Mikes Samurai build / use / fixing broken bits after abuse

[Anton]

Started the rear winch today lads !!!

Il put pics up tomorrow !!

I do love your truck, mate - I wish mine looked as good, but I'd only ruin it the first time I went offroad - I tend to be less gentle with the bodywork than I really should be!

Question - how does the extra weight of the winch affect the handling?

I have a 9000lb winch, and I'm debating whether to make myself a winch bumper or not. Y'know, after I've finished unb0rking the rest of the truck!

[mike harris]

Hello mate, yeh trust me I beat mine !! Compared to when it first rolled out my garage it's not very straight any more, but I built it to be used, not to be sat and looked at !!

The weight issue is playing on my mind, don't get me wrong my sj is not the lightest. But for me to use it comps, it has to have a rear winch, and my suspension needs a bit more weight to make it work a bit harder. My front winch is very heavy, I did contemplate moving it further back, but I didn't want to cut my grill and front end. I haven't really felt any side effects with it hanging of the front yet.

This rear winch should be relatively light weight, the way I am mounting it is simple think you may like this boys !! .....

[sam16v]

Nice to see the truck is getting used as it should seems your out a fair bit in it and having lots of fun in it. Also its getting mod'ed to your needs not to what other people have done.
Wouldn't worry to much about the weight, its nice to keep them light but, problem is when you get to a point in the driving your doing you kind of need to be adding weight in the form of strengthening and winches etc. Just got to think compared to a 90 or toyota its probably a feather weight.
Main problem i find with mine is the wheel base can make descending very steep slopes and rock steps a bit sketchy. hence my next build will be a Lwb

[mike harris]

Hi sam !! Yes mate, it's all good mate !! Just need to mend it I can use it again, I am not that worried about the weight issue, still half what a challenge 90 or similar weighs.

Right here's the rear winch idea...

[mike harris]

Few more

[ScottieJ]

Nice, I presume you're adding a couple of cross braces across the chassis above the tank to bolt it all to?

[mike harris]

Right here's my plan. I refuse to move the fuel tank, so I am running 6mm plate 8 inches tall and 200mm wide up the chassis through the floor. Then box section connecting either side together 40mm x 40mm 4mm sidewall. Then drill holes in the box and weld in captive m12 / m14 nuts to bolt the winch tray to, thus allowing acces to unbolt the winch.

The only part I am struggling to try to work out how to make look good is the bracing side to side, where the tank is near as makes no sufferance hard up under the body, I have to run the bracing inside over the floor.

The winch tray is set back from the door buy about 3 inches, this is because of all the rear crossmember a and where the rear part of the shell is strengthened. So where the winch haze is bolted on, I am going to elongate outward, the bottom face will be angled so when the winch drum is full it can't fowl.

It will all become clearer as I go on.

[ScottieJ]

I get ya there's going to be a lot of leverage on the chassis plates and sj chassis are pretty thin walled so I would recommend a few plug welds and also triangulating the edges of the plate instead of running straight edges down the chassis
Like this sort of thing.

image.jpg (70.52 KiB) Viewed 5140 times

[mike harris]

Yeh that's the one, I am going to curate the bottom edge as well to allow more weld, and drill holes and plug, I am going to triangulate of the other side of the chassis up as well.

This was my original worry about leverage, it going to quite high, but I think I can make it work.

I think !!

[mike harris]

Next step will be to take the motion lotion tank out, and start to clean the chassis and make the upright plates, then I can work out how high to mount the cross bars to make the hawse of the Geoff in the right place. That going to be tricky, then it's the modding the Troff to make it 3 inches longer !!