Repairing frame damage for bumper

[Xuare]

I have recently removed the plow harness from a 6.2L 1990 K2500 after having to cut the bumper off. The damage from whatever this guy plowed into goes down to the points where the plow was connected to the frame:

Passenger side:

(http://www.timekill.org/photos/truck...frame-pass.JPG)
Driver's Side:

(http://www.timekill.org/photos/truck...me-drivers.JPG)
Cross from driver to passenger:

(http://www.timekill.org/photos/truck...rame-cross.JPG)
You can see the bottommost bit of plastic bodywork at the top of the images...it is the piece that hangs below the grille

I would like to cut out the crappily welded in pieces on the bottom and the inner side of the frame and replace with 3/16" plates (hot rolled). First, I am interested to know if there is any reason why I shouldn't do this. Second, for the bumper I'm going to need to extend the frame tubes out a bit so they are flush with the corner bumper mounts. I am unsure how this is done with the normal bumpers, since the profile of the truck extends furthers forward in the center of the hood. Is there some piece of the front frame that is missing (probably due to the installation of the plow harness) that would be a better option before fitting up my pipe bumper?

Thanks!

x

[ChevLoRay]

What is the chance that there's a chassis in a wrecking yard that still has the front frame horns intact? My thinking is that would be a good resource for what you need.

[og350]

I agree i would look for a frame horn and section it in with a sleeve for streangth! if you leave it and just patch it up it might crush faster if by chance you do get hit again in the same spot!

[Xuare]

Interesting, and thanks (had never heard the term "frame horn" before). Now, I'm finding two ways of interpreting this:

-Find an OEM frame horn, box a bumper connector to it and (with some bracing) start welding the bumper to it (simple tube/pipe bumper)
-Make my own box which is the frame horn and start welding the bumper out from there.

The second idea came from this link:
http://www.therangerstation.com/foru...ad.php?t=37551

While I had envisioned something slightly simpler in the bumper department than what's shown in the link, it's not outside the realm of possibility. I don't plan on doing furious off road in this truck, but some learning experiences will probably be undertaken in the future

Some of the Google images I attempted to look up didn't show much on the trucks in front of the frame tubes except for much older trucks 40's to 60's. I think I'll need to stop by the yard and see what the frame horn actually looks like before going forward.

[ChevLoRay]

I guess it depends on your intended usage. If you're gonna plow with it and just want something to secure it to, then the cosmetics and a restored frame horn don't matter. On the other hand, if you intend to run OEM-style bumper and have it look like it did when newish, then that will dicate the other route.

In my opinion, a truck that has been used to plow will disintegrate over tiime....from the chassis up.

[Xuare]

The disintegration process has already begun, as the cab corners are toast and I had to reattach the exhaust.

I'm not interested in the OEM bumper at this time... just something that will pass inspection and prevent a yahoo from killing my radiator if (s)he drive into the truck in a parking lot.

Our junkyard didn't have anything other than a full frame, unfortunately. As many of the bolt holes in the front section are pretty messed up, I'm probably going to build my own box after I get the driver's side tube repaired enough to fix a metal box around, and repair the bottom of the passenger's side frame tube as it's basically split for about 4-5 inches.

If I could do it all over again, I probably wouldn't have bought this truck--but I have to make do with what I have.

[ChevLoRay]

If you have welding skills, you're on your way to makin' it work. Whatever you have to do to get/keep it on the road is what you have to do....If that means building a bull bar like the Austrailian highway trains use, go for it. As long as the front springs are stout enough to hold it off of the roadway....you're good to go.