Making Bumpers.

[David Gardiner]

I thought I had posted these bumpers once before but I could not find the thread so it may have been lost or stolen . I may have posted this on another site. Anyway if there is a thread on here already please let me know and delete this one.

These bumpers were for an Aston Martin DB6 but I have made bumpers for a good number of cars including Ferrari's which tended to be hand made originally.

This job demonstrates well how much can be done without any large machines. The bumpers are fairly complex looking but by braking them down into workable sections they can be made from simple sections. The same is true of many panels and parts.

I did not make any pattern, for this job I worked straight onto the new steel. I cant see the point of making patterns quite often when I have the original part in front of me.

I simply drew around the original bumper to give me a basic blank...



This acts as my guide to the shape. The steel by the way is zintec because I find it a little softer to work in than CR for heavier sections (these are 16g)



I then added a small amount of excess to the blank to give me some spare material and cut this out. I then use this as a pattern for the second half. by cutting the blanks to the same shape I have two identical sections. I need to make up two halves that are more or less a mirror image of each other so by starting with two identical sections it will be easier to end up with two part that are the same.



This is what you need to do if you are trying to make two parts for opposite sides of a car- or a petrol tank or any part that has to be symmetrical.

David

[hp246]

David,
I was searching through here after you told me awhile back you had posted some of these. I mentioned that I was interested in building some bumpers for a Pickup truck. I want to build mine out of aluminum to save weight. The rear bumper is going to be fairly straight forward. It will be about 60 inches long. As long as it is uniform, it won't matter. The bumper that will be interesting will be the front bumper. The existing bumper is stamped steel. I want to follow the original bumper, except that I want to do away with the license plate cutout (for aesthetics and I think it will be easier to shape). I also want the bumper to be an inch or two shorter to fit better. I'm thinking of clamping aluminum to the original and shaping it around the original. Note that the bumper has been shaved (Bolts welded up). I would like to keep that with the aluminum bumpers too. Am I in the ballpark here?

[1450Racing]

Looking forward to your progress David, I have a very similar project I will be starting soon.

[David Gardiner]

Thanks guys.

Randy I am sure you could make the bumper in the way you describe but I think there will be some welding involved.

David

[David Gardiner]

Once the 'blanks' were cut out I began to hollow the section in the area that had most shape, this was done on a stump. Being 16 g it takes a fair bit of force.



David

[David Gardiner]

A little more work and the shape is starting to look like the bumper.



David

[1450Racing]

Any updates? Looking forward to seeing the finished product!

[Lotus70]

Did a search on the web and found out what this stuff is and I’m not sure what its equivalent would be. What sort of finish do you end up putting on it when you're done? Do you plate it? If so, what’s the advantage over mild steel if you plate it anyway (sorry for the total nube questions)?

I have the typical water soluble rear bumper on my élan +2S. I think these started deteriorating as the car was being driven off the showroom floor. After seeing your post I may take a crack at making its replacement. I’m very new at metal shaping and have worked mostly in aluminum, but would think mild steel or SS would be the proper material for a bumper (at one point I was considering fiberglass).


Looks like the DB6 bumper project was somewhat in the past, but more pictures and guidance would be most helpful.>>

[David Gardiner]

Sorry I am really busy and have not had time to upload any photos lately. I will as soon as possible. Cold reduced (cold rolled) steel would work just as well but this material is slightly softer I discovered by accident. There's not a lot in it its just a little more malleable. The other advantage for me is that I can keep it in stock for long periods without it going rusty and as I seldom work in thicker materials but need it just in case...

The bumper was chrome plated once done.

David

[ChrisS]

More please.