Every year around this time I clean my garage with garage floor cleaner and other things to prepare for winter and what I will be working on during the season.
I stood there and looked at my Samurai and considered all the things that were going on with him. Right now the engine is being built (I hope), the factory fenders are off because I’ll be putting on Bushwackers (to be covered in another article), the factory plastic rocker guards are off because I’m in the middle of putting on Rocker Mount sliders. Low-range Defiant Armor rocker (will also be covered in another entry in the near future, after some minor body work is done), and then there’s the low-range Defiant Armor modular front bumper kit that I ordered, which is still in the boxes.
I wanted to wait until I picked out a good recovery winch before installing the bumper kit, but got to thinking…
Since I now have a giveaway going on for a FREE low-end Suzuki Samurai front bumper kit, maybe now is a good time to layout the install.
…plus, I was dying to see what it looked like in person.
Before I knew it, I was under the rig with the Sawzall, struggling to cut through a bumper extension hack job previous owners did before I purchased the vehicle. You’ll see what I mean in a moment. The instructions Low Range provides with the kit state that cutting off the ends of the bumper mounting tube is optional, but the way mine was already modified I had no real choice.
Speaking of the instructions, they are very concise and written by experts (you can check them on the product page). Follow along with my exploration of making your front bumper go from weak and useless to strong and useful.
Shown is the factory bumper with a basic bar welded on as it came to me when I purchased it.
I removed the driving lights and turn signals from the bar and bumper.
This is how the previous owners extended the front bumper to clear the 31″ tires. Have you ever seen a poor quality welding job?
I have to admit, I’ve never used a Sawzall much, but I removed the factory bumper without too much trouble. I was very surprised at how light the factory Samurai bumper is. It offered hardly any real protection compared to the Low Range kit.
After making the cuts, I shot the exposed areas with some matte black rust preventative spray paint to keep corrosion out.
After removing the factory bumper it’s pretty simple from there. Simply attach the winch plate per the instructions…
…then bolt on the winch plate cover, the bumper ends (and you can choose between them, I ordered the short version) and the stinger bar of your choice. Then tighten the supplied hardware to the specifications provided in the instructions and voila!
All told, it took me about an hour, not including cutting the bumper tube. Makes a big difference, doesn’t it? I think I’ll call Low Range and place another order of the extra stubby ends available to widen it up a bit and offer more tire protection. Once I have chosen a winch I will review this with the final installation. Until then, I’m not sure what I’m going to do with those Hella driving lights. Maybe I’ll figure something out by the time I find out which winch I’m going with.
Above all, this is a very high quality kit made with precision and durability. It is very well designed and even carefully packaged. I’m thankful that Low Range did this for old Samurai!