Metal Fabrication / Skid plates - ***Drawings***

[nxski]

Does anyone know of a good place to had metal work done in the Lower mainland? I'm looking to make a custom skid plate made. Also I'm debating materials, I'm thinking 1/4" Aluminum

PS. I will be getting a quote and an idea of what they will look like from Burrard Mechanical and the plates I'm planning to make will come with 2 covers for the radiators (therefor a proper / full skid plate that would use the existing bolts for the side steps) as well as the centre "full gopher guard". I will try to post drawings of what it will look like when I get a quote. If you're interested in mitigating the cost I will take deposits and have multiple sets made (I can't afford to pay for a lot of sets and not be assured of sales). PM me if you're interested.
I know Butch is out of fishslappers skid plates and I will contact him to see if he'd like a few more to flip.

[Elbrad]

it's not on the Mainland, but Express Custom Mfg in Parksville (Close to CC Auto) might be worth a shot.

They can be a little expensive for some things, but they do good work.

[jessef]

Issue 1 resolved - If you really want to protect the trans cooler on the driver's side, just remove the bolts/bracket and the stock flexible lines allow it to be placed high up inside the body.

Issue 2 resolved - Same as above however you will need to have the AC evacuated and 8-10" flexible lines installed (inlet/outlet) and you can tuck it up into body cavity.

#1 is easy and done in 15 mins
#2 requires an AC shop and around $1-200 (guestimating)

That takes care of the exposed poor location side radiators

Front and center - fishslapper's plates are the goods.

If you want real man protection, go for steel !

Skid plating the side rads with aluminum (alu is soft) may push up into the rad and cause damage. Best to move them up and out of the way.

I would love to make some but time is not on my side currently for side projects (except for you David ... Always have time for Mr. D)

[nxski]

The reason I would like to put a 'cover' if you will over the radiators isn't so much so that I can land on a rock etc and have it stay in place but so that I can hear scraping before anything hits the rads (does the job of the side steps which I no longer have. and in my opinion would look cooler than simply moving the rads. I'm a believer in letting sleeping dogs lie and in trusting (for the most part) that a huge automobile company knew what they were doing.

As for the comment about fishslappers skid plates being the goods, I was going to buy one from CVI but was too late and figured I'd make something similar for the centre portion. As it seems that they are hard to come by I'm planning to make one for myself and potentially make another batch. That being said I know that some people still have their side steps in place or already have gopher guards / centre skid plates so when I have confirmed prices etc I will have gopher guards / centre skid plates, radiator guards and combo's to offer with prices accordingly.

Thanks

[jessef]

The side steps are horrible offroad.

I crushed an AC rad and didn't even feel it. The side steps are soft and will bend and push up into the rads if the weight of the van is on them (entering a ditch/steep grade).

I don't get why you have to guard something that you can simply place out of harm's way. Just no need.

If you 'must' then put in a guard that will not buckle or fold under the weight of the van - thick steel.
But then you are restricting precious airflow with both rads definitely need. Especially the oil cooler for the trans.

[nxski]

The way I off-road is that if something is steep like a ditch, I will inch into it, if I hear a scraping sound I stop, have someone investigate or do it myself depending on the position and then either back up or continue on depending on the situation.

I have a history of going through with what sounds like a simple modification in the the beginning but turns out to be a nightmare in the future because I have overlooked something that then causes a problem a few year later.

short-term eg) I put the roof rack for my Delica very close to the front, water started to pool where it hadn't in the past and made my wet foot problem even worse than it was before. I put silicone to seal off the area and that cause the water to pool more because it could no longer flow out the front as easily. That lead to some fungus growing in there and proceeded to cause more and more problems that I won't go into. Now with my roof rack off...NO PROBLEMS!

- ladder cause tailgate dents and premature wear of the struts
- Seat covers trap spilled water in and cause mould (similar to leaky condo crisis)
- Lift can cause premature wearing of u-joints
- engine mods can just cause one headache after another
- etc

The guy I bought the vehicle from said "Mitsubishi hires a team of highly paid engineers to analyze every inch of the vehicle to make sure everything is working correctly, what makes you think that you know better than them?"

Granted, I have made some modifications which I've thought very carefully about and realize that I may have problems down the line, but I want to do as few modifications like that as I can and still have a unique functional vehicle suited to my needs / wants.

I also understand that there are some things that become known as problems in the future that people will then deal with in their own way but if Mitsubishi was to say "this is the best way to deal with the problem" I would go their route.

[jessef]

why not just relocate them up ?

[nxski]

In short, I'm scared of certain types of change, I don't like to mess with what works.

[nxski]

I also like to pay money to see or feel something rather than to make something disappear.

[jessef]

I also like to pay money to see or feel something rather than to make something disappear.

That can be interpreted is so many ways

[nxski]

I know it can, being vague can provide humour

At any rate, I think our discussion was about covers over the rads which I'm still throwing out there as an option but you would agree that protection for the centre is good? For that reason I will be looking for rad covers for myself and anyone who's interested but will most likely focus on centre skid plates / gopher guards if there is interest...

[FalcoColumbarius]

Those skids have saved both my tranny cooler and my A/C condenser on the odd occasion. I have also used the skids to get footing for my front wheels. I am aware that my Delica is not a combat tank so I tend not to rush into things, either.



Falco.

[nxski]

I will be making a one off skid plate with my company logo on it so that is going to be around $300 but if anyone has their own designs and want to use my template in the future you can whip me off a pm and I'll give you more info.

[Luna-Sea]

Hey,
I have a fishslapper unpolished edition for $125 if you want Nxski.
I never got to mounting it and have only one L300 in the stable now.
Not to dissuade you from a fabrication project or anything of course.
I will give you first dibs on it before I post it anyhow...



Right On!

[nxski]

Thanks Luna-sea, that's a very tempting offer, I'm going to pay a bit extra for the advertising / uniqueness though.