Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Custom foglight bracket using bumper mounts

Hi all, just got through fabricating a custom foglight bracket that uses the stock bumper mounts for the Plus 4. Full disclosure, the idea came from this car I found on Bring-a-Trailer.


I purchased the "L" brackets that hold the lamps from Moss Motors, they are listed for the XK120. They're a tad pricey for what they are...but it was easier to buy them than to find some "L" stock of the correct dimensions. I did have to cut the bottoms off them, as they are too long for this application. I don't weld - but if you do you could probably make them. I used 1/8" flat stock for the cross piece...3/16" seemed a bit too flexible and I was worried about vibration.



I added the plinth between the lights for a more finished look, I used 3/16" stock for this - would have used aluminum and painted it black if I didn't already have the steel.



Here's how it mounts - but without mounting the bumper



Here's how it mounts with the bumper in place. I needed to add some washers (which I painted black) to stand the bracket off from the bumper mount.
I painted the bracket black - I needed a different number of washers on each side as my bumper brackets were a touch mangled.




Final install, pretty good if I do say so myself.





This was my first time really working with metal...I learned some lessons, that will give the more experienced mechanics here a good laugh - as most of you learned this in grammar school!

1) Measure five times and cut/drill once. I still had to start over once when I mis-drilled a hole.

2) To get the distance right for the holes that receive the bumper mounting bolts, I drilled a few templates out of wood until I got the spacing perfect, and then transferred the holes to the metal using these transfer punches.. You'll also need a spring loaded center punch to insure that the drill bit dosen't walk when you start drilling.

3) When drilling start with a small (~3mm) pilot hole and then slowly move up to larger bit sizes. When drilling metal, SPEED KILLS, especially when the holes get larger and the friction on the bit increases due to more surface area. I completely melted (and dulled) a few of the stepped cone bits I used at first because I drilled at high speeds as if I was drilling wood. I recommend using the cheap bits and drilling SLOWLY...you can pay $50 for cobalt bits that can take higher speeds, but that doesn't seem worth it too me...

4) I was able to make the curved cuts for the plinth using a handheld Skillsaw and then just cleaning up the edges with a file. The straight cuts were made with a hand-held power cutting wheel that I purchased.

Cheers all!

-GC

Great work Nothing more satisfying than turning a good idea into metal.

Well done

Stefan

Having an idea is one thing, but executing it so well is very rewarding!

Well done!

Very true @bmgermany, many thanks for the compliments all!...I've had the car for about 3 weeks...frankly have been dreaming about fashioning these brackets since I won the auction 6 weeks ago!