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MtnLuvr's (Declassified) Off-Road Bumpers and Rock Sliders
http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=88&t=57322
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Author:  Jeepin_it_real [ Fri Mar 25, 2011 2:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: MtnLuvr's (Declassified) Off-Road Bumpers and Rock Slide

so it's been over a week since your last post... figured I'd ask if there were any updates?

Author:  MtnLuvr [ Sun Mar 27, 2011 8:20 am ]
Post subject:  Re: MtnLuvr's (Declassified) Off-Road Bumpers and Rock Slide

hislop wrote:
bumpers look beastly, love em, i am also very interested
Thanks. Besides looking "beastly", I didn't mess around and went hardcore to maximize off-road clearances and built heavy duty.


Jeepin_it_real wrote:
where did you end up relocating the EVAP to?
Jeepin', I haven't relocated it yet as I don't want to do so until I'm at a point where I can leave a rear bumper on my KK for awhile. I will want some good "before" and "after" photos showing how much clearance is gained, etc. I've targeted a couple spots under the KK for EVAP canister with one being much easier to implement than others. I really don't want to have to develop a giant EVAP canister relocation kit to extend all the tubing and wiring to relocate it very far. Don't worry, once I've got this mod done, I'll post an update.


Teo wrote:
I am interested as well! when are they gonna be ready?
Thanks Teo. Welcome to LOST -- I'm honored your first post was in my thread. I should have my finished, painted, off-road KK armor final installed on my KK as well as confirmed test-fit on my beta tester in April. After that I'll need a little time to put together scope packages to send out to custom steel fabrication shops I've worked with locally in my "day job" to get competitive quotes on building batches of my KK off-road armoring. Once I have bids in, then I'll decide who I'm going to align with and how much of my own money I'll spend to have the first production batches made. At that time, based upon what it will cost me, then I'll be able to determine sale pricing. I've already got the tacked together extra bumpers and rock sliders sitting in my garage that will be used to jig off of to reproduce the production batches. Its looking like it is going to be this summer. Don't worry, I'll be sharing updates here on-line.


riptricket wrote:
subscribing... haha i did it too!
Subscribing to a KK armor thread.....thinking about changing from your KJ to a KK or otherwise just find the thread interesting :?:


Thanks to all that express encouragement and support. It has been a draining (in more ways than one :wink: ) process but the end is in sight and, like many of you, I'm very anxious to move this along to completion and to share some awesome KK armoring with other enthusiasts.

Author:  MtnLuvr [ Sun Mar 27, 2011 9:25 am ]
Post subject:  Re: MtnLuvr's Off-Road Bumpers - 03/27/2011 update

For an update, well, this past Monday 03/21/2011 was 9 months to the day since I first took my KK into my original (1-man) street rod shop guy to start on these off-road projects. I had already stripped off the OEM bumpers and had some plans in place and had been waiting, with my winch, for some time to begin this work. I've been accused that my KK armor projects are my new kid -- and the 9 month gestation period is only adding fuel to that topic :lol:

Since my last post, we got all of the parts I'm having powder coated for my personal KK, and select parts for my beta tester, blasted down to bare, raw, so-called "white metal" as part of surface preparation for the powder coating. Meanwhile, the extra front and rear bumper I had just tacked together off raw formed and computer cut plates have been lightly primered. I had a super thin green pre-treatment primer put on them so they won't oxidize just sitting around yet I didn't want a flowable primer that would obscure the crisp edges of how the individual plates and components fit together. The light green pre-treatment primer is so thin, it allows labeling of parts to show through the primer. These bumpers will be used by my batch reproduction steel fabrication shop to create jigs off of. Since all of the parts or components are detailed in CAD and can be cut on computer-controlled equipment, and then formed or bent when applicable, jigging up the bumper will be the last item to reproduce the bumpers predictably and for the least amont of labor (thus cost) as possible. I'm anxious to see what they'll cost in batches.

The front winch bumper for my beta tester isn't going to be powder coated but rather he's planning to finish it to match his KK. Thus, I went ahead and had my (new or second) multi-person street rod shop doing my prototype fab work for me finish it out and use a flowable, smoothing, primer on it.

All of the parts to be powder coated, including my front and rear bumpers and all the accessories (including one each of each of the 3 different Grille Guard options, radiator skid plate, etc.) all got taken to the powder coating shop this past week since they'd been blasted clean. The powder coater did a little prep work on them this week and told me Friday that he should be done with them mid-week this coming week. :BANANA: Like most things I do, I'm not just doing some basic, bare bones approach, but I'm going top of the line in my powder coating finish. I want my KK off-road bumpers to not only look good, but also be as well protected, including / especially on the back or insides as possible. I know from wheeling in the midwest there will be times that there will be mud or salt-laden snow caked up on the insides of the bumper and thus I'm wanting maximum corrosion resistance. I'm not gonna cheap out at the very end as I want my KK armor to look awesome as long as possible. (please don't misunderstand, no exterior finish, including powder coating, will be impervious to scratches from rock collisions or dragging when wheeling, I'll have to be diligent about maintaining protection and touch-up on them)


Here's one of my garages at home filled with bumpers:
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One the left, in gray, is the fully primered front winch bumper for my beta tester, behind it is my old OEM front bumper (that was amuzing to compare the size differences with), then in green are the two tacked together only front and rear bumpers.


