THE BUMPER BUILD for rear of a 98 e-350 van

[sweetk30]

sweetk30 submitted a new Build:

THE BUMPER BUILD for rear of a 98 e-350 van

i got my farmer friends 98 ford e-350 strech van to work on. he got this van this past fall used real nice shape. never realy drivin in the winter min rust for upstate ny salt belt vehicles.


well the rear bumper was smashed in on right rear corner and also turned up like a twizler is made. so makeing it stright was not gona happen. new aftermarket min 200 bucks and good used not around here.


so after thinking it over i am making him a new bumper BEEFY style.

pic #1= van its self real clean no real rust
pic #2= rear step bumper shoved in to body and twisted up prob close to 2" off level
pic #3= buddys shop bench 1" solid work bench with raw metal to start with for build
pic #4-5= 2 40" long 8" tall 1/4" thick center C channel sections (flat) and (on top) 8" tall 3/16" thick for mount plates to bolt to frame.

going to make basicly the same step bumper but much STRONGER than stock crap. he uses this for farm use and pulling wagons around. he has class #5 reese hitch also .
then going to mount in the 1 side a 7 round trailer plug socket with the flat 4 on it also. and 2 nice size weld on D-rings for tie down points. and on the face 1 per side nice big rubber bumper pads like on big trucks or semi trailers for little bunce protection. then top the whole thing off with tred plate and custom paint it.

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Read more about this build here...

 

[sweetk30]

well got more done thursday here.

pic #1-2 = made stand off plate/mounts to bolt to the frame rail ends and hold the bumper out away to make it a step bumper like orignal. simple used 6" C channel as spacer legs in some 7" C channel for the face to the frame mount. tacke welded them up to hold for test fit.

pic #3-4 = this is were i cut and chopped the ends to fit fluch on the end and make the cornners. not to hard with a BIG esab 220v plasma and a 4.5" 10 amp grinder and flap wheel.

 

[sweetk30]

this group of pics shows the test fit of the main body of the bumper to the mount brackets. and to help my self in the vision of the bumper i made a cardboard template for the top to simulate the tread plate that i will use on top.

 

[sweetk30]

this is the 1/2 done center of the bumper. its 6" x 3/16" C channel for the flat bottom and up right face. then there will be 2 more cut and shaped to fit in as side fillers. and the left one will get a hole cut for the 7pin round/flat 4 trailer plug combo to keep it high and protected. also note how i used the open side of the C channel to give more foot room to step up on the back rather than loose 2-3 " of space and have it unused on the back side. the flat area will get a section of expanded metal to give good foot grip and NOt slide off as easy .

also you can see the clearence cut out for the trailer hitch area. it will be getting a cutstom made to length extender that will more the hitch face out just past the bumper for better hitch hook up . also i got 2 3/4 weld on D-rings for trailr chain points or tow points. then it will also get 2 rubber bumpers bolted on it.

hope i can finish test fit and tack welds saturday and remove to finish weld the whole unit .

as you can see i have sand blasted every face that will be painted so the primer gets a GOOD bond and bit to the metal. that way it wont look like crap after 1 year most manf products thay just paint over the raw coating of steal.

 

[Vetteracerx]

Looks like that bumper will take some abuse!!!

 

[runamok151]

looks real nice. my only suggestion would be to radius those corners. they look like real shin grabbers.

 

[sweetk30]

looks real nice. my only suggestion would be to radius those corners. they look like real shin grabbers.

not done yet thanks tho.

 

[big pappa b]

Looks like that bumper will take some abuse!!!

looks real nice. my only suggestion would be to radius those corners. they look like real shin grabbers.

Looks like those corners will give some abuse too Please round them off

 

[ryoken]

that corner would take the side of a Prius out just by looking at it menacingly.....

 

[sweetk30]

well finished the test fitting and tack welding today . then removed it from the van and started burnin in the wire to all the joints. that took a bit of time but not bad.

pic #1 = full welded bumper and radiused edges so no sharp stuff.
pic #2-3 = little close up of the faces and the 3/4 weld on D-rings.
pic #4-5 = the side plates all welded in to fill it up and the left side has the 7 pin round and 4 pin flat combo plug from hoppy

 

[sweetk30]

pic #1 = welded in corner brace to keep from rattling and little stiffness in corners . its 1x1 and 1/4 wall .
pic #2 = contured filler plates to hug body a little and not look so ugly with a C-channel gap down the side.

tusday is tread plate steel top cover day and expanded metal step section fab day . both top plate and step section will bolt on in place.

 

[Vetteracerx]

VERY nice

 

[blazinzuk]

It looks like the mounts back up the d ring pretty good.

If they are not close throw a piece of strap directly behind the d ring.

I have built a couple of c channel bumpers and with some heavy use they will bend that c channel, I know it doesn't seem possible but 15 minutes of extra time will insure it never happens.

I like the bumper alot, looks nice

 

[sweetk30]

thanks for th tips and coments sofar guys.

ya the 8" C-channel sections the D-rings are on is 1/2" thick by its self.

he wont be using it for recovery or massive towing so it should be more than fine for his needs.

also went over to his farm tonight and got some nice tread plate steel for the top section. he helped find it / load it and even delivering it. best part he dont know what its for let alone for his bumper.

 

[sweetk30]

got bumper back on van today for final test fit before paint. and also to fit the tread plate top covers.

had to tweek the hole's / slots for adjusting the bumper on the frame brackets. also had to trim the end caps that hug the body line.

otherwise its lookin GOOD on there. cant wait to see it all painted to match the o.e bumper color.

 

[sweetk30]

just need to drill holes to bolt down the top plate and center expanded metal section then its off van and to the paint booth for epoxy primer and gray color match to the stock front rear bumper colors.

pic #1 = full assembled bumper rear shot.

pic #2-3 = is center step area with n without expanded metal to shop diffrence. will be painted black on expanded metal.

pic #4 = rolled edge down to bumper face to clean the look up a bit.

and yes there is a factory filler panel i took off for under the doors i need to reinstall.

 

[sweetk30]

few to show end profiles and top plate clearence on body. there is 3/8" min all around body and bumper area's

 

[mpio13]

sweet!! paint? rhinoliner?

 

[rob h]

Looks pretty tough, id hate to see what the next thing looks like when it hits that..lol...

 

[sweetk30]

epoxy primer and auto paint .