Offroad-Express

Hi Guys
Im new to this forum and new to 4wd's.
I just bought a 97 Terrano with the TD27 so had to take it out for a test run
so decided to go up the Taipo Valley on the west coast , while trying to turn around in a very tight spot I sucessfully managed to tear off the factory plastic underbody panels on a rather large rock.
So my question is , do i really need them on there??
Or is it worth making up some new ones out of sheet alloy or stainless ect. ??

Any advice appreciated

Thanks , Blair.

hi blair welcome ....................

i wouldent be worried about the plastic guarding,throw it away....

youre best bet would be some 5m.m alloy sheet pref marine grade for panneling,i would stay away from stainless for the simple reason its far too tough and if anything dangerous as ,i would use steel over the stainless anyday its far more easy to work with and not a razor sharp and alot better priced.but i still think go for the alloy..........easy to bend,drill,cut etc and youle be suprised how robust thick alloy is.


anyway these are my thoughts,but remember what ever you do its gona be cheaper than a replacing a sump.


all the best.

The alloy is a good choice, it is robust but only a 3rd of the weight of steel.
Be carefull if you get marine grade as you have to anneal it before you bend it, but otherwise it is just the same to work with as normal alloy, only stronger and more corrosion resistant. Don't use stainless unless you are making a show boat as it is heavy, hard to drill and costs heaps as mentioned before.
Just my 2 cents worth.

I'll stick my hand up for steel... yea I know its not as light or as funky looking as alloy but don't forget alloy fartigues, I'm not certain of the mounting under your truck but alot of belly plates have big span's between bolts being a diesil you've got more vibs and once you've got something tough under there your gona use it well I know I do famous comment "stand back... a bit more speed and she'll slide over it " The other thing with alloy is you gota have special gear to weld it
Now steel easy as to weld and cheap easily half the price of alloy, fatigue not an issue if it bends take it off and belt it back to shape... how many times can you do that with an alloy plate before its fu.... useless
As for stainless rich man's steel, not worth it just as heavy as normal steel, harder yes but also harder to work with and more expensive to work with

My 10c

Cheers Reece

Steels the go, but where you going to mount it. If memory serves me correct then the 97 Terrano is a monoque frame which means it doesn't have a ladder chasis, and not much to mount anything on. Bash plates need to be mounted to the chassis and cross members to take the "bash" they are going to get.
Al

do you mean its a subframe??

Hi guys, would someone in the Chch area be keen to help me make some Bash / Protector plates for my 95 Terrano?

I would prefer alloy as I think I have a source of some from the Hamilton Jet workshop, but steel would be fine too. I have limited mechanical and engineering skills, but am willing to get my hands dirty all the same.

Not looking at serious rock crawling but just want to protect transfer case and sump etc for the lighter side of 4x4 driving.

Im in the same boat as you, I really only want them to protect things from stones ect. when bashin up gravel roads and along river beds.

So if you do find someone keen to do it id be more than keen to get in on the action

Cheers , Blair.

Beer and grinder night at the shed then?

If someone provides the beer, and someone else provides the Big Pizza (#1, yummy ) then I am sure we can work something out. I don't have ali welding equipment but I am sure we can improvise some sort of bending equipment (although marine grade is prety hard - might need to get that pre-bent at an engineering shop).

Heres an idea... shed technical get-together... I'll put it in a separate post...

Steve

set the date steve, could be a sat arvo session down the shed boy's seem keen enough.
al

Well if steel is going to be easier to work with, then steel it is.


Mmmmm beer n pizza, i can arrange that.