While fine-tuning some templates that will facilitate installation of the front bumper, I had to check them against the tacked together only master front bumper.
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Got the template to work out and be very clear. Ready to use it when installing the gray primered bumper on my beta tester's KK in April.....


I'm having every KK bumper serial numbered. Below is the serial number on the tacked together only front bumper.
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Of course, the serial number for my personal bumpers is "...001". My front bumper beta tester will be getting "003". If I counted all the interim or draft fit-ups or versions, instead of mine being "001", it would be some crazy number like 18, 123, 5321 or something......at least that is how it feels. I didn't bother to keep track of all the draft versions and part fit-ups (except on my CAD drawings), other than I've got a bunch of scrap steel where some of it will be going to recycling and others will be going to a good home.


Here's the done, fully primered, front bumper for my beta tester:
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It looks really great to see a bumper finished with some paint on it (even if its just primer). Of course, there are some pieces missing from this but you get the idea.


Here's the rear, tacked together only, bumper temporarily re-installed on my KK:
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A friend of mine saw the light-green tacked together bumpers on my Jeep Green KK and liked the two-tone so much, that she advised that she would want that color combination if she had a Jeep. And no, I'm not going to be designing off-road bumpers for Volvo's SUV! :wink: My personal KK bumpers being powder coated will provide two-tone, but they won't be green. Me, I'm going for matte black, same as my heavy duty rock sliders.


With rear bumper test fit-up, identified amount of extension required to my OEM tow plug wiring:
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All connections soldered then individually heat shrink wrapped before wrapping and protecting the entire extended wiring.


Threw in tow hitch I've had:
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I'm gonna need a new tow hitch for a couple reasons. The tow hitch receiver on my heavy duty Basic Rear Bumper is nearly 3" higher than it was on the OEM tow hitch assembly plus within the next month (after final installation of my bumpers), I'm going to be swapping out my suspension lift from my JBA 2" to JBA's now well-proven 4" (Adjust-A-Strut) lift. Thus, I'm probably going to wind up with a dropped tow hitch like some of the large lifted pickups use to get 8-14" of drop.


The above photos are all from last weekend's work. During the week I've been working on drafting up my detailed installation instructions (from my raw notes) so they can be fine-tuned and become photo-laden as a result of the bumper installs on my and my beta tester KK. I'm a detail kinda guy, so it is taking some time, but I know the end result installation instructions will be better than anything I've ever received with any of my KK mods. My goal is that the installation instructions be very clear and helpful for the DIYer. I know how frustrating it is getting instructions that don't even match your vehicle, are outdated, confusing, unclear, missing steps, etc.

Unfortunately, I can't work on my KK projects or installation instructions this weekend as I'm working on tax preparation stuff :(

....back to the taxes..... :grim:

Author:  kskj [ Sun Mar 27, 2011 10:36 am ]
Post subject:  Re: MtnLuvr's (Declassified) Off-Road Bumpers and Rock Slide

We need to go hit a trail to try them out sometime soon. :JEEPIN:

Author:  Diggerfreek [ Sun Mar 27, 2011 3:29 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: MtnLuvr's (Declassified) Off-Road Bumpers and Rock Slide

I hate to admit it, but that green primer is kinda cool looking :P

Thanks again for the detailed update Craig!

Author:  bhudha1 [ Sun Mar 27, 2011 7:40 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: MtnLuvr's (Declassified) Off-Road Bumpers and Rock Slide

LINE-X THEN COLOR MATCH GREEN COME ON Digger line-x line-x line-x line-x !!!I say we take a vote.What could be tougher. Im sure its going to look good no matter how u finish it. How about no color just clear the steel. So people know what hit them. Do they have clear powder coat? :lol:

Author:  DoubleK [ Sun Mar 27, 2011 8:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: MtnLuvr's (Declassified) Off-Road Bumpers and Rock Slide

i love the front bumper! i would like to be put on the list for getting one. nd id prolly paint mine purple lol its the theme of my jeep :) :JEEPIN: :goink: :rockon:

Author:  MtnLuvr [ Mon Apr 04, 2011 9:53 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: MtnLuvr's (Declassified) Off-Road Bumpers and Rock Slide

kskj wrote:
We need to go hit a trail to try them out sometime soon. :JEEPIN:
No doubt! Not certain if I'll be able to before Moab (7 weeks from this weekend :pepper: ). Definitely at Moab and multiple times this summer 8) (I've got to wheel enough this summer to make up for last summer plus this one)



