Rear bumper carnage!! is this fixable?

Well due to a combination of personal stuupidity, gravity, and bad luck I find myself with some pretty nasty rear bumper damage.. long story short it contacted a cement wall on the drivers side rear.

The bumper itself is a little bent out of shape, but weathered the blow pretty well..


but the bumper bracket is twisted like a pretzil, and the rear panel got smacked in bad.



I had to bash in some of the metal to allow the tailgate to work properly too

In addition to the above damage I also got a few bad scrathes, 2 dents in the tailgate, and a cracked tail-light.


OK so I know you'l ALL say just buy a sweet aftermarket bumper, but the $$ is not there for that right now, so I'm thinking I can fix what I got here.

How hard will it be for me to bend the bracket back into shape? and will it reatain enough strength?

Does the rear panel look fixable for a guy with zero body-work experience??

OPINIONS AND EXPERIENCE WANTED PLEASE!!!

 

Once a bracket has been bent like that, I would never trust it again to hold the same strength. I would recommend replace any bent brackets. As for the body damage, it is fixable, but will take some work. If you have zero experience, I would consider seeing if one of the local colleges that offer paint and body repair classes will tackle the job. Usually they do it for just the cost of materials, and you would have to buy the materials anyway. You have on the left what appears to be a nice sized crease, as well as some torn metal just below the tailgate edge. If you do choose to do it yourself, do a lot of research BEFORE you start. Good luck!

 

Getting the bracket straight again is likely to be a female dog with a disagreeable disposition. They are not that expensive. If you don't have an anvil and a lot of experience using it with a hammer, buy a bracket. Of course, then it won't fit your bent bumper, which is bent worse than you may be thinking it is - got some serious twist in it. Might see if you can find a used set here from someone who did get a sweet aftermarket bumper without bending the stock one first.

As for the body panel, depending what you mean by fixable, sure, but Henry Ford's maxim applies "Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're probably right" - that's more about your willingness or lack therof to take on new things than your inherent skill.

There may also be an aspect of "how perfect and factory new" you want it to look - but you might be able to do most of the prep and then hand off the painting. If not so perfect is fine (mine is a truck, I expect it to do work, and I don't get too worried about how perfect it looks) you can certainly do something, and do it over if you are not happy with it later on.

 

Dang that sucks time for aftermarket bumper

 

You might also check your local craigslist. I often see rear bumpers with brackets come up for not too much money. Guess take offs from people putting offroad bumpers on. Either that or they pulled it off a junk yard one and are trying to make a buck on it. Guess you could always cut out the middle man and check the local junk yard for the parts.

 

I say build a high clearance bumper an just cut all the damage out that way you wont have to worry about the bumper ever doing that again if you hit something!

 

that will buff out

 

It's a first gen, nope!

 

yes take it to a good body shop have them straighten out ur frame if needed. and fix the crushed metal and match the paint color. for sure aftermarket bumper stock is weak.

 

well I got a chance to do a little work on this thing today. I removed the bumper pretty easily by just unbolting it from the brackets. It IS pretty twisted, but there's a chance that it might fit with replaced brackets .

I then tried to remove the twisted bracket to see if it was at all possible to bend it back into shape, BUT because of a seized bolt I ended up cutting just the bracket into 2. There would have been no chance of salvaging it anyway, thing was f%ck@d!

SO, I may be in the market for a new bumper, or at the very least a new bracket. Figure I'l get the new brackets and see how the twisted bumper will work. If it won't then I'm lookin for a new bumper too.

If I can find a cheapo OEM I'l do that, but if I can go bumperless for long enough to stash some cash.. aftermarket here I come !!
who makes a nice bumper w/ integrated hitch AND wrap around sides?

here she sits haha.. I got the license plate mounted and the lights rigged up so I think I'm good to go for now..



As for the body damage I'm gonna have a shop take a look at it bc it is waaaaay more then I can handle..

 

By law I'm 99.9% sure you need a bumper regardless of what it is (wood/steel beam/etc) in order to drive. NJ code says all vehicles must have a bumper within 18" of the ground front/rear.

I know when I'm working on my aftermarket bumpers I always throw the stock back on. I hate tickets but even worse I hate getting sued should another accident happen.

Ill PM some people I know and see if they have a spare bumper or bracket laying around for you.

 

Beefed for sure has my favorite rear bumper then 4xinnovations but if you can build then thats the way to go and get exacrly what you want. I love mine cause its one of a kind and takes a beating!

 

I've researched NJ DMV laws and they have more stipulations and exceptions than I thought possible. There are loopholes I know in my area the cops aren't too strict about vehicles and also we don't require vehicle inspections (other than emissions). I'm gonna try a new bracket first and if it doesn't work maybe I'l throw something temporary on there this weekend.

Thank you kindly for the offer

nice,they both look awesome! unfortunately I don't have the tools or experience to build my own but mayb I can find a local guy to fab something up. the search is on..

 

I just hit up the only guy I know with a first gen and he sold his stock bumper.

post in the F/S section you WTB the mounts. Hell some guy gave me mine for free for my 2nd gen and I would do the same if someone needed them ever.

 

One of the good things (and sometimes bad) about Alabama laws, there is no state inspection, and you can drive around with no bumper all day long. Better have lights and a windshield tho! Everything else can pretty much be left off! lol