Here is the bumper removed. I used that same technique to remove the rivets that held the bumper on. My plasma cutter earned its keep on this part. I also welded the unused holes on the frame rail.

Rear bumper

Next up is the rear bumper. My goal for this project was to design a bumper that would be strong and look good. It needed to hold up against recovery attempts and be able to equip a swinging tire carrier. I didn't want to attach the new bumper to the old metal, so I removed the old stuff.

I boxed the area around the rear shock mounts. I left enough room to allow access to the body mount bolts that are located here. I cut a half circle shape on the forward side for looks. This was made with 4 inch wide by 1/8 thick plate.

The front bumper all done and ready for paint. Next is the rear bumper

Tow Bar

This shot is showing the repair I made on my tow bar. The area near the mounting holes were bent and did not allow for a flush fit. I used 1/2 thick cold rolled steel for this task. I cut out he bad parts and TIG welded the new stuff.

Shackle mounts

I made two D-shackle mounts from 3/4 inch thick plate. These mounts have a 7/8 hole for a 4.5 ton rated shackle. The other mounts are for a tow bar made from 1/2 thick plate. I found the D-shackles at Copper State Nut and Bolt for $10 a piece.

A look at the front bumper. I used a piece of 5 inch wide by 3/16 thick channel iron. This works well for the front bumper because it fits over the foremost part of the front bumper with 1/4 inch to spare on top and bottom. This bumper is shorter than stock at 42 inches long. I added 4 gussets on each side of the frame rail. These were constructed from 4 inch by 4 inch angle iron. I used the plasma cutter to shape the angle iron. I also "boxed" the outboard sides of the bumper for looks and design.