Custom Bumper Project

[Marlin]

It still looks like you almost have enough room to leave the stock bumper on and just have this outside of it. Even if you have to put lots of holes in the stock bumper and even cut part of it up, I still think that will be the easiest way to fill in the gaps between the new hefty bumper and the hood/lights/grill, but it really is coming along nicely, good job

Maybe, but I sold the stock bumper already, and part of my goal was to get rid of the stock plastic. I know that some like it, and I would think Orion's design would be much better for that. I did think about what it would look like to cut out just the top to fill in the holes. I am considering ordering one of the aftermarket cladding pieces and mutilating that. I will just rhino line it, so I do not care if it doesn't match the VX OEM cladding exactly.

[JoFotoz]

YUP!...using the stock ( or aftermarket..) cladding to fill the 'gap' is the way to go ..IMO!


jo

[tom4bren]

YUP!...using the stock ( or aftermarket..) cladding to fill the 'gap' is the way to go ..IMO!

There's a 'ORW' joke in there somewhere - I'm workin on it.

[Marlin]

Well, I cut out light mounts, drilled holes for turn signals. I screwed up and cut the wrong size hole for lights, could have sworn they were 4.5", gotta figure something out now, I think that door seal trim will do the best, it will be flexible, good seal, and still give me room for fudge factor such as aiming and whatnot. I am in the process of putting the bedliner on, it actually goes on pretty good. At 30 bucks a quart, it better be nice.

[nfpgasmask]

[snowtrooper1966]

Bart, you crack me up

I see Jonny 5 or Wal-E when I look at the newest pix....

[Marlin]

Wait, it isn't staying gray, when its black it won't be so fugly...wait, you just have to trust me...I also forgot to mention, those pieces aren't mounted yet, they were just sitting on there, they sit a little further back, and once the lights are mounted, that gap around the foglights will be gone, so no more Johnny 5 look. Good reference though...maybe I should mount the turn signals at an angle above them to look like eyebrows.......

[JoFotoz]

Yup...

That just about sums it up.

The scale is wrong ...'just' my opinion!
The aesthetics are 'questionable' ...just my opinion!


And honestly...it aint gonna be better 'black'.

Please...remind me again WHY ya purchased a VX???


Disclaimer...no offense intended...ya want opinion...ya got it!


jo

[Ldub]

[QUOTE=Marlin;172264]

I know you're not finished yet, & maybe already aware, but the angles on the ends, where it angles back look different from one side to the other...

.

[Marlin]

Ldub, very astute of you, the angles are actually the same, the driver side plate is just an inch longer, so I need to trim that off today. I forgot about the fact that one side of the crossbar is an inch longer than the other. No worries, the angles are the exact same, if you measure the distance from the crease to where the cut begins, or look at it with respect to the turn signals, they match up.

The glory of all this, it is completely removeable, and I would be willing to wager that none of you would be 100% successful at attempting something on this scale on your first try, and I don't mean first try at building your bumper, but first try at welding, cutting steel, fabrication and so on.
It is easy to say "I would make it curved, and match the lines" but in reality, without very specialized equipment, you can't just "curve" 1/4" thick steel. I also did all of this in my garage, on my own dime with my own tools, vice access to tools at work or whatnot. My bumper is more than 5 times as thick as the factory bumper and is essentially bullet proof. I understand that it is not the most aesthetically pleasing (bit of an understatement), but it is my first one, and I cannot begin to tell you how much I have learned doing it. Let me fill in the empty space, get the lights wired up, the skid plate mounted, and it will not be near as bad as you think. I have a vision...when I bought the VX at first, everyone here made fun of how ridiculous it looked, sitting low to the ground, looked like a ballooned up ricer hatchback.
I told them to give me a few months, and now they admit that it looks pretty mean, more like a truck should look. I had a vision of what I wanted, and now it is there. (except the bumper). I also have a vision of how the bumper will turn out...

[Ldub]

Ldub, very astute of you, the angles are actually the same, the driver side plate is just an inch longer, so I need to trim that off today. I forgot about the fact that one side of the crossbar is an inch longer than the other. No worries, the angles are the exact same, if you measure the distance from the crease to where the cut begins, or look at it with respect to the turn signals, they match up.

FWIW, when doing fab work of this nature, the easiest way to check angles, shapes, etc., side versus side, is to hold them together, top to top, & tweak em' till same-same...

