Any bumper suggestions?

[GiantScale]

Hi all..

Have any of you made a bumper for your overlands? The two Iv ordered are for my 7 & 11 year kids , & will be driven indoors, so I thought I might "try" to protect them..:p :D

I live in Iowa City..

Any ideas?

Thanks

[Ryan08]

Dont have a overland but...where do you live in Iowa(off topic)

[arch2b]

you can search on custom bumper for the racers, some of the ideas and materials should apply. it's a good start anyway.

[GiantScale]

Thanks arch2b. Ill check it out..

Sounds like lexan is the perfect material..

Ryan: Im in iowa city.. where u at?

Mike

[Ryan08]

Newton, about 25 miles from Des Moines:D

[arch2b]

since you brought bumpers up, i have an idea for a custom bumper of sorts. i think i have all the materials, i'll explain in depth when i have it planned and pictures while i construct it. sorry for being vague, thinking outloud and don't want to divuldge my idea and have someone do it before i get the chance. it's depressing to get a good idea only to find it has already been done.

[arch2b]

ok, it took me the better part of an hour to make this brush guard my the pajero.
description
it's made from about 20-16 guage steel wire, very stiff. it takes pliers and elbow grease to bend. i used a fine point, 15watt soldering iron to solder the bars together. not as neat as i would have liked, but i'm not that experienced. it is connected to the chassis by the two stock screws holding the skid plate on, on the bottom of the front axel. yes it moves with the front axel, so it doesn't stay level with the shell but i think this is the only solution as the front shell doesn't connect to the chassis as on the racer. i left enough room for unobstructed movement.
anyway, i'll post some pictures (3). i'm apologizing in advance for the poor quality as i did not have my digital camera on hand and had to borrow one.
1 of 3

[arch2b]

comment/opinions are welcome
2 of 3

[arch2b]

let me know what you think!
3 of 3

[Fiero Man]

that is awesome! what did you make it out of. A list of materials and instructions would be great.

[Ang]

It's very nicely done. Would you share the procedures?

[Buzzer]

Looks great:D Both beautiful and functional
How much ground clearance does it give you? Does it cause the front wheels to come off of the ground when you go over an obstacle?

[Buzzer]

Oh yeah....
How much flex does it have? Will it bend up if you smoke a wall or something solid? (Please don't test that and hurt something) An educated guess will do;)

[Ryan08]

Looks beautiful arch:D

[GiantScale]

That looks very scale compared to what a lexan bumper would have! Not sure how the solder joints will fair.. Wonder if you could make it one piece?

still waiting:confused:

Mike

[arch2b]

ok, i'm back home! i spent the day racing my altezza against my brothers viper in md. he didn't stand a chance with my a-bb motor! while his viper handles better, it couldn't catch up.

back to the subject.
the material were simply two peices of steel wire about 20-16 guage, i'm not sure of the actual guage, (from modeling supplies about 6 inches long. there were some left overs.
i bent one peice into the box frame making up the horizontal guard, 8 bends, cut the ends to meet and soldered them.
the carrage peice was more complicated. i started at one end with a small loop for the screw connection to the skid plate. then it is just a series of bends to the loop on the other side, 2 loops and 10 bends. then i soldered the box frame onto the carrage frame. i soldered a single rod across the carrage frame, it helped to keep the shape of the carrage frame while i was trying to solder the box frame on. sorry it's not a more detailed explanation. i think i should wrap the connections of the box frame to the carrage frame with thin wire, i'm having doubts as to the strength of the solder joint as well. soldering was the first thing i thought of.

when i get my toyota! i will do some testing and refinement. maybe heavier guage wire, double strands, coated wire (color coordinated/contrasting), just some ideas. when i got the idea, i was just to excited to try to fabricate it to consider some of these things. now that i know it can be done, i want to do it better.

i took some more clear pictures. (4) they are also in my album.
side shot (http://mini-zracer.com/albums/arch2b/mz62.sized.jpg)
front (http://mini-zracer.com/albums/arch2b/mz63.sized.jpg)
angle shot (http://mini-zracer.com/albums/arch2b/mz64.sized.jpg)
elevated angle shot (http://mini-zracer.com/albums/arch2b/mz66.sized.jpg)

comments/questions/opinions welcome!