Bro-coma.. getting unbro-d

[Wainiha]

Follows the body lines nicely.

[Zs Confederate Toy]

That bumper is SICK! God how this build just gets better and better

[-Matt-]

front bumpers finished. just went with my gut feeling and stuck with black just so everything would match and be easy to touch up. its really strong the way its all tied in multiple spots.

[HogCanyonHopper]

  so nice. good job on the truck dude, its a beauty. 

[THK Matt]

WOW!  Just WOW Matt.

[Zs Confederate Toy]

Oh that looks sooo pregnant dog'n.

[Wainiha]

WOW!  Just WOW Matt.

X2 Unbelievable. My new favorite bumper.

[-Matt-]

Thanks guys.  Didn't expect it to turn out how it did. I was pretty nurvouse about building it. Pretty easy to ruin a cool built with a bad tube job

[46&2]

Wow, that looks sick as hell. Clean, tight and super low profile. Nice work Matt. 

[Wainiha]

I can't over this bumper.  Original, tight on the body lines.  That pass through on the fender.  Structure! 

Wish I had you as my neighbor.  Dammit, I'm getting left in the dust

[zembalayan]

Awesome work!!! 

Out of curiosity, how is that part of the fender/body tied into the frame?  I apologize for not knowing all of the previous work shown in this thread, but if this rig retains traditional bodymounts to the frame, my only concern would be any movement that the bodymounts allow, being that the the "through the fender tubing" is so tight to the fender, that it might be too much movement for that tight amount of clearance between the tube and the fender and cause body damage around the edges of that hole.  As an example, my rear bumper is pretty tight to the rear body panels, and when I have come off ledges and have landed very tail-hard, my body mounts have allowed enough body movement downward into the rigid bumper tubing that the body panels have dented around the nearby tubing. 

I know this is a wheeler, and you plan to use it pretty hard so this must be a pretty minor concern; although, as nice as this beauty is, I would hate to see any damage ever.  Just knowing you though, I am wondering whether or not you have done something unseen here that eliminates or handles this concern already, especially because as design aesthetics goes, this has to be the coolest Taco bumper any one has ever built!

Again, your is truly amazing work!!

[pumkin toy]

wow dude!  that looks sick!  hey I like your tube bender in the background, I have a JD2 model 32 with the same harbor freight ram attachment.  ive been really happy with it so far

[-Matt-]

I know what your talking about same thing happened on my last truck with my rear bumper as you stated. But usually its the bumper flexing on hard hits into the body... Not the other way around. And with all the new thick frame, the link crosmembers, skids that tie in, etc I highly doubt ill have any frame flex and the body mount won't move much. Also when you trim the tacoma fenders like how iv done they become beer cans. They literelly will flex inches. Before I attached the bar I was able to move it where ever I wanted cuz the fender just flexed. It's actually a good thing for the fender cuz it keeps it a little more rigid. The renders are attached by a bar going from the cab to the core support. And the core support is attached to the new frame how it was stock. So its not solid mounted. Also its hard to tell in the pics but the hole through the fender not a perfect fit. It's slightly larger than the tubing.

And pumpkin toy. Ya the bender setup it awesome. I'm borrowing it from a budy. It really needs a spring attachment though to bring it back since the rams so tough to collapse again. Also they needed to laser cut a window in the bending arm so oh can easily see the start bend spot on the die. Right now its really hard to try and look in there to get it on the right spot

[Dingman.]

I cant wait to see it in person again

[zembalayan]

I know what your talking about same thing happened on my last truck with my rear bumper as you stated. But usually its the bumper flexing on hard hits into the body... Not the other way around. And with all the new thick frame, the link crosmembers, skids that tie in, etc I highly doubt ill have any frame flex and the body mount won't move much. Also when you trim the tacoma fenders like how iv done they become beer cans. They literelly will flex inches. Before I attached the bar I was able to move it where ever I wanted cuz the fender just flexed. It's actually a good thing for the fender cuz it keeps it a little more rigid. The renders are attached by a bar going from the cab to the core support. And the core support is attached to the new frame how it was stock. So its not solid mounted. Also its hard to tell in the pics but the hole through the fender not a perfect fit. It's slightly larger than the tubing.

What you wrote sounds right on the money.  Thanks for the explanation!  I can't wait to see it in person as well; you're going to the round up, right?

[-Matt-]

Ya I'm for sure going. Truck might not be 100% done as far as the small stuff but it will be ready to wheel. I can't wait

[86bobbedtoy]

wtf man, how do you do it!!
get a write up in a magazine on this one!

[THK Matt]

wtf man, how do you do it!!
get a write up in a magazine on this one!

AMEN!

[TacoRunner]

Matt. How did you go.about finding the cut point at the fender for the tubes, and how or what method did you use to cut such a clean hole that didnt chip the paint.

[-Matt-]

for starting i used one of those pipe master gauges set to the degree that i wanted. as for the location i just eye balled that since i knew where i wanted the tube to dive through. then i rough cut the hole with a plasma cutter and then used a die grinder to true it up. at that point i was just eye balling it. trust me i know the hole looks super tight in the pics but in reality its not perfect, but close enough for me. the plasma works well cuz it barely heats the metal enough to boil the paint. and then when you true it up with the die grinder it removes all the nasty section to where the paints back to being perfect.

theres a lot of little trade tricks with fabricating/welding that i have learned over the years. i couldn't explain them but could show someone in person. its that kind of experience that makes everything so 'clean' and 'right'. its not that everything always perfect cuz trust me its not. its that im really good at fixing stuff thats tweaked/cut wrong/bent wrong/ or just messed up. there was tons of those little techniques used on that front bumper  (and my whole truck) to make it how it is. you'd never know it now but there was some tweaked out stuff going on.

its that same concept i stated above which is why im just eye balling/plasma coping all my tube work. im not using the pipe master gauge for any of that because i find it just taking to long for me. i can eye ball/plasma cope better and more efficient than using a tube notcher. not because its a better way at all, cuz its not. its just what im use to/more efficient with/ and way more comfortable at doing. ill take a grinder/welder/plasma cutter over a tube notcher right now because i dont have tubing experience. its the fabrication skills that make all the tubing work out in the long run.

[-Matt-]

wtf man, how do you do it!!
get a write up in a magazine on this one!

thanks dude, to be honest the whole mag thing would be cool but i dont care enough to pursue to. if someone from a magazine where to come to me then i would be honored but im not gonna try to get in one. building this truck has been a dream for a long time now so just the feeling of it getting closer and closer is all im looking forward to.

[86bobbedtoy]

  

[Dingman.]

Heath is gonna get ahold of some contacts to get you in in one.   

[TacoRunner]

thanks dude, to be honest the whole mag thing would be cool but i dont care enough to pursue to. if someone from a magazine where to come to me then i would be honored but im not gonna try to get in one. building this truck has been a dream for a long time now so just the feeling of it getting closer and closer is all im looking forward to.

Um Matt you do know I still right  for 4 wheel drive toyota owner magazine right.

[yota_krawler]

write?

[HogCanyonHopper]

yeah, write. that is right. 

[-Matt-]

Um Matt you do know I still right  for 4 wheel drive toyota owner magazine right.

no honestly i had no idea Brian. i dont keep up with any of the magazine stuff. im totally out of that loop. thats awesome though, small world.

edit- i remember hearing that you had some writeups in a few mags but i didnt know you were affiliated with the magazine itself.

[TacoRunner]

write?

Ya i got a new phone and it has a voice thing that types what you say and it didnt disinguise between the two.

[HogCanyonHopper]

distinguish? 

[Dingman.]

Grammar nazi's i swear.