal cutting blades, a grinder wheel, and wire brush attachments. I got my stuff from HF its cheaper but you get what you pay for. I went with a Dewalt 4.5 inch Grinder because it had a 3 year warranty and figure I will either brake it by then or say I got my moneys worth from it.Image

Drill/Quality Metal Drill Bits - $30 at Home Depot for a set of 9 I think or maybe 15 bits.

Measuring Tools - Tape Measure, Square, Level, whatever you like to use.

Ratchet set - I broke 2 ratchets trying to take the rusted bolts holding my rear bumper on I recommend you get a 1/2 breaker bar and a piece of pipe for those MoFos! The bolts holding on the front bumper are even worse.

Metal - Find a place that sells metal near you and buy some material, I think I used square tubing with like 10mm thick walls or 14mm I will post more details if any interested. The pieces connecting the rear bumper to the car is called U channel I think, and connecting the front bumper to the car is 1/4 inch plate I welded up.

Lets Do This! And if you think my welds suck, are not safe, are ugly, or suck, feel free to say so 8)

REAR

Start by removing your old bumper if you still have one
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I recommend reusing anything you can, my rear bumper was bent from the crash, and the bolts were very rusted so I had to make everything or buy it.

Buy nuts and bolts that are similar in size to what your car had, if you cant reuse the bolts.

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Drill holes in the U channel, or whatever you decide to use as the main support connecting the bar to the car, big enough for the bolts to fit thru.
Thread your bolts thru the nuts on to this and spot weld the nuts to the bottom This is the way my original bumper had the nuts welded on, and is the reason I did it this way. You can just as easily skip this and just thread them from top to bottom but it will be less cool.

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Oops! maybe I need to re-weld that...
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Cut the corners off so my bumper would fit flush and it looks cooler/saves weight
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weld on attachments for you're bumper if you have one. I mocked up the bumper and measured it where I wanted it to be.
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My bumper came with small bolts that screw up from the bottom. this was a bit of a pain at first but, I was able to make it as factory as possible.Image
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BEFORE
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FRONT

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BEFORE
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Work in progress.

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HASport AE86
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Re: DIY Bash Bars/Bumper Bar

Postby HASport AE86 » Wed Apr 10, 2013 4:09 pm

How does that quote go? "Imitation is the highest form of flattery" ? ;)

Clean the metal better before welding to reduce that splatter. Shouldn't have that much with a gas setup.
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chemtrails
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Re: DIY Bash Bars/Bumper Bar

Postby chemtrails » Thu Apr 11, 2013 2:45 pm

Just because you think you can box, it doesnt mean you can jump in the ring with Ali.
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Failure to follow these instructions can result in death, serious injury, or equipment damage.

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seymour86
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Re: DIY Bash Bars/Bumper Bar

Postby seymour86 » Fri Apr 12, 2013 10:51 am

I like seeing people do their own work. Some tips though, you should not be using flux core wire with shielding gas unless the wire is a "Dual shield" wire. FCAW or flux core arc welding is done DCEP (direct current electrode negative). While GMAW-S (Gas metal arc welding short circuit transfer aka MIG) is done in DCEP (direct current electrode positive). also might want to turn the heat up a bit (wire feed speed).
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Smaggo
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Mar 27, 2013 5:00 am
Location: Florida

Re: DIY Bash Bars/Bumper Bar

Postby Smaggo » Sat Apr 13, 2013 6:27 am

I think I had the wires connected incorrectly on the welder when I did the bumper bars. I was using flux core without any argon, but the leads were switched for using solid core and argon.

Smaggo
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Mar 27, 2013 5:00 am
Location: Florida

Re: DIY Bash Bars/Bumper Bar

Postby Smaggo » Sat Apr 13, 2013 6:30 am

HASport AE86 wrote:How does that quote go? "Imitation is the highest form of flattery" ? ;)




You were definitely the inspiration and source material I used to make my bars.
Thanks for creating cool, and useful parts.