Project Vandal

[hoser]

Bumpers turned out great!

 

[izthistaken]

Bumpers turned out great!

Thanks! There's still more that's being added on!

 

[ExplorerTom]

If your girlfriend is 5 feet tall, that puts the roof up pretty high. And the awning is mounted up there........ How tall are you? Do you use a step ladder to use the awning?

 

[Stitebunny]

Looking awesome!
I’ve seen a few pics on the van fb Page.
Was going to ask how they had cut the bumper pieces out? They look good.

 

[Riptide]

I agree with Tom about the awning. Ditch that ARB and get a Fiamma. Deploys and stores in 2 minutes from the ground...

 

[marshal]

We took it to a reputable shop in Grand Rapids, MI Griffen Fab Works to do the big work!

Control Arms

If i may suggest, the urethane bushings i those control arms are going to ultimately degrade very quickly due to heavy rotational stress from the front axle. Urethane bushings are quite a bit harder than OEM rubber's, and a lot less forgiving when pushed beyond their design specifications. Because there is no real room for the axle to articulate within the confines of those bushings, huge torsional loads are being placed on your frame and axle side bracketry that are suspending everything.

i would HIGHLY recommend at the very least, removing the adjustable side joint and replacing it with a Currie Johnny-Joint of appropriate size. It is a spherical ball joint that allows for 30* of movement within the joint and is pretty much the go-to king of articulating joints in the off-road realm. they're serviceable with bearing grease, so they're long lived and very quiet and their proprietary in house race material means no harsh, unwanted NVH traveling up into the cabin. Ideally you would have johnny joint's at both ends of the control arms, but in this scenario one should be plenty.

they run about $55 per joint for the full forged housing/shank for the 2 1/2" models which is what you'd probably need.

 

[Jo_Duval]

these are some good looking bumpers!

 

[guidolyons]

Looking good. Congrats on taking the leap and living the dream.

 

[izthistaken]

If your girlfriend is 5 feet tall, that puts the roof up pretty high. And the awning is mounted up there........ How tall are you? Do you use a step ladder to use the awning?

I'm 6'3", the awning was free. Cheap, and it works great so far!

 

[izthistaken]

Looking awesome!
I’ve seen a few pics on the van fb Page.
Was going to ask how they had cut the bumper pieces out? They look good.

It is laser cut, not sure if you have a van, but it will be available to purchase soon as welded, or a weld it yourself kit!

 

[izthistaken]

If i may suggest, the urethane bushings i those control arms are going to ultimately degrade very quickly due to heavy rotational stress from the front axle. Urethane bushings are quite a bit harder than OEM rubber's, and a lot less forgiving when pushed beyond their design specifications. Because there is no real room for the axle to articulate within the confines of those bushings, huge torsional loads are being placed on your frame and axle side bracketry that are suspending everything.

i would HIGHLY recommend at the very least, removing the adjustable side joint and replacing it with a Currie Johnny-Joint of appropriate size. It is a spherical ball joint that allows for 30* of movement within the joint and is pretty much the go-to king of articulating joints in the off-road realm. they're serviceable with bearing grease, so they're long lived and very quiet and their proprietary in house race material means no harsh, unwanted NVH traveling up into the cabin. Ideally you would have johnny joint's at both ends of the control arms, but in this scenario one should be plenty.

they run about $55 per joint for the full forged housing/shank for the 2 1/2" models which is what you'd probably need.

I'm not planning on doing extreme rock crawling with it, so I hope this holds up. If it doesn't, I will switch over to something like this. They are pretty bulky as is.

 

[izthistaken]

these are some good looking bumpers!

Thanks! I'm loving them, can't wait until they are powder coated!

Looking good. Congrats on taking the leap and living the dream.

I appreciate it! I hope it all works out, because I can't stand "working for the man"!

 

[TyVanosaurus_Rex]

It is laser cut, not sure if you have a van, but it will be available to purchase soon as welded, or a weld it yourself kit!

Loving the bumpers, do you have them finished up and installed yet?
Has your shop set a price or decided if they'll make more?