55.2-59 Front Bumper Option

[hotrod1]

Looking for another option for the heavy front bumper on these trucks. There is a guy making a bumper out of carbon and it's a nice piece but too expensive for me. I don't know if a front roll pan looks good or not. Any ideas?

[_Ogre]

i believe you've read thru my build once or twice
you know what i'm gonna suggest

[hotrod1]

Ogre - Great Build and you are a guy with some serious fab skills. Yep, fiberglass. If I were to make a fiberglass one, could I use the original bumper as a mold - the inside? What weight glass and how many layers? Certain kind of resin? Any videos to watch?

[my56chevytruck]

Originally Posted by hotrod1

Ogre - Great Build and you are a guy with some serious fab skills. Yep, fiberglass. If I were to make a fiberglass one, could I use the original bumper as a mold - the inside? What weight glass and how many layers? Certain kind of resin? Any videos to watch?

I chose NOT to use a bumper and made my own front replacement. I can't upload correct sizing pictures except the final one. I formed it using 16 gauge steel with 3/8" steel rods for underneath support and welded it all in place.

[_Ogre]

hotrod, i wouldn't make a fiberglass bumper, they're utilitarian and fairly ugly.
i'd do a roll pan design of your own similar to what 56truck did above
personally i chose to keep what little protection the bumper offers

[PDW HOTRODS]

Could use a bumper painted to match and do a few mods to it. Painted would blend in more and fill the space. I have seen some with round driving lights frenched in, or a vent that matched the grill cut in.

[57tailgater]

Not sure what you are looking for, just options? IMHO the stock bumper looks ok but can look heavy and like a cowcatcher at times. I intend on flipping mine to get away from that and do something a little different. You can do this with just flipping the brackets along with it but it sets the bumper down an 1"+ and to me looks a little out of place. I intend on making the top even with where it sits now. You could also just have a spreader bar between the frame rails like what's used on a older hot rods. I am not a fan of roll pans but people like others here have made ones that look good. I ran my truck for years without a front bumper and just some fog lights bolted to the radiator splash pan.

[leegreen]

If you want the look of a painted stock front bumper but want to save a few pounds I don't see why fiberglass would not work.
you'd want a nice smooth straight steel front bumper to start.

polyester resin is fine and cheap
1708 biaxial cloth would be my first choice, but any decent fiberglass place could give reasonable advise.

plug the bolt holes with bondo and sand
wax the heck out of it with mold release
do two layers well wet out
let it kick, catch the trim when the edges are pliable and you can slice them smoothly with a knife
give it a few hours to harden then break it loose from the bumper while it is still soft enough to distort (don't wait weeks)
if it seems too floppy put it back on the bumper and add more layers or glass in some wood or core material in back
fill the surface, sand and paint

or use the steel bumper as a hammer form to make a new one out of aluminum sheet!

[PDW HOTRODS]

What's the rest of the truck look like on the outside? All stock with all trim? Shaved emblems? An mods? If all stock the stock bumper might look best. If there are mods then you can do anything. I have seen a 55 Chevy car front bumper on one that looked great. Depending on your skills or budget get one from another car and modify to make it work.

[hotrod1]

Not close to stock.

[57tailgater]

Do you have a picture of your truck you can share we can use for some thinking fodder? Are you looking to save weight in pounds or visually?

[hotrod1]

The truck is at the chassis stage right now but as soon as I am done with it I will post pics.

[dsraven]

https://fiberglasswarehouse.com/blog...-for-beginners

if fiberglassing you could reinforce it with a strip of styrofoam after the first layup. that way you create a structure that will be stronger than a simple flat (basically) part and this will help with flexing and cracking. since it is not well supported it will likely vibrate a lot. don't forget to install some mounting method as well.

[dsraven]

shouldda been a little more explanatory there. install a strip of something after the first layup and then glass over that to create a structure, like a beam, behind the bumper. like a tube is stronger that a flat bar.

https://www.amazon.ca/Fiberglass-Rol...18139248&psc=1

[leegreen]

But not styrofoam with polyester resin, it will dissolve.
Something crush proof in way of the bolts.

A disposable brush and a bondo spreader would be good options for this job too.

[dsraven]

Yeah, what he said. No styrofoam but something light to make a void.I have used paint sticks, scrap metal that was handy in a hurry etc when laying up. Cardboard might even work for a form.
Anyway you gotta decide what YOU want and then go after it.

[hotrod1]

I think fiberglass is the way to go after hearing from all of you guys. There is a guy that makes them in glass and carbon (really nice stuff) but they are out of my price range.

[leegreen]

oh yeah - I's use the outside of the bumper as a mold, easier to work with than the inside.

[hotrod1]

What weight and type of cloth and resin? Where do I get it at?

[dsraven]

I'm with Lee greens way of thinking, use the outside of the old as a form.
Check online for resin and supplies nest you. There are also some videos and tutorials for building a mould and what to use for release agents so the part will come out after. You gotta be deliberate in how you make the form and shape it so it unbolts as a 2 piece form, or else shape it so it is basically funnel shaped, exaggerated, otherwise you gotta wreck the form to get the part out. The form needs to be super smooth inside as any scratch etc in the form will show up on your piece.

[hotrod1]

I hope to use an altered bumper as a form.

[leegreen]

anything will work, even those repair kits they sell at hardware stores

Assuming there is a fiberglass supply place near you, If you get a 2 liters(quarts?) of polyester resin + hardener it is probably enough, A gallon will be too much, but it does keep a long time though. They will ask you waxed or unwaxed, unwaxed is more forgiving to use, but you will need to paint inside or it will be slightly sticky to dust. Waxed dries less sticky but adding laminations after it dries is weaker

for cloth - recommend 1708 biaxial cloth as it is easy to work with and strong, somewhere between 2 and 4 layers depending on what you want. I'd orient the layers so the chopped strand side was finish surface, it is a little easier to finish. 1708 is nice as it holds together when wet. For smaller more complex parts lighter stuff would be required

if 1708 is hard to get, alternating layers of 6-8ounce cloth and chopped strand mat. put the chopped strand as finish side layer, if you sand into the weave of the cloth it weakens it and the regular pattern of the weave tends to show through your finish more

They may cut you full length strips about an inch wider than the bumper - that would make your job easier.

https://fibertek.ca/ is the place I use, but there must be a place closer to you or at least in the same country

I think you could pull a hardened but still green part off a smoothly finished and well waxed 1956 chev truck bumper outer surface. As long as there are no reversed corners if should pop off. If the ends do wrap around more than I think they do you could slice it into two pieces at centre and glass it back together later

[dsraven]

I knew a guy who made fiberglass canoes. his mold simply bolted together at the middle and came apart after really nicely.
like leegreen said, watch out for anything like a reverse curve but a green part does have some flex to it and may come off the bumper mold easily. there is a mold release wax that most guys use i think, haven't done that in a bit

[dsraven]

this guy has a little series of things to think about when building a mold. its a sidecover for a motorcycle, but same idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5rs08VKppk

[leegreen]

car wax, cooking oil, all kinds of things can be used as a release wax, particularly if the finish of the mold side of the product is not too important and some swirls don't matter. For molding on outside of a bumper you could just stretch some plastic film or vaper barrier if you don't mind a wrinkle or ten.

I made a glove box insert in a sacrificial female cardboard mold and just lined it with packing tape, I was surprised how well it just popped off the packing tape and left a fairly smooth surface.