Translation...cheapskate.

I'd taken the torsion bars off the other day and they looked to good to throw in the scrap-guy's trailer at work...so I decided to give them another chance at life...and turn them into a brush guard.



Going to add a couple uprights on each end for brush cables.



Can't decide if I want to add mesh in the middle protion of the guard...or not? Since getting at the hood release is hard enough now...and I'd like to mount a high-lift jack to the upper tube eventually...which would make it harder yet.



Please don't look too closely at the welds either, if my eyesight gets any worse...they'll have to get a welder at work with adjustments readable in braille.



Anyhow, I'll get it figured out by tomorrow and move forward...right or wrong. Could always modify the hood latch (extension).

Also, made it so I could bolt it on...makes changing a headlight much easier. And I'll be adding two mounting tabs on the lower center tube (made from the - cut in half - torsion bar mounting brackets) for lights.

Brian.

 

Another crazy idea that keeps crossing my mind...is to use this area (where A/C compressoor use to be) as a spot for a modified air cleaner housing. Then I could add another battery in old air filter housing location.



Yes, not the best scenario...drawing warm air from the engine compartment...so I'd probably run a flex tube to an outside location.

Another draw back would be weight, pushing the envelope now, with winch (steel cable), bumper/brushguard and eventually adding some lights. So, the weight of a battery would definitely test the suspension. May just scrap the whole idea and put battery in footwell area behind drivers seat.

Anyhow, just thinking out loud...any comments or suggestions will be appreciated.

Brian.

 

I put two batteries where the jack storage was;

 

Thank you, but I've already swapped out the original battery for this 1140 CCA beast...that turns the engine over like it has no compression...lol. The original battery had 680 CCA, so I nearly double the amount of CCA without doing much change-over.



And added my winch control box where the jack use to be.



So, I'm somewhat committed to another location. Which, if I go with the old air filter housing route...I'll be stuck using the original sized battery (680 CCA). Because, may have to utilize the air intake tube coming off the fender. But if I go remote location behind drivers seat...then that opens up the option of another 1140 CCA beast.

Anyhow, plenty of time for figuring this out. Thank you, for the input.

Brian.

 

Teach a man to weld... Dude I'm impressed, the brush guard looks great considering your investment!

 

Yeah, just wish I could see/weld like I use to. Now, it's embarrassing. Folks at work would always bring me stuff to weld and I did a good job ("no brag, just fact"...okay...I stole that from Will Sonnett...lol)...but now...I send them down the road empty handed. Although, laid down a beautiful weld the other day...just to bad...it wasn't where it would actually connect the two pieces of steel.

Anyhow...back to my low-budget build. Brush guard on, bit shinny...but it will fade some...since it is spray canned. Kind of reminds me of the D.N.R (Department of Natural Resources) fire/rescue brush guards on their vehicles.



Time to start scrounging around for some rear bumper steel.

Side note...if we don't get some rain soon...I can trade these M/T tires in for some sand tires.
Brian.

 

And if you are younger than me...you're probably saying..."Will who?"...lol.

 

Curious as to why you would need 2 batteries?
Especially with a stock alternator.

 

Mostly for winching. They can pull a lot of amps and I prefer to have the batteries supply the load instead of over taxing the alternator to keep only one charged. Also for more accessory use without worry if you run down the primary battery. I plan on adding an isolation kit so you only use one battery at a time until you need the other one, but both get charged while running the engine. This is how most boats and RV's are set up. A solar panel and inverter would also be nice, but time and budget...

 

Yes, mostly for winching and primitive camping back-up.

Brian.