custom brush guard and roof basket

[Blue91Ex]

I already posted about both of these in my registry but i thought i would do a small post here to make it easier for people to find when they are looking for ideas, i found this subforum to be very helpful in designing them.

brush guard: 3/16" plate for the sides, some thick steel tubing (dont remember what specs, it was what we had laying around) with 1.4" thick plate for the bolt tabs, and 1/2" flat stock (1/8" thick) along the edges of the side plates for a beefier appearance.

roof basket: 1/2" hardened steel flat stock (3/16"? thick) for upright and horisontal parts of the basket, with heavy duty expanded steel for the base. Cross bars are 1" square tube, uprights are 1" square tube, 1/4"x1" flat stock, and 1 1/2" square tube.

the uprights on the cross bars are held in with small bolts and the square threaded washers used for the sliding tie downs on the stock roof rack. I duplicated it from Maniak's roof rack build (again, thanks Maniak for the help) the whole thing is bolted together and it is very sturdy. the basket came out a bit narrower than i had originally planned but i like it regardless. the basket itself is also extremely light because of the hardened steel i used, and it doesnt feel flimsy even though i used narrow pieces.

anyway would love to hear what you guys think and i hope it can be helpful to someone else looking to do either of these types of projects.
thanks!

 

[stk33069]

looks great man, very clean. I'm sure thats built better and for less money then to buy one.

 

[Blue91Ex]

actually for me it was free i built them in shop class at school and for these projects i didnt have to buy any materials since we had them all at the shop.and they are both very strong, the brush guard is as strong or stronger than the bumper, which flexes while the guard doesnt at all.

 

[Blue91Ex]

new lights added. mostly.

well i got a set of lights the other day but needed some fender washers so i coudl mount them, they arent wired yet as im not entirely sure how i want to wire them up, probably 2 switches but im not totally sure yet, anyhow, pics!

newer pic with less dirt:

nothing fancy, just cheapy walmart driving lights, but i think they kind of tie up the look of the roof rack, a little more bling i guess. i got lucky with the size since they fit perfectly under the top bar of the basket.

 

[Blue91Ex]

So i modded the brush guard a bit, i added some supports from teh bottom of the side plates to the frame which stiffened it up a LOT even though i used steel that i dont think is even 1/8" thick, but it works and is temporary. I also got a free brush guard from a 80s-90s toyota pickup, which had headlight guards, which i decided to put on the brush guard i built.

they only stick out about an inch past the edge of the headlights, the angle makes them look a lot wider, the brush guard they were attached to was quite a bit narrower than the one i built, which si why they stick out.

the headlight guards had an upright bar right in the middle, which was right in front of my headlights, so i cut it out and spent like 2 hours sitting on my porch trying to grind them smooth, i think they came out very well, when i build the plate bumper once i get a welder, i will probably cut and bend them to wrap around the headlights a bit, which would make them look a bit better. for what it is though, i think they look really good.

tell me what you guys think!

 

[Blue91Ex]

some more pics, got around to taking one of the supports.

 

[flatblackford92]

this looks awesome man, im lookin to build the same two things for my 1994 x, but I wann build a steel plate bumper with the brush guard tied into it. I got enough steel for the roof rack now, but the bumper will hav to wait. anyways, nice job man, I think im gonna copy your design more or less

 

[Blue91Ex]

this looks awesome man, im lookin to build the same two things for my 1994 x, but I wann build a steel plate bumper with the brush guard tied into it. I got enough steel for the roof rack now, but the bumper will hav to wait. anyways, nice job man, I think im gonna copy your design more or less

Hey cool, thats exactly why I posted this here. I'm glad you like them, I had plans also to eventually build a plate bumper and cut the brush guard to sit on top of it as well but haven't gotten around to it. My suggestion for the roof rack is build the upright supports (that hold the crossbars to the roof) somewhat shorter than I did, they look a bit too tall to me honestly and the only real benefit to having them that tall is clearing snow out from under the basket, and having a bit more space to work with when wiring the lights on the roof.

Anyway good luck and make sure to post pics of yours on this thread when it's done! I'd love to see it!