Quick Release Bumper- Feedback?

[KTL]

I had to make my front bumper easily removable so it'll get on my trailer w/out ripping the fiberglass bumper & splitter off in the process. Trailer is a steel Anderson w/dovetail drop & steel ladder ramps, cheap and fits the car nicely. So, no, I don't want to upgrade my trailer!

Up to this point I was using stepped wood ramps (three 2 x 10 boards stacked, staggered and angle cut are screwed together to make a step-ramp) to flatten the angle of the trailer's steel ramps. I'm tired of hauling the wood ramps and lining them up with the steel ramps when loading the car on/off the trailer.

So here's what I did to make the bumper removable w/out nuts & bolts or any tools.

1. I used the tow hook in the front to hold the middle. Coincidentally it was built with a threaded receiver welded to the chassis tub, so I can remove it simply by spinning it off.

2. The rear corners at the wheel arch are latched with camlock adjustable catch latches with a spring loaded safety relase. Nice piece, not crazy expensive ($15 ea.) and easy to install & adjust. For lateral support I needed a locating pin. So I put a long M6 bolt in the fender and clipped it in place with a C-clip i'll tack weld in place. I put the bolt in my "lathe" (1/2" electric drill placed in my bench vise, bolt inserted in the drill chuck) and turned down the threaded with a file.

The receiving holes for the locating pin are expandable jack nuts. I used these to prevent the bolt from hogging a hole in the fiberglass, like a steel grommet. I installed the jack nut and then drilled out the threads to allow the bolt/pin to slide through more easily

3. The front support is secured with Terry spring catches. Reasonable at $10 ea., extremely friendly for misalignment, and work great to hold the bumper in a flexible fashion during install or removal; first thing hooked up and last thing removed)

Here's some pics



Camlock rear catches







Rear pins and jack nuts







Front spring catches




Installed



Any critiques/comments are welcome!

[KTL]

Might be wondering how the brake cooling hoses are installed?

Tubes on A-arms have release-able hose clamps., hoses are connected to bumper with rubber plumbing coupler (2 in. to 3 in. adapter), and coupler is clamped & riveted to the bumper (because hose clamp alone isn't sufficient to hold it on)

[brol]

I like it!

[80-911SC]

very nice ......