Rear Bumpers

[Tom Mandera <tsm1@domain.elided>]

Spent some time examing the racer last night.. it doesn't have ANY
bumpers, so it was easiest to look at.. I now realize what others have
said about sliding box tube inside the frame rails...  previously I
thought the end of the frame was capped and welded shut, and folks were
cutting that just to install a bumper!  Yikes!

Close look says the end of the frame is open.  A piece of "C" channel is
then welded across the back.. but not FULLY welded.. it's only welded at
the top and bottom of the frame, not on the sides, and it's not FLUSH
with the end of the frame rails.  This seems odd to me and rather weak
compared to the front.. 

The frame rail "cap" has round holes in it at the end of the frame for
access to the rear step-bumper mounting bolts that go through the
frame.  I assume these round holes are being enlarged to allow the
bumper mounts to slide inside.

Thinking on this, it looks like the rear bumper would actually
strengthen the rear of the frame considerably.

There looks to be enough room to, as others have said, mount a piece of
store-bought 6" receiver tube right in the center.. provided you cut
this "C" channel for the clearance.

Q - why are the holes in the "C" channel round and not square?  Is there
a strength reason why round holes are better than square ones?  I can't
remember...

-Tom Mandera, Helena MT
http://www.tmcom.com/~tsm1/scout
'72 and '77 Scout IIs, plus a few more