holidays over, time for a spot of work.
bumpers! I have a very nice 1947 GMC bumper in the back yard but I am holding out hope I find the one guy who needs it instead of using it on a truck. they are scooped, like a car bumper for that 1.5 year period only. This truck came with a bumper, but he had removed it in the field for some reason, and torched off the splash pan. even still, it worked alright to build some brackets and pop it on.
I thought about tucking it in, but it looks a little flat.
IMG_2790 by
Joe Doh, on Flickr
so I pulled it out and made it part of the truck.
IMG_2789 by
Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_2796 by
Joe Doh, on Flickr
I think I will make a splash shield, its installed in the right spot but looks low to the grille because the piece is missing.
the rear bumper was a little more work. I havent done one since the 47 GMC years ago but I had a spare 46 front bumper and its more flat than the 47-53, so I thought it might look good on the back. I wanted it just low enough to put the plate under the tailgate.
IMG_2797 by
Joe Doh, on Flickr
bumper brackets are spring steel, which I dont have, but I figured some 11ga would be springy enough to take a tiny hit without crumpling. I made some cardboard templates and cut some steel, then bent them up to match the template.
IMG_2798 by
Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_2799 by
Joe Doh, on Flickr
to facilitate the work I just tacked them to the frame, in case they needed to move in or out or up or down, instead of bolting them on more permanently.
IMG_2801 by
Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_2802 (1) by
Joe Doh, on Flickr
looking good so far, now for the outside bolts.
IMG_2803 by
Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_2805 by
Joe Doh, on Flickr
I cut 1/2" holes in the outside brackets and plug welded them
IMG_2807 by
Joe Doh, on Flickr
worked out nice! evenly matched to the taillights. the bumper has a little bend in it from probably being towed by a chain but it looks fine to me.
IMG_2804 by
Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_2808 by
Joe Doh, on Flickr
I will pick up some carriage bolts for the blade and the big bolts for the frame tomorrow.