Hey everyone. While taking a break from the PITA tube fenders I decided to catch up on a few things I have been meaning to do.

First I powdercoated the center caps on my rims. They were tarnished and scratched so i figured powdercoating was the way to go. They turned out great in my opinion.



Next I decided to convert my stock front bumper into a stubby bumper. It wasn't to bad of a job and was actually a good learning experience. Once i got the bumper off I noticed alot of room to place a winch. I have seen it done in other posts but now I can visualize it in my head. My camera was dead during most of this project but I did manage to get a few late shots.

I wanted my bumper really in tight at the sides, so in order to do that I have to cut off the section of the metal bumper that had the holes to mount the plastic bumper back on.



Now, because I did that I then had to cut out the brass bolt inserts that were placed into the plastic bumper, drill new holes into the metal bumper, glue the bolt inserts in the modified plastic bumper, then rebolted it to the metal frame. Here is a shot of where I cut the brass inserts out. Man, I wished I had pics of how I glued the inserts back on.



Then I remounted the bumper back on the Jeep and placed my end caps in the positions that I wanted. I used the style of rivets that crimp out instead of the style that just buldge out. I ran out and need to get more. but you can see the result of the modification.





Instead of buying a front bumper I think I am going to try and use the factory one. I only want to install a winch and stinger. I am pretty sure I can do that with the existing frame work and work around the shell.

Overall I am happy with the way it turned out. Stay tuned for more projects. Finishing up my front tube fenders (well, the frame work) today. Then while waiting on more metal I will start either the tailgate shelf or the tube tool box modification.

 

wow that stubby looks great! and i was a little confused with the write up if the
rivets are on the outside of the bumper (i dont see them from the pictures) or you glued then end caps on? either way it looks
GREAT!

 

No no..sorry for the confusion. I riveted the end caps on..I will take a better pic later.

Ok, let me see if I can explain this better (man I wish I had taken pics of this part), when you remove your plastic bumper from the metal frame underneath you will have to remove four bolts from the backside to release the plastic shell from the metal frame. Those bolts go into factory placed brass inserts that are molded into the factory plastic bumper.

When I did my conversion I cut 10" of bumper off. Since I cut that much off I cut the bolt holes (pic of metal frame with holes) and the inserts off. So, I had to take the inserts out the plastic and relocte them in order to be able to bolt my plastic shell back onto the metal frame. I added some glue to keep them in place so when I take the shell off again the inserts stay in the same spot.

Then after I did that and got the bumper back on and bolted in place I used the rivets to attach the end caps.

 

Bumper looks great! Would love to see some closer pictures to see how the end caps and rivets look up close. I am about to take on this project myself and yours looks exactly how I envision mine looking. The caps on the wheels look good too. I used to have those same wheels and I know how the center caps get pited looking for some reason. Well played, nice mod.

 

Man you got energy. I just cut mine off with a reciprocating saw. Then noticed the plastic shell was loose. I drove around for about 3 weeks like that before it bugged me too much so i drove some self tappers into the plastic and steel.

 

Rough Country offers a winch bracket for the factory bumper. I think I am going to go with that bracket.

 

Thats a nice plate, very clever design. What I actually have planned is to make a plate that drops into the space, then figure out some way to make it secure and strong, mount the rollers between the fogs, then I am thinking of modifying the stinger that goes on the modular bumpers. I think it will look pretty sick when done.

 

Nice Stubby.

 

Here ya go...I ran out of Rivets. I need to pick up some more today. Here are a few closeups. Just be sure to use the kind that butterfly out instead of the ones that just buldge out. I am having a terrible time with the place I post pics. If you can't see two pics let me know and I will see what else I can do.