Sump/diff guard

[Team Japan]

While planning a green laning weekend in Wales, my friends and I started to think about the rather flimsy sump guards which come as standard on the Surf.



They're ok for mud, but we're expecting large rocks, which could cause all sorts of damage underneath.

There's a metal fabricator in the workshop opposite ours, so I had him make up something a bit sturdier, and which extends further back to protect the front diff on my 2nd gen.

I'm not trying to sell anything, but the guy who made it asked me to find out if many others might be interested in something similar, and how much they would be willing to pay, so he can decide whether or not it’s worth making more. I also thought if I put some pics up it might be useful for anyone thinking of building something similar themselves.




Started with a square tube bolted to the front cross member where the bracket for the original sat. There were four unused bolt holes next to the bracket so we tapped them out and used 6xM10 bolts. Panels are 4mm steel plate.




Plate extends further back than original to cover the diff. It unbolts to allow for oil changes, etc.
(1) Supported at rear by bolting onto two bits of angle, which are welded to chassis as shown.




(2) Heavy duty towing eyes added
(3) Reinforcement to strengthen plate in middle
(4) Spacers where plate bolts onto original mounting, so rear section clears diff




Finished and painted!
(5) Thin slice of tube to protect heads of bolts from getting mashed up

[Team Japan]

He also made one for KPAutos's 3rd gen:

[Curly]

Looks pretty good and sturdy to me mate, not sure how much it would be worth. One thing that would put me off buying one is the fact that you need to weld angles to the chassis. If you could get round that then there's a good chance your friend could find more people to buy them if he did decide to go down that path.

Cheers,

CURLY

[Rustinho]

Ditto to what Curly said about needing to weld the angled pieces onto the frame - I could probably borrow a welder easy enough (I think my dad has got something in the garage somewhere) but I certainly don't have the skills/experience to actually do any welding.

Asking people how much they would be willing to pay is a mistake in my opinion. Your mate needs to work out how much it is actually costing him in materials/time as a starting point and then add in a premium if he wants to make a reasonable profit out of it. From there you give us an idea of how much it's going to cost and from there on in we can decide if it's going to be worthwhile for us... otherwise you'll just end up with people (completely innocently?!) suggesting ridiculous prices cos they haven't a clue about materials prices, etc, when they might be perfectly willing to pay something much more realistic.

I was thinking about asking a local metalwork place for a quote for something similar recently. If I ever get around to it I'll let you know what they say!

[Overland Tonka]

Looks pretty good and sturdy to me mate, not sure how much it would be worth. One thing that would put me off buying one is the fact that you need to weld angles to the chassis. If you could get round that then there's a good chance your friend could find more people to buy them if he did decide to go down that path.

Cheers,

CURLY

Yeah that..... Fancy sharing the fuel to collect if it works out?.... as we are local.
If not what is the guy charging to supply and fit? Be good to know.

[HONEST AL]

Sturdy bash plate

I can only second what Rusty and Curly said,work out a price plus profit and let us know,I would be interested ,any chance of stainless,I like shiny.

Sorry I got carried away,
Alan

[Team Japan]

Thanks for all your replies, folks.

One thing that would put me off buying one is the fact that you need to weld angles to the chassis.

Ah, I should have made this more clear, sorry. My fault.

In order to make it fit perfectly, the guy who built it would want to have your truck there for most of a Saturday. He's written down the measurements from when he made mine, so he can have the basic panels cut ready, but it would be difficult to get the angle of the fold right and the holes drilled in the right places by hand if it wasn't finished on the truck. So obviously he could weld the angle on while it's there.

He's located in Haverhill, at CB9 8PH and would need your truck for the best part of a day (although you're welcome to help/watch, you don't have to go away and find something to do in Haverhill!). I can see this would be a big problem for a lot of people, especially those the other end of the country, but that's how he's asked to do it. I guess if he ended up with a lot of orders we might be able to find a scrap truck which he could build them on and then send them off by post.

He told me he's thinking of about £200 for the price, that includes all materials, time, paint, etc but not postage, as he's thinking your truck will be there and drive away with it fixed on. It can be painted in matt, satin or gloss; black, dark grey or light grey. Not sure about stainless, I presume it could be welded just the same, but I guess the materials would cost a bit more.

Let me know what you think!

Cheers

[Overland Tonka]

200 mile 4hr round trip for me. £50 worth of fuel...so a total of £250. Will have a think, but maybe a bit much for me... Nice setup though..

[Rustinho]

£200 seems ok for that if you ask me. The only problem would be getting to Cambridge & back!

Maybe if there would be a generous Surfer offering cups of tea...

[Curly]

Yeah that..... Fancy sharing the fuel to collect if it works out?.... as we are local.
If not what is the guy charging to supply and fit? Be good to know.

Hi there, I'm one of the shiney brigade I'm afraid, a bit of green laning and that's it! So no need for a super well ard sump guard just now! But if I was in need of one, I would defo be interested in one of these. The welding would still put me off a bit though. I'd like to order it, get it delivered and spend a few hours tinkering underneath my surf fitting it myself, but that's just me!

@ Rally Micra. You up for some green laning sometime?

Cheers,

CURLY

[Overland Tonka]

Hi there, I'm one of the shiney brigade I'm afraid, a bit of green laning and that's it! So no need for a super well ard sump guard just now! But if I was in need of one, I would defo be interested in one of these. The welding would still put me off a bit though. I'd like to order it, get it delivered and spend a few hours tinkering underneath my surf fitting it myself, but that's just me!

@ Rally Micra. You up for some green laning sometime?

Cheers,

CURLY

Still thinking about it..looks well made and very well thought out.... Curly...my truck has now been kited out for overlanding (roof tent etc) so green laning is kind of off the list now...thanks for the offer..

[Curly]

Still thinking about it..looks well made and very well thought out.... Curly...my truck has now been kited out for overlanding (roof tent etc) so green laning is kind of off the list now...thanks for the offer..

Wow, that sounds pretty cool. Put some pics up.

Shame about the green laning though, people don't seem to be into it down here, am I the only one??

Cheers,

CURLY

[puddlesurfer]

Wow, that sounds pretty cool. Put some pics up.

Shame about the green laning though, people don't seem to be into it down here, am I the only one??

Cheers,

CURLY

I'd be up for it at some point - I'm probably 20 miles from you (assuming your in Horsham, Surrey not another Horsham somewhere else)

[Team Japan]

Ok, so it seems that having to bring the truck to the fabricator is the main objection for most people - which is totally fair enough, I don't think I'd want to make a 200 mile trip and a day hanging about for one.

I'll have another word with the guy when I see him on Saturday and see if we can come up with a way around it. I know of a scrap 2nd gen which he might be able to borrow to use as a rig to build them on, but the big problem would be supporting the back end without having to weld onto the "customer's" truck.

Still, thanks for all your input, I'll pass it on to him and let you know if he comes up with anything.

Cheers

[Team Japan]

I guess if nothing else, those who are too far away might be able to take your truck and my pictures, for an idea of plans, into a fabricator which is more local to you and see what they would charge. Worth a go and might not cost much more when you factor in the fuel.

Hope this helps.

Cheers