 with Troy (TD) Graham Suzuki Bumper Saga.... |
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 I've been involved in the "Suzuki Scene" since the days when the entire Zook aftermarket consisted of two tiny garage vendors and the DIY (Do It Yourself) garage. However, even with the advent of dozens of Zook-specific vendors in recent years, I have yet to find a Samurai rear bumper offered that is stout, stylish, protective of the rear body corners, and affords better-than-stock-clearance.
My search is finally over.
GC Research, the development arm of General Crafts Fabrication of Goshen, Indiana, has introduced a design which fits all the above criteria nicely, and works with every aftermarket suspension lift (including all the folding shackle designs). It is made from thick-walled schedule 40 tubing, bent using a NC draw bender (no muffler pipe bends here!) Three widely-spaced tow points are 3/8" think steel, will accept up to a 3/4" shackle pin, and which also serve as a handy stop to prevent your Hi-lift jack from sliding sideways. And finally, the bumper mounts to the frame using six bolts through 3/16" steel mounting tabs, specifically designed to resist side-pull loading.
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The GCR bumper actually tucks up tighter to the Zook than even the factory piece of tin, while providing complete wraparound protection for the rear corners, unlike most designs that either compromise clearance or body protection, or both. The gently curved bumper ends are even designed to be used as rock nerfs! The "pre-runner" look is quite stylish and contemporary, and integrates well with the Samurai body contours.
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Installation involves removal of the entire stock "bumper" and its multitude of sheet-metal "supports" which jut out from the rear crossmember tube. Open the tailgate and remove the two M8 (14mm) body mount bolts and the rubber washers. Throw the rubber washers into your growing Samurai "spares" pile. Some Samurais are equipped with a "loop" tow point... banish it to the spares pile also.
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(Note: If your rig is equipped with Missing Link bumpstops, you'll need to jack up the rear of the truck and remove them. Be sure to chock and block the truck before crawling under it!!!) | |||
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Install the GCR bumper and secure it using the M8 body mount bolts. Install the supplied 3/8"x1" bolts in the lower mounting tabs into the frame. At this point, you will need to mark a location to drill a mounting hole for the second set of bolts. (Or your Missing Link bumpstops: Note that the holes in the bumper are already located to accomodate them.) Remove the bumper, drill the appropriately-sized holes in the frame mounts, then re-install the bumper (and bumpstops, if applicable). | |||
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You'll note that this bumper does not have any provision for lights, which is also by design. Years of wheeling have taught me that low-mounted lights, no matter how well protected, get trashed. In a vain effort to prevent this, many other designs sacrifice clearance. In addition, the low mounting position of the lights makes them less conspicuous to other drivers talking on their cell phones or beating their kids in the back of the family SUV (Silly-a** Useless Vehicle). | |||
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For a cost of about $50, I mounted two readily-available oblong stop/tail lights in the tailgate, and a matching backup light. I wired it all through a common trailer light convertor, and ran the wiring up through the gas filler grommet as shown. Then finished it off with 1/2" split wiring loom. Now the lights are up out of harm's way, and hopefully more noticable to inattentive drivers. The backup light sure is a lot more effective!
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Tom Wilhelm (President of General Crafts) and I prototyped the bumpers on our rigs at the 2001 ZookiMelt, and they passed with flying colors. Tom trail led the extreme trail, Pink, for the entire event, and the bumper shrugged off everything he managed to throw at it during three straight days of abuse. We have actually lifted the Samurai off the ground using the center tow point! As a matter of fact, these pictures were shot after ZookiMelt, where I literally stood the
truck on its rear, and the bumper doesn't even show a scratch!
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| Speaking of which, the GCR bumper comes painted with a scratch-resistant gloss black paint which is easily touched up, as opposed to powdercoating, which cannot be repaired. The tubing end caps are welded-in 1/4" steel, versus the cheesy plastic caps that always fall out sooner or later. All-in-all, a quality, functional, and attractive piece that will surely outlast the Zook.
For more info and pricing, contact: Tom Wilhelm, General Crafts, 219.533.1936 |
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07/24/10 08:19
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