[CrnCnn]

Ldub, very astute of you, the angles are actually the same, the driver side plate is just an inch longer, so I need to trim that off today. I forgot about the fact that one side of the crossbar is an inch longer than the other. No worries, the angles are the exact same, if you measure the distance from the crease to where the cut begins, or look at it with respect to the turn signals, they match up.

The glory of all this, it is completely removeable, and I would be willing to wager that none of you would be 100% successful at attempting something on this scale on your first try, and I don't mean first try at building your bumper, but first try at welding, cutting steel, fabrication and so on.
It is easy to say "I would make it curved, and match the lines" but in reality, without very specialized equipment, you can't just "curve" 1/4" thick steel. I also did all of this in my garage, on my own dime with my own tools, vice access to tools at work or whatnot. My bumper is more than 5 times as thick as the factory bumper and is essentially bullet proof. I understand that it is not the most aesthetically pleasing (bit of an understatement), but it is my first one, and I cannot begin to tell you how much I have learned doing it. Let me fill in the empty space, get the lights wired up, the skid plate mounted, and it will not be near as bad as you think. I have a vision...when I bought the VX at first, everyone here made fun of how ridiculous it looked, sitting low to the ground, looked like a ballooned up ricer hatchback.
I told them to give me a few months, and now they admit that it looks pretty mean, more like a truck should look. I had a vision of what I wanted, and now it is there. (except the bumper). I also have a vision of how the bumper will turn out...

I know what it feels like to have people beating on ur ideas, but what do you expect from this group when you go that far with it?

[nfpgasmask]

The glory of all this, it is completely removeable,

But, didn't you already sell your front cladding? I mean, I suppose you could find another, but...

and I would be willing to wager that none of you would be 100% successful at attempting something on this scale on your first try, and I don't mean first try at building your bumper, but first try at welding, cutting steel, fabrication and so on.

Well, yes and no. I think the biggest problem with all of this, at least for me, is that you may have had a "mental picture" of what you were trying to do, but you seem to have made absolutely NO PLANS whatsoever. Furthermore, I have done some welding/cutting/bending of steel/etc, and I agree that it isn't easy and takes some serious tools and know how, and that is EXACTLY why I would not have even ATTEMPTED a production piece without at least a little practice, a firm plan, the right tools, and the proper engineering. If I was you, I would have had a COMPLETE cardboard mock up done before I even bought a piece of metal. I would have perfected the design, and made 100% sure I was happy with the aesthetics BEFORE I sold off my front cladding and began the project.

It is easy to say "I would make it curved, and match the lines" but in reality, without very specialized equipment, you can't just "curve" 1/4" thick steel.

True, but wouldn't that kinda make a little bell go off in your head?

I also did all of this in my garage, on my own dime with my own tools, vice access to tools at work or whatnot. My bumper is more than 5 times as thick as the factory bumper and is essentially bullet proof. I understand that it is not the most aesthetically pleasing (bit of an understatement), but it is my first one, and I cannot begin to tell you how much I have learned doing it. Let me fill in the empty space, get the lights wired up, the skid plate mounted, and it will not be near as bad as you think.

OK, that remains to be seen.

I have a vision...when I bought the VX at first, everyone here made fun of how ridiculous it looked, sitting low to the ground, looked like a ballooned up ricer hatchback.
I told them to give me a few months, and now they admit that it looks pretty mean, more like a truck should look. I had a vision of what I wanted, and now it is there. (except the bumper). I also have a vision of how the bumper will turn out...

That's great that you have a vision. I feel the same way about my projects. Even before I bought my Trooper, I knew EXACTLY how I wanted the paint job to look. And I made it happen right away. It might not be the best looking job, but I like it, and that's all that matters. And the same goes for your project. I think the criticism mainly stems from the fact that you seem to have little respect for the outward appearance of the VehiCROSS. I personally love the outward appearance of the VX body. So taking anything away from that, at least for me, is pretty taboo.

All I can say is that taking on this project without the experience, tools, practice and planning it deserved, would be like me trying to do the body work on my Falcon without the slightest bit of experience. These are not Ertl model cars we are dealing with. This is the real, expensive deal. If I do decide to do the body work myself, I will probably take a class first, and I will most certainly save up and buy ALL the tools I will need to do it right.

Anyway Marlin, rock on and stay focused. No one needs to be happy with it but you. And if all else fails, you can always sell the VX and buy a Jeep! Cause we all know that most Jeepers out there just want a cookie cutter wheeler that everyone else approves of. And really, there is nothing wrong with that. Its just not me.

Bart