I have been a member for a while here but don't post very often but tonight I did a bumper conversion from a 2007 bumper to a 2011 bumper so I figured I'd do a quick write up just in case anyone has an interest in doing the same.
I have a 2007 f350 scsb 6.0 with about 143k miles on it and back in March of 2016 I was hit while pulling out of a parking lot by someone who was using a center turning lane to go around traffic my truck only needed a new bumper, his car did not fare so well

thank god for those tow hooks.
Anyway luckily a cop was driving in the opposite direction and saw the whole thing which prevented the blame from falling solely on me. It was deemed no fault but since I don't have collision I didn't get any money to fix it.
So yesterday I was scrolling through Craigslist and happened to find a 2011 bumper for $250 so I immediately called the guy and picked it up


Here is a before picture

Obviously I started by taking off the old bumper and spray painting the mounting plates that are attached to the frame. I also painted below the headlights because these conversions tend to leave gaps.

The new bumper

This is the support bracket from the 2011 bumper the bracket was originally flat on the left hand side of the picture but I bent it so that one of those holes will line up with the hole from the original bumper support.

I forgot to take a picture of the final product somehow and it's about 230 in the morning so I'll wait till the sun comes up to take pictures.

As far as the process it was actually fairly simple I used a floor jack with a 2x4 on it to hold the bumper up against the frame. I started off just keeping it in line with the holes for the original but the gaps were too big to ignore. I kept lifting it until I was comfortable with the gap between the headlights and the bumper which left the center of the bumper and 1/4 inch off the bottom of the grill. Personally I like that the bumper sits a little high but obviously that's not everyones style. I had to drill new holes to get the bumper to sit where I wanted it. It was a bit of a pain because I was doing it by myself but definitely doable. From there I measured the distance from the headlights to the bumper to make sure it was even then I bolted it up. I'm kicking myself for not taking any pictures of it once I finished but I really like the way it came out. Obviously there is a bit of a gap at the bottom corners of the grill but I'm in the process of coming up with something the fill the gap, probably just some plastic or sheet metal painted black. I was able to retain my tow hooks by grinding the bumper mounts a bit. I also will be adding a light bar to the open space in the middle because I don't need to be reminded that the fins on my transmission cooler look like those on an air conditioner that fell out a window. That was about all it took, I was pleased to find that it was not a difficult job and I'm very happy that I was able to get it aligned well (aside from the wheel well/ fender line, the bumper doesn't line up perfectly with the wheel well which doesn't bother me but I may try to make something to close the gap a bit). When I was looking into this conversion everything I found said that it would be difficult and it wouldn't look right etc.

I should apologize for rambling on for so long. Hopefully this will be helpful to anyone looking to do the conversion I will add some pictures of the finished product and the little imperfections tomorrow after I wash it.
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I have a question. Do these bumper mounting brackets unbolt from the truck or are they part of the frame?

 

Those are part of the frame.

 

Nice write up so far, I have recently installed 2015 Bumpers on my 2005. Rear was a cinch but the front does not line up as I know and expected. I actually left it on my truck because regardless I love the look much better than my old. And until I get all the fenders pieces, brackets from Mcnasty, headlights, grill, hood, etc I will just run with it.


My problem though is that I was not able to reinstall my hooks and looking back on it I think I can do what you said and grind that area out to accommodate my hooks.


I didn't see a finished picture of your new 2011 bumper on when you get time and finish please do share I would be interested to see how it looks even without the plastic or sheet metal fab to clean up the gaps.

 

In addition that bracket you have in the photo on the chair I have those as well but for the life of me could not figure out where they go? Could you share how those are installed?

 

Yea I'll be getting it washed here in a little while and will be adding pictures of everything

 

Thanks and also if you don't mind explaining or sharing where that bracket on you chair installs. Without looking at another 2011 to 2015 I have not been able to figure it out.


That car was in bad shape and very surprised how well your bumper held up to that impact. Looks like your fog lights were not even broke?

 

Here's the finished product


here are the gaps at the corner of the grill


Here is the body lines near the fender wells
i may try to use the upper pad from my old bumper to fill the gap


here are the tow hooks

Here's the bracket I showed in the pictures above it replaces the bracket shown below

Here's the bracket from the old bumper, there's only one hole on the frame so you could either add a hole or just do what I did and line the bottom hole up with the one already present.

Here's the gap between the grill and the bumper.

That's just about it I'll be adding the light bar tonight and the truck goes to the dealer tomorrow to have check an issue with smoke at idle but I think it came out pretty well especially considering how different the trucks are. It definitely sits a little high but that's not too big a deal.

 

It's a bit hard to explain but I believe the brackets are basically a support for the outsides of the bumper. it bolts up to the bracket on the very end of the bumper which you can kinda see in the picture and it runs into the bracket on the truck side of the picture

 

No I get the idea now and that is what I thought it goes to but just couldn't understand knowing the old brackets were not the same. I see how you made the Hooks fit so I may just do the same. Once I do the full conversion down the road that front plate that you cut to fit the hooks will be removed anyhow because you have to cut back on the frame rail.


Nice photos and write up I appreciate you sharing that. Mine has more gap than yours but I also see where you drilled new holes for bumper bolts in front to mount to frame rail plates. That allowed you to adjust the height and of course close the gap.


I'm with you on that one I have mine on now and really don't care about the gap but closing it up a little more will be nice. Like I said mine will be on there temporary in this manner because I'm collecting parts as we speak to do complete front end swap.


Did you do the rear bumper and tail lights yet? If not you will like the looks of it much better than stock.

 

I had also sold my old bumpers the same day I did my swap for $300 that were originally chrome but had bed line on them. I couldn't pass up the deal so I decided to just keep the 2015 front bumper on and overall I'm happy. Mine has the factory fog lights but you can always add those to yours if you decide to or custom fit some kind of LED fog light system. There is a member on here who will do light conversions on the fogs and headlights. Check around the site if you have not come across his postings.

 

Ive seen a few of those front end swaps they look great but they must be a pain in the ***

I haven't done the back yet I only did this cause I got a deal on the bumper, that being said I may be doing it soon after seeing how this looks

 

Yea I couldn't resist I got both my 15' bumpers black in color from platinum edition for $150. Then sold mine for $300 which is probably a stellar deal considering I have seen one bumper go for $250 or more on its own. I had no need for my old ones so I sold them. I was going to put my old ones on my wife's 2000 Ex but she said don't touch my truck lol, she is not into any of the looks of it as long as it runs great. I couldn't convince her so they just sold.

 

Not so long ago an Elk ran into my F350, (seriously I was stopped when it hit me) and took out the front bumper and fender. I decided to go with the MOVE bumper that you can build yourself. Added a few custom touches like a front receiver. I am very satisfied with it. Here is a video link of my build

 

Getting close. Body was welded this week.