Each bumper was only attached by 2 new bolts & nuts on top, so they were easy to remove. And with access to the SINGLE bolt inside each frame rail, the rear receiver came off relatively easily, too.

The front receiver was a nightmare... These side plates are at least 3/8" thick, which is ridiculously overkill for a truck frame close to 1/4 that thickness. And I don't know why they couldn't have bolted this one on, too. I had to trace the frame contour with a cutting wheel for quite a while.

The front receiver was a nightmare... These side plates are at least 3/8" thick, which is ridiculously overkill for a truck frame close to 1/4 that thickness. And I don't know why they couldn't have bolted this one on, too. I had to trace the frame contour with a cutting wheel for quite a while.

Eventually, I felt like I had weakened the welds enough, and they broke with a little encouragement. I put some vise grips on this side, and went to work on the HARD side - where the steering box & track bar bracket are in the way.

It took about twice as long as I expected (even with my knowledge of the other side) and twice as much chisel work to break this side free.

I'll never comprehend how so many good welders can understand so little about fabricating & attaching something as common & affordable as a hitch receiver.

But it's out of my way for the suspension work to come...

I spent some more time massaging the frame horns back into shape so the bumpers would bolt back on. Later, I undercoated all the shiny spots.

The front bumper had been bumped several times. But it had also been painted withOUT prepping the chrome, so I couldn't do much without taking the paint off. I removed the front license plate bracket (which was NOT original or well-made), but not the light tabs (or were they for a tow bar?).

Even my gentlest beating took the paint right off, so I quit.

After reinstalling the bumpers, I repaired the lights so the truck is closer to street-legal.

After reinstalling the bumpers, I repaired the lights so the truck is closer to street-legal.