Since we see a certain amount of folks asking about light bars, I thought I'd throw out there the relative ease involved in making your own. It does involve a welder, so if you don't have one, you gotta find a buddy or a sorta-local CK5'er or whoever who does. But it's not like you need a whole machine shop -- I did the bending in the vise with a sledge 
I mean, what's more fun than beating the snot out of something and then lighting it up with fire? 
Ordinarily I eschew any sort of blingy or boisterous accessory, but I do have a ... thing ... for lighting. Call it my one concession to the 80's monster truck motif, in lieu of eighty-seven shocks with purple boots
I'd previously built a lightbar for my rollcage when my truck was full-convertible, so I had most of the stuff laying around already. (In fact, I believe my total out of pocket this time around was like a buck and a half for the nuts & bolts for the gutter clamp. Score!)
The gutter mount was the most important part, so I started there. I wanted to make sure it would be strong enough to hold the weight of the bar and the lights. Each side has 2" wide 1/8" flat stock; the inner piece is flat, and the outer is bent on the end, with about 1/4" lip.
The lip extends under the rain gutter, and the holes are slotted slightly to allow the lip to be pulled up during installation for a tight fit.
The bar proper is a piece of scrap angle iron, maybe 1.5" on each side, and ~1/8" thick. It's not going to twist anyway, but it's not a 500# piece of railroad steel either.
There it is on the welding table with holes drilled for the lights and the wiring started. (The wiring was the most time-consuming and least fun part of the project!) The inner flat stock from the clamps has been welded to the angle iron, and then the corners rounded off for aesthetic purposes. (And to keep me from destroying my fingertips. I'm clumsy.)
The lights are cheapos with nasty rusty chrome:
I took 'em apart and hit the outsides with the wire brush wheel, and most of the rust came off, along with lots of chrome flakes. This meant painting over the chrome (after appropriate sanding to scuff the surface), but that reduces the bling quotient which is A Good Thing for me anyway.
The wires fit inside the door gasket without damaging anything, and I soldered a molex plug on (upper left) so the lightbar is easily removable.
The end result is exactly what I wanted: hilariously over the top.
For being cheapos, they do actually emit a certain amount of light. Were I serious I'd go and get a pair or two of HID's -- I see RuffStuff has them now -- and call it good. I imagine that there would be more light for a lot less power drain. Still, this has a certain old-school charm and is a conversation piece ... and for you folks thinking about doing it yourself, maybe this'll give you some ideas. Or just make you shake your head and laugh.
-- A
I mean, what's more fun than beating the snot out of something and then lighting it up with fire? Ordinarily I eschew any sort of blingy or boisterous accessory, but I do have a ... thing ... for lighting. Call it my one concession to the 80's monster truck motif, in lieu of eighty-seven shocks with purple boots
I'd previously built a lightbar for my rollcage when my truck was full-convertible, so I had most of the stuff laying around already. (In fact, I believe my total out of pocket this time around was like a buck and a half for the nuts & bolts for the gutter clamp. Score!)
The gutter mount was the most important part, so I started there. I wanted to make sure it would be strong enough to hold the weight of the bar and the lights. Each side has 2" wide 1/8" flat stock; the inner piece is flat, and the outer is bent on the end, with about 1/4" lip.
The lip extends under the rain gutter, and the holes are slotted slightly to allow the lip to be pulled up during installation for a tight fit.
The bar proper is a piece of scrap angle iron, maybe 1.5" on each side, and ~1/8" thick. It's not going to twist anyway, but it's not a 500# piece of railroad steel either.
There it is on the welding table with holes drilled for the lights and the wiring started. (The wiring was the most time-consuming and least fun part of the project!) The inner flat stock from the clamps has been welded to the angle iron, and then the corners rounded off for aesthetic purposes. (And to keep me from destroying my fingertips. I'm clumsy.)
The lights are cheapos with nasty rusty chrome:
I took 'em apart and hit the outsides with the wire brush wheel, and most of the rust came off, along with lots of chrome flakes. This meant painting over the chrome (after appropriate sanding to scuff the surface), but that reduces the bling quotient which is A Good Thing for me anyway.
The wires fit inside the door gasket without damaging anything, and I soldered a molex plug on (upper left) so the lightbar is easily removable.
The end result is exactly what I wanted: hilariously over the top.
For being cheapos, they do actually emit a certain amount of light. Were I serious I'd go and get a pair or two of HID's -- I see RuffStuff has them now -- and call it good. I imagine that there would be more light for a lot less power drain. Still, this has a certain old-school charm and is a conversation piece ... and for you folks thinking about doing it yourself, maybe this'll give you some ideas. Or just make you shake your head and laugh.
-- A
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oh and the light bar is cool too 
I didn't even notice that. Why can't I muster up the strength to buy at least one more grinder when the benefits are so great 
Using one sucks.
