dschappell

Hi all! I'm semi new here so just have mercy on me


I am doing a rebuild of a 99 xj. When I bought it, it had several collision cosmetic problems. front fenders were bent up, header panel destroyed, bumpe held on via zip tie, and torn seats. back end looked perfect lol.


I know I had a tall order when I bought it, but I just had to since the engine only had 80,000 on it. The original one blew up (girl blew a head gasket).


So long story kinda short, I have got a new panel, lights, fixtures, fenders, and wheels/tires. My issue now is the front of the unibody. It has some "crunching" on the corners where the bumper went. I have zero welding abilities and not much desire to dump a ton of money in it. I don't want to install a huge smittybuilt on it, but I want something. I can bolt together my own design and materials, but I don't know where I can SAFELY mount the thing. I have an idea for a bumper, but I want 2 tow shackles on the front and I sure don't want to bend the body...


heres a pic of my dilemma






can I mount to the front of the unibody SAFELY???

thatXJguy

Why don't you just beat on the "crunches" with a pry bar and a sledge hammer?

Then, use the uni-body tie-ins from a bumper and the included bolts to flatten it out.

Hammered

cut the bolts off & remove the bumper bracket so you can get a better look at what youre fixing.

you can use the front of the unibody as ADDITIONAL support for the bumper but not as the MAIN mounting points.

dschappell

I'll try and remove the bolts and brackets tonight. Hammered, thanks for that info. Wasn't sure about it.. this helps a lot. Thanks for the responses!

dschappell

Ok. I got the brackets off. I sanded down a lot of the cracking paint and rust then primed it with grey primer. I don't have a garage and so it's totally exposed to the elements. Here's a pic of the spots. Note the driver side isn't too bad. I can easily bend it back into submission.

thatXJguy

Looks good so far. On that very bent area on the passenger side, I would throw a slap hammer on there and pull it straight.

You can always weld on frame stiffeners later.

dschappell

Is this that tool?

thatXJguy

Yeah. It does the opposite of a hammer. A hammer dents things in, and a slap hammer dents things out/pulls out dents.

I've used one to pull out fender bends before. You might need to hit a lot harder for the ticker unibody metal, but I would look for a nice heavy hammer.

dschappell

Ok thanks. I'll try to find one locally before dealing with shipping one.

andrewmp6

Have a body shop pull it all back straight.

thebyus

x2 for what hammered said. I would say get a BFH and straighten the mounts out as best you can, then build (or buy) a bumper that attaches WAY back on the frame rails. I just threw on a Nates4x4 winchless front bumper, (don't have the pics on the build thread yet, hoping to get them there soon!) damn thing has almost as much metal in the bolts as the bumper. The last bolt is 3/4" carriage bolt mounted 3" behind the sway bar mount, almost over the axle.

dschappell

So I got the driver side decent. Passenger side not so much. I think it needs to be heated up then moved about. I'll post back once that's done...

dschappell

So I have had to make some decision on the price tag side of arguments and decided to skip on the bumper issue for now. I'll post elsewhere in regards to the build, but I'll comment back on this thread once I get the front part heated up and bent back and the mounting brackets formed up. Thanks for the help !

dschappell

So I found out my father in law has a torch. He used it last week when we put in the new AC unit in the house. So my thought process become "could I used that to heat up the crunch on the passenger side of the bumper and then bang it back into place with my hammer?". Thoughts?

It that is an OK plan then I'll do that and get new brackets and this problem will be solved. Thanks!

94xjmtn

Your driver side looks perfect. And as for the passenger side, I'd say yes take a torch, pry bar, and a BFH and take your time and get it the best you can. Just good enough to squeeze the bolts in and call it good. Is not like you'll be taking your bumper off and on all the time to be worried of its perfect. And also using extended brackets is a great idea weather you make them or buy them or if the bumper comes with them they're a great sense of comfort knowing you got some added strength when off road.