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After finishing the bumper, it’s time to attach it to the zook. I wanted to keep it tucked in as close to the body as possible to leave as great of a departure angle as possible.
Once it was in the correct position, the 3/8″ angle iron was drilled to match the stock mounting position of the stock tow bar loop. These new brackets should be bolted securely to the frame mounting points and then tack welded to the bumper while it is in position. Then the whole thing could be removed from the zook and a good, strong bead was welded to make sure it can stand a beating. In the photo to the right you can see these brackets attached. You may also notice the gusset that was used to strengthen the rear of the 2″ receiver.
After the new component has been cleaned and painted, you can bolt it back on and finish getting the position you want.
Remember what I said about departure angles? The photo on the left shows the final position while the photo on the right gives a good view of what 78 degrees of departure looks like. Oh, the front is at 84 degrees, just in case you were curious.
Close up, you can see the easily replaceable tractor trailer lights. The stock wiring harness was used after it was snipped from the stock light units and run into a small hole and then sealed with black RTV. On the left you can see the sheet metal that was normally hidden by the corner cap of the stock bumper. On the right you can see how the sheet metal was trimmed along the body line. To safeguard the sheet metal even more, a set of side bars were later added and gusseted for strength.
Next project: a spare tire / fuel can rack that can take the abuse of being slammed into a rock face. Here are a couple of spy photos. The fuel cans will be hung on either side of the tire and will swing down to become feet when the rack is used as a trailside work table. 
08/11/10 15:06
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