Got back today and fabbed up a new mount for the chute that will allow it to be mounted close to the body, but not bolted through the painted panels. It will bolt in two places on the rear frame, and have a plate that extends up inline with the lower trunk drop.
I have to remove some lines, etc. tomorrow to allow access to the mounting area, and then I'll get the chute back in place.

 

Spent a few hours yesterday fabbing up a chute mount that would locate a plate behind the body, and not require drilling any holes through the body to mount the chute. I built it from some heavy wall 1"x2" scrap box I had leftover, and then took my old plate and welded it to the bracket.
Couple hours this morning drilling and bolting it to the frame, and after some adjustment I came up with this:



It sits just low enough to miss the runk lid when fully open, and also close enough that my hinged license plate will drop just past it. About 1" from the body for clearance, as I wanted it tucked in tighter than it was when I had the previous bumper. That chute is a pain to repack, so hope I don't ever need to open it again!

 

Probably was a pain to do all that, but the chute is a nice touch though. Turned out looking real good back there.
Oh yeah, what's a "runk" lid?

 

That's another one of those British terms, like bonnet! Ew know wot I mean bloke?

 

Good choice to keep it, im a big fan!

 

Thanks! Seems like a concensus. Every one of my friends looked at it and asked if I was going to put the chute back on, so I decided I better figure a way to do so, and not mount it to the body. Everybody was also glad to see the old bumper go, except my brother, but he's not too car saavy, so I don't listen too much to his car opinions.

 

Nicely done Val! It looks much better with all of your new mods!

 

Nice build, where did you get that makeshift car cover thing you used in first post?

 

Thanks! Glad everyone pushed for me to reinstall the chute!

 

I bought the canopy at Costco for $189. As with most Costco items it may or may not still be available there, but I think Walmart also sells them, but not sure if they're the same. I plan to get some sheetmetal roofing soon, and make the top more permanent for the next build. It's never leaked, but I know it wont last forever.
I also bought some 3' auger anchors from Northern Tool for $30 to make sure the wind didn't lift the canopy off the ground. The anchors that come with it are tiny tent anchors, and wont hold anything.