I wanted to get some protection for the headlights and also to help keep the weight off the front of the hood if the truck ever rolls over. The finished design will have another horizontal tube raised a few inches above the one that's already there. It will also have some struts to keep it all braced.

holy schnikes, that looks awesome!

I am just gonna quit looking at any more pics of your rig Rick....................makes me way too jealous.:eek:

Looks Great!

Robb

That looks great! I like the smoothness and how it matches the lines of the truck.

hey, whats that jeep doin' in there?!

bionic "grill guard" lookin' good, rick :)

That color are you going to paint it?

Looks good Rick! Powder coat it black!

Guess after my solid axle, some body work, some paint, wraping my rear bumper around for more protection..... I have to learn to bend and make a front bumper....

Will it ever end?

Looks great Rick!

I'll be painting it black. Powder coat doesn't hold up to well for me for some reason:confused: With flat black paint it's really easy to make it look "brand new again".:rolleyes:

It should be nearly completed by this weekend. At least complete enough for me to pick it up for some New Years wheelin' at Truckhaven :D

Looke great rick!!

2

Hey Rick, you know what you oughtta do? Put like 10 light tabs on there and go nuts with lights! Oh wait thats what I would do! LOL.

What happened to that single tube that ran below the nose?

Originally posted by RangerX
What happened to that single tube that ran below the nose?

We cut the mustache off :D Last time at Thaven I kissed a wall with it and it pushed the tube in and scraped the trim around the headlight.

Hrm... If you keep adding parts like that you will end up with an external roll cage to go with your internal cage.. :)

~Mark

Originally posted by Maniak
Hrm... If you keep adding parts like that you will end up with an external roll cage to go with your internal cage.. :)

~Mark

yeah. it will most likely end up that way :D One step at a time. The rear bumper is do for a redesign and when that is done it will integrate into the rock sliders.

Rick that looks like the Perfect start to an exo-cage. :thumbsup:

That looks great, Rick. Are you adding lights to it after it has been painted?

simply awesome...thats about all i can say. i like the way you have the front guard, it blends in very well.

keep up the good work.

Looking good! What size tube are they using?

All done... just need to get it powder coated when I get back from Truckhaven.

2

3

sweet!

That looks badass!

Kinda looks like it should be in the next Mad Max flick :D

Now just because you put that on doesn't mean you can try it out over the New Years. Keep it on the rubber side :p

I am just gonna quit looking at any more pics of your rig Rick....................makes me way too jealous.

I second that.

Bumper looks good Rick, and I agree with Perry, keep it rubber side down:p

It was well done. Good sound track and for the most part fast paced.

Originally posted by Rick
It was well done. Good sound track and for the most part fast paced.

that's nice to hear Rick, but I didn't think a front bumper sounded all that good. What kind of sounds do you get out of that new front end???? :p


someone got mixed up on there posts, lol

Man, Rick, That looks great! I have got to learn how to bend and weld!

Quicki question. How do they powdercoat a bumer that is attached to the car? Don't you have to stick it in an oven or something?

Originally posted by Perry
that's nice to hear Rick, but I didn't think a front bumper sounded all that good. What kind of sounds do you get out of that new front end???? :p


someone got mixed up on there posts, lol

Damn, goes to show even the admin can make newbie mistakes;)

Originally posted by SCEXPLORER
Quicki question. How do they powdercoat a bumer that is attached to the car? Don't you have to stick it in an oven or something?

The bumper is still removable. Just 4 bolts and a couple guys to hold the dang thing and it's off:D

You have the BEST Explorer ever. Im SO jealous:( :)

Rick, that looks badass!

Hmmmm stupid question but is it strong enough to put a Hi-lift on and start jacking?
I have see ARB bumpers with the sloping bottom and there is no way to keep a jack under it but they sure look nice, just my .02

Originally posted by Rick
I'll be painting it black. Powder coat doesn't hold up to well for me for some reason:confused: With flat black paint it's really easy to make it look "brand new again".:rolleyes: :D

All done... just need to get it powder coated when I get back from Truckhaven.

So what the hell powder coated or not?????? LOL anyway it looks great!

Rick all you need now is 12 sets of piaa's and your set..

thats beautiful... it brings tears to my eye

Wow, looks awesome Rick! Unique design, I like it alot.

--Sean

Lets see the after wheelin pics.:hammer:

Very nice Rick, keep up the good work. You have any complaints/performance updates for us?

Happy trails!!

btt..just wondering if you were going to answer my questions!;)

Happy trails!!

Nope, no complaints at all. I decided to either leave it bare metal or have it powder coated clear. I like the way it looks au naturale :D

http://www.explorerforum.com/thaven03_rick_gallery/images/DSCF2900.jpg

http://www.explorerforum.com/thaven03_rick_gallery/images/DSCF2871.jpg

rick, did you make new rock sliders?

We doubled the width of the old ones.

very nice!

Very nice, it does look great in that color. I left my tire carrier unpainted for a week and it took one full day to remove the surface rust before i could paint it.

Happy trails!!

Originally posted by JoshC
I left my tire carrier unpainted for a week and it took one full day to remove the surface rust before i could paint it.

Happy trails!!


Believe it or not... I drove home through a 2 - 3 hour rain storm on the way back from Truckhaven and it hasn't even started to rust! Same with the cage. Even though the half doors were on during the ride, no rust!

I went to FST today with WD40 and scotch bright pads to clean what I thought was going to be a hella rusty truck and to my surprise there was none!

I love Arizona!

Originally posted by Rick
I love Arizona!

You suck:mattmoon: I guess that is one good thing about having no humity. It gets to 100% humity about every day here in WV. Oh by the way, it is now 10 degrees here!! Freaking cold.

Happy trails!!

Kinda looks like it should be in the next Mad Max flick
I will second that, but I do not think that anything in Mad Max was quite that awesome:eek: err.....or orange!

A little off topic here, but Rick what digital camera do you use for your pics. I know (at least I think) that you are a professional photographer, so I was wonderin' what equipment you are using these days...

Thanks,

Dave

BTW The grill guard looks bad ass... I would go with a herculiner coat on it (like mine :) ) I know that Gerald could help you out with it :D :D :D

I had to throw that one in the there!!! (All in good fun Gerald)

Dave

I use a Fuji S2. It's an SLR that takes all Nikon lenses and accessories.

I vote to keep it the bare metel look!

Looks great.

Why not get it powder-coated ---clear---
Best of both worlds...bare metal look and protected at the same time.

Looks great Rick!!

That is what I ment by the bare metal "look". I would def get it coated.