DIY 1st gen Tacoma front bumper ?

okay, this might be a stupid question, but the diy front bumper, are those essentially the Moab? All the CBI site shows is the exploded/unassembled parts view, and not an assembled one. I found a thread of a guy with a diy for a 1st gen 4runner that looked like an open top design, so just wanted to be sure of the finished design before I pull the trigger.

EDIT: Build thread starts on post #8...

 

I would also like to know before I order.

 

Not a stupid question brother. I wondered the same thing.

CBI is pretty dumb not to show an example of the finished bumper.

 

I agree, I would think they would have more and better pics of all their products.

 

My middle name is "Dangerous" so I went ahead and ordered it.

I *really* hope they deliver sooner than the estimated middle of March...

 

Got the bumper in WAY less time than they estimated (got here Monday!).

Most of it seems pretty straightforward, but there are a few pieces that can kinda go anywhere (the small triangle gussets).

hey @CBI Offroad Fab, any chance I can get a few pics or drawings from the back to see how this goes together?

Thanks!

 

Ok @CBI Offroad Fab, it’s been several days, I’m starting to wonder if you get these messages... any chance I cab get a pic from the back? I’ve seen older posts where you have the pics so I know they exist.

Just wanting to know where the 2 sets of right angle gussets go.

Do the larger triangle gussets go on the bottom of the winch plate? Where do the small triangles go?

 

Okay, here's the start of my CBI DIY Bumper build. I know my welds suck, I'm a grinder, not a welder, lol...

I started with the Frame boxes, and bolted them up and took some measurements. The hard parts was the fact that 5 pieces (frame boxes, vertical trusses, and the winch plate itself) needed to go together simultaneously.

I figured the winch plate would mount up even with the angles in the vertical trusses, and they did, more or less. I did have to trim a small amount off the skid plate mount surface to fit the frame boxes. Not sure if that's a standard thing, but it worked for my application.

Then I used a floor jack and a chunk of 6x6 timber to hold the winch plate assembly up to the frame boxes, centered them with the help of some blue tape and a lot of measuring.

Next was bolting up the front plate mounts and the plate itself. Measure, center, level and tack in place.

Once that's in place, I started with the top pieces. With both of those in place, using a 6' level and numerous clamps. Once those were tacked, I placed the lower sections that have the turn signal holes. It took a bit of jiggering because I couldn't really hold it steady enough with one hand, so I used some magnets and twist tie things to get it in place, then tack it.

Then it was time for the triangle pieces. Same thing, ended up using various magnets to hold it in place.

Once that was in place I did the top-outer pieces. I used a level again, but I had to kind of guess on the horizontal angle based on how they looked. As it turned out, one of the sides didn't line up with the rounded piece (installed next), so I has to cut a couple tacks and move the top piece. This easily could have been because small misalignments with other pieces compounded the error with this one piece. I count this as user error, not an error in the cuts CBI made.


Currently it looks like this. I'm now working on welding in the shackle mounts and the gussets. I'mm add more pics as I go.

Any questions, ask away, I'll try to answer as best I can.

 

How did you get along with refitting your bumper? How hard (or easy) is it to rebolt the main bumper to the winch plate portion?

 

Got a good start on mine today. Bumper and brush guard removed. Welded the seams on the box pieces at the end of the frame. Lots of measuring to get everything squared up. Interestingly, I had to cut a bit off the end of this piece. Perhaps this was an addition on my frame, since it was a replacement frame.

 

Sorry for highjacking your thread, but here is a suggestion for anyone doing this. Use a washer between the two plates that get bolted together, to give just a little working space when attaching the outer shell of the bumper to the center section/winch plate.

 

My 99 has that little extension. It's for holding the stock bumper. There's a little tab that stick out from the bumper side bracket that goes into the notch.

 

Nah, I had to do that as well. My frame is original.

And yeah, when you're at this stage, using thin washers should help final fitment, at least it *would have* in my case.

I still haven't finished cutting off and re-welding my vertical plate. If the government shut had lasted another day or 2, I would'a gotten it done, lol...

Also, I'm kind of on the fence as to it being a good idea to do more than just tacking these pieces in place here. Once it's tacked, it might have helped to throw several 1-2" long beads around the meeting surface of the front plate and the vertical. I noticed it's a PITA to get a good bead on the inside because of the tight/acute angle between the vertical plate and the outer panels.

 

I just sprayed mine with bedliner today. I'll mount it up tomorrow. There sure was a lot of welding, but good practice for me, as I am pretty much a rookie welder. I, too, had to use flux core, so not very pretty, and required a lot of clean up. But in the end, it is a nice bumper for not a lot of cash.

 

Don't think I ever really answered your question here.

I've gotten the plate re-fitted and mostly welded. I had to grind off nearly all the weld between the vertical plate, the winch plate, and the frame mount box. It was a PITA. I didn't get it entirely off, but enough of the welds were ground off that I could move the plate just enough to get a better fit.

Because of the grinding and thickness of the cutoff wheel, there was a bit of a gap between the plates, so that took some gap filling with weld, but it worked well enough. I think I have just a bit more touch up to do, and as long as it isn't raining this weekend, I should be able to finish welding, and actually get some paint on it.

Then I can finally get my winch mounted (VR10) and get to moving the control box and wiring the switches.

 

Mine is all mounted up, painted. It needs a bit of grinding to allow one side to drop down about a half inch or so. I welded all of the part that go out from the center section off the truck, on a flat surface. made it very straight, but a slight angle in the mounting plates throws it off. also, I lost some adjustment in welding too close to the bolt holes. I'm in Florida for a few weeks, so won't make corrections until I am back to weld and install the NWTI rear bumper in the latespring/early summer. Hey, if you have the hoops for yours, not welded on yet, make sure to put them as close to the leading edge of the bumper to allow maximum room to remove corner lights and grill!!!! I may have to cut and reweld mine!

 

Yeah, I didn't get the hoops. So I should be good there. I've started painting mine (finally!!). Just need to figure out how to mount my winch controlbox with minimal fuss.

I was *this close* to just cutting up the grille because I was getting a little "done" with the project. But I knew I'd hate myself down the road for that as I'd really like to avoid cutting the grille, and I plane to have a remote switch in the cab at some point. I guess I'm just going to need to get some wire and make some new connectors and mount it in the engine bay somewhere.

 

Here is where I put mine, and the bracket I used. I ordered a heavy duty #2 wire jumper cable from Amazon to get the necessary wire. Worked well, nice and flexible.

 

Dear god I finally finished!


Used high temp bbq paint...

Still haven't made a decision on the control box. The engine compartment is pretty tight on my truck. I used what little space there was for the windshield washer reservoir (pass side between abs and airbox) and the solenoid box is too tall to really fit on top of the fuse box. And I dont want to mount it too close to the engine, either.

Might end up cutting the grill anyway... it's a trail truck after all...

 

Nice work!! I'll be working on my NWTI rear in a couple of weeks!!