Yeah thats my H3...my garage...and a Smittybuilt TJ bumper. Probably taken in the summer of 2008.
This was an experiment I did before the THORparts bumper. At that time...Jeep guys were paying $300 for a bumper and we Hummer guys were getting raped for $1500. My thinking was to make some adapter brackets, so we Hummer guys could take advantage of all the cheap, Chinese TJ bumpers that are on the market...new and used. So I made some adapter plates (H3 to TJ) and it bolted up...but what you are not seeing is how it looked from the side and quarter views. It looked horrible...really bad. The basic problem is that the TJ is flat-nosed...and the H3 is curved. It became very clear that a nice looking bumper would require a completely new design. Eventually that became the THORparts front bumper. Other issues you'll have will be making a filler piece (or grille) to go behind it. Also...you'll need to beef the frame up unless you somehow tie the bumper to the frame with more than just the front frame mounts. Those are too flemsy to use by themselves.
If you can find a craigslist TJ bumper for cheep...then go for it. You'll have to cut it up and re-weld it but, its a good starting point and gets you most of the bumper pre-made. Definitely easier to cut & modify than starting from scratch.
So glad you chimed in! Wouldnt happen to have 5-6 year old pictures of the side view would you?
I did see that you said it sticks out very far in the front, but im thinking maybe having the frame rails cut back, so it sits further back. Then hqving the new adapter plates welded on. But then if something were to happen, I could not put the factory bumer back on.
As far as the open space behind it, I'm mostly going to concentrate on the center section, protecting the radiator. The outskirts of It I can paint with under body paint to match/help protect.
Does anyone have a side view of their bumper taken off? I would love to see how far the frame comes out the front.
Sent from inside the cardboard box in the alley behind your house.
