hi all well im getting sick of ruining my front clip and windscreen from trees banks etc and wanted to tidy up the bar work to contribute to the same look as the rear tray back. i have 2 lengths of 32mm nb pipe and need to make some front bars to brace the winch bar and protect the front clip from frontal impact with banks. i have done some quality sketches using paint to say what i think may work but would like some of your ideas if you wish to share them with me. i also need to put a bonnet hump on as the winch sits up high (its an 8274 so tall winch in the first place) the one i had on my other bonnet (which is in one of the pics) i didnt like it as i modified it way too many times. so if anyone has any suggestions as to how i could make one look good. i know some of you may say just lower the winch, but with my experience at the last winch challenge event (my first event) i saw a lot of people having trouble when they nose dived into a bank and couldn't get the winch rope out as it was jammed i didn't seem to have too much trouble with this due to the high mounting point. any help would be much appreciated. cheers. martin
I would run the bar from the bullbar to the A pillar higher, ie along the top of the guard. If (more likely when) you roll or flop on your side, how you have drawn it leaves the bonnet exposed. The ground is usally never flat so even more likely to smash the top of your guard and bonnet. Can find any other pics of the zuk but you can just see it in this one.
How much room have you got between the winch and the front of the motor. Could you lye the winch back a little; therefore reducing the horizontal hight of the winch and negating the need for the bonnet bulge. Then whenever you need to replace the bonnet a standard, off the shelf item would suffice. It would put a little bit of sheer onto the mounting bolts, but if you use higher grade bolts it should be fine.
lilpigzuk wrote:I would run the bar from the bullbar to the A pillar higher, ie along the top of the guard. If (more likely when) you roll or flop on your side, how you have drawn it leaves the bonnet exposed. The ground is usally never flat so even more likely to smash the top of your guard and bonnet. Can find any other pics of the zuk but you can just see it in this one.
Agree with this, keep the protection at the height of the top of the bonnet if you think you'll ever roll it. Bar work will protect you form tree's either way you do it but if it's higher it'll protect bonnet on a roll or flop too...
(I would also suggest keeping your hands/arms inside the lines of the truck, that photo made me cringe...)
tgaguy1 wrote:How much room have you got between the winch and the front of the motor. Could you lye the winch back a little; therefore reducing the horizontal hight of the winch and negating the need for the bonnet bulge. Then whenever you need to replace the bonnet a standard, off the shelf item would suffice. It would put a little bit of sheer onto the mounting bolts, but if you use higher grade bolts it should be fine.
hi thanks for the reply, the winch is about 30mm from the water pump pulley so no room there to tilt it, i had to move the winch a little more forward in the past as the motor would hit the back of the winch protection plate. i can move the winch down about 1 inch which will help with the bulge an i may do this as the bulge is a pain when you cant see over the bonnet.
lilpigzuk wrote:I would run the bar from the bullbar to the A pillar higher, ie along the top of the guard. If (more likely when) you roll or flop on your side, how you have drawn it leaves the bonnet exposed. The ground is usally never flat so even more likely to smash the top of your guard and bonnet. Can find any other pics of the zuk but you can just see it in this one.
thanks for suggestions i will do this to help protect the bonnet. the pic below will show you. the dotted line in the pic is a maybe, not sure if i will do this bar aswell, and am not sure if the top bar is high enough but to me it looks ok. oh and thanks for the offer al but i have some zuke lights saved the lights off my old truck in fact i have a few spares also.
lilpigzuk wrote:Yeah, have since got decent buckets seats and refixed the jesus bar
That's good, I've caught my mate with hand on side of seat when he was driving a couple of times! not good if it goes over!!
new2zukes wrote:thanks for suggestions i will do this to help protect the bonnet. the pic below will show you. the dotted line in the pic is a maybe, not sure if i will do this bar aswell, and am not sure if the top bar is high enough but to me it looks ok...
New pic looks better, will be good to pic's once finished.
lilpigzuk wrote:Yeah, have since got decent buckets seats and refixed the jesus bar
That's good, I've caught my mate with hand on side of seat when he was driving a couple of times! not good if it goes over!!
new2zukes wrote:thanks for suggestions i will do this to help protect the bonnet. the pic below will show you. the dotted line in the pic is a maybe, not sure if i will do this bar aswell, and am not sure if the top bar is high enough but to me it looks ok...
New pic looks better, will be good to pic's once finished.
will put up some pics on sunday if i get it all done this weekend.
lilpigzuk wrote:I would run the bar from the bullbar to the A pillar higher, ie along the top of the guard. If (more likely when) you roll or flop on your side, how you have drawn it leaves the bonnet exposed. The ground is usally never flat so even more likely to smash the top of your guard and bonnet. Can find any other pics of the zuk but you can just see it in this one.
The only potential prob with running the bar straight back from the top corner of teh bullbar to the front hoop is if you hit a tree or bank really hard or (in my case) flip the truck right over backwards the side bar can push back and deform the front hoop... In a competition situation this can put you out for the day.
I guess its not so bad for a bush truck as if you hit that hard, you want every bit of protection you can get and bending the cage is the least of your worries (provided it stays in one piece).
Cleary wrote:The only potential prob with running the bar straight back from the top corner of teh bullbar to the front hoop is if you hit a tree or bank really hard or (in my case) flip the truck right over backwards the side bar can push back and deform the front hoop... In a competition situation this can put you out for the day.
Good point and one that people don't thiunk about enough!
Nissan Terrano coilovers, turboed VH45, Safari axles, and some other stuff.
lilpigzuk wrote:I would run the bar from the bullbar to the A pillar higher, ie along the top of the guard. If (more likely when) you roll or flop on your side, how you have drawn it leaves the bonnet exposed. The ground is usally never flat so even more likely to smash the top of your guard and bonnet. Can find any other pics of the zuk but you can just see it in this one.
The only potential prob with running the bar straight back from the top corner of teh bullbar to the front hoop is if you hit a tree or bank really hard or (in my case) flip the truck right over backwards the side bar can push back and deform the front hoop... In a competition situation this can put you out for the day.
I guess its not so bad for a bush truck as if you hit that hard, you want every bit of protection you can get and bending the cage is the least of your worries (provided it stays in one piece).
thanks for bringing this to my attention i did not think about that, but looking at how i have drawn it if anything were to bend then it would be the joint before it bends up to the windscreen and if this were to bend then it wouldn't matter as the front hoop is inside the cab. or at least this is the theory.
right got one side done today, man i really thought this bending pipe would be easy but i just couldnt get the hand of working out what bends when where and what direction they went in it was all just a drawing in my head so after a full day of bending and welding i got to this stage. it isnt welded to the body/chassis yet but it all lines up. on friday and saturday i was fitting my new cheap alloy radiator a $90 bargain for a large alloy radiator and it had the same size pipe fittings and thermo switch hole. will hopefully get the rest done in the next few days as its supposed to rain towards the end of the week and im not exactly working in an enclosed space.
to say what i think may work but would like some of your ideas if you wish to share them with me. 
