![\"\"](\"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/Iron-Gap-May-2011-027.jpg\" "\\"Iron")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe bumper on my off Road Jeep is very simple. It consists of a couple of pieces of angle that extend the unibody frame rails out. The winch plate is mounted on top of them. There are a couple of pieces of curved pipe extending to each side to protect the bottom of the head light surround. <\/p>\n
Since Jenny drives her Jeep everywhere she goes, she wanted something that was both functional and nice looking. Had I been fabricating form scratch, I would have used a piece of 2×6 tubing and tapered the ends to make a nice looking bumper. However, the cost of a stick of steel was out of budget for the moment.<\/p>\n
What I had to work with was a damaged bumper on a parts Jeep sitting in the grass by the barn. It was made from heavy steel it was just not exactly the shape I wanted. It also had a brush guard and winch plate integrated into the design. Jenny did not want the brush guard and does not have a winch.<\/p>\n
I began by removing the bumper from the parts XJ. There was an extra bolt that simply would not come loose. I had to cut it with a torch to get it out.<\/p>\n
I began by cutting off the brush guard and its mounting brackets. Next I cut out the winch plate. This left a big gaping hole in the center of the bumper. I cut a couple pieces of angle and used those to fill in the gap.<\/p>\n
I did not like the way the bumper stuck out from the front of the Jeep, so I relocated the mounting holes to pull it in closer to the grill. I would have liked to have tapered the ends but that would have meant extensive reworking of the bumper. By setting it back, the tips don\u2019t really stick out too far.<\/p>\n
I painted the bumper flat black to mask some of the weld marks and to match her rear bumper. I trimmed the ends of her rear bumper to be similar to the cut of the front bumper.<\/p>\n
I removed her twisted stock bumper and the stock air dam. <\/p>\n
Mounting the bumper to her Jeep Cherokee, required trimming the front fenders since part of the bumper extends back under the grill. I used a straight edge and a sharpie to make a mark on the fender. I used a cut off wheel in my grinder to make the cut. I touched up the raw edge with spray paint.<\/p>\n I tied the vacuum bottle to one of the fender supports with wire for now. I will move it inside the engine compartment later as the cut of the bumper leaves it venerable to breakage where it is.<\/p>\n The new bumper gives her Jeep a muck more aggressive look. It also improves her approach angle for off road obstacles compared to the stock bumper.<\/p>\n Fabricating a Bumper for a Jeep Cherokee XJ The bumper on my off Road Jeep is very simple. It consists of a couple of pieces of angle that extend the unibody frame rails out. The winch plate is mounted on top of them. There are a couple of pieces of curved pipe extending to each … <\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"