Diggerfreek wrote:
I hate to admit it, but that green primer is kinda cool looking :P ....
:dizzy:


Diggerfreek wrote:
...Thanks again for the detailed update Craig!
Its a heavy burden being detailed :wink:



bhudha1 wrote:
LINE-X THEN COLOR MATCH GREEN COME ON Digger line-x line-x line-x line-x !!!I say we take a vote.What could be tougher. Im sure its going to look good no matter how u finish it. How about no color just clear the steel. So people know what hit them. Do they have clear powder coat? :lol:
Digger must have had a weak moment feeling a little remorse for having covered up all the beautiful Jeep Green with black Line-X :goink:
(to answer your question, yep, they've got clear powder coat just like there are clear enamel, polyester and other paints)



DoubleK wrote:
i love the front bumper! i would like to be put on the list for getting one. nd id prolly paint mine purple lol its the theme of my jeep :) :JEEPIN: :goink: :rockon:
Thanks DoubleK. With the way I've designed my KK Off-Road Front Winch Bumper to be customizable with various and different accessories, you could go all Prince on it if you needed to. :wink:

Author:  MtnLuvr [ Mon Apr 04, 2011 9:53 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: MtnLuvr's (Declassified) Off-Road Bumpers and Rock Slide

5,083 views as of now.......I bet its about to start changing.....

Author:  Jeepin_it_real [ Mon Apr 04, 2011 10:06 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: MtnLuvr's (Declassified) Off-Road Bumpers and Rock Slide

lol i can't wait to get my hands on one of these

Author:  MtnLuvr [ Mon Apr 04, 2011 10:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: MtnLuvr's Off-Road Front Winch Bumper Installed

Off-Road Front Winch Bumper (nearly) fully installed this past weekend:
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Now that's the serious approach clearance and armoring I wanted! :JEEPIN:

Still need to mount my 6" off-road lights to the Full-Width Brush Guard style Grille Guard....

Author:  MtnLuvr [ Mon Apr 04, 2011 10:10 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: MtnLuvr's Basic Off-Road Rear Bumper Installed

Heavy Duty Off-Road Basic Rear Bumper fully installed this past weekend:
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(still need to get exhaust resonator raised and then work on implementing EVAP canister relocation and protection)



Full side view:
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....now looking forward to swapping out my JBA 2" suspension lift with the JBA 4" Adjust-A-Strut lift soon to even further improve off-road clearances :JEEPIN: .....

Author:  CoopaTroopa [ Mon Apr 04, 2011 10:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: MtnLuvr's (Declassified) Off-Road Bumpers and Rock Slide

WOW

Author:  luigi1285 [ Mon Apr 04, 2011 10:20 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: MtnLuvr's (Declassified) Off-Road Bumpers and Rock Slide

Wow love the front that looks awesome

Sent from my galaxy tab using tapatalk.

Author:  Diggerfreek [ Mon Apr 04, 2011 10:22 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: MtnLuvr's (Declassified) Off-Road Bumpers and Rock Slide

JEEP PORN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I love it!

Author:  Jeepin_it_real [ Mon Apr 04, 2011 10:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: MtnLuvr's (Declassified) Off-Road Bumpers and Rock Slide

i think i just came a little :shock: .... when can i get one? :twisted:

Author:  hislop [ Mon Apr 04, 2011 10:29 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: MtnLuvr's (Declassified) Off-Road Bumpers and Rock Slide

:shock:

Author:  kskj [ Mon Apr 04, 2011 10:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: MtnLuvr's (Declassified) Off-Road Bumpers and Rock Slide

Nice Craig. Good to see them installed. It's gonna look even meaner 2 inches higher. :JEEPIN:

Author:  DoubleK [ Mon Apr 04, 2011 11:33 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: MtnLuvr's (Declassified) Off-Road Bumpers and Rock Slide

Diggerfreek wrote:
JEEP PORN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I love it!


Jeepin_it_real wrote:
i think i just came a little :shock: .... when can i get one? :twisted:


:ROTFL: :ROTFL: :ROTFL: :ROTFL: :ROTFL: :ROTFL: :ROTFL: :ROTFL: :ROTFL: :ROTFL: :ROTFL: :ROTFL: :ROTFL: :ROTFL: :ROTFL: :ROTFL: :ROTFL: :ROTFL: :ROTFL: :ROTFL:

Author:  dieselenthusiast [ Mon Apr 04, 2011 11:39 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: MtnLuvr's (Declassified) Off-Road Bumpers and Rock Slide

Have you had the chance to total the weight for each bumper? I have a feeling that those bad boys are heavy.

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