Sani Rear Bumper/Towbar

[davidvdm]

So here us lower class/non patrol drivers are without a home after the demise of the Nissan4x4 forum and nowhere to go. So I place my story here (this could turn out to be a long one). This is still in progress as time is limited and I only get to work every few days.

OK, so last week the Sani is suddenly down four tail lights. Left side reverse light, park light and the two number plate lights all go dead between Wednesday afternoon and noon the next day. Investigation shows that the guy that assembled the Sani tail end the last time, did not take the wire loom over the chassis on the left side, but under the chassis and tow bar and just cable tied the darn thing.

I saw this just after I got the car, and said that one day when the tow bar ever comes off for any reason, I would fix it. Well it decided to chafe through before I ever got to it, and last week it bit me in the bum.

After "fixing" the loom, I was looking at some other possible problem areas, and this big ass bumper that has been bugging me for ages. That is when I found that after the last meeting the bumper had with a rock at Bosvark, the bumper has been hanging on all of one bolt and two pop rivets . I got such a fright thinking about that bumper coming off on the highway and going through someones windscreen, I ripped it off immediately. I would rather have it looking like rubbish than it causing damage/injury or even death.

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Story will have to continue a bit later, have a big storm coming over and fearful of lightning damage to the computer.

[Tinus lotz]

Mooi man keep on giving fotos of your build....

[davidvdm]

This project came out of nowhere and there was no plan how to fix or upgrade from this point. I had some spare pipe, I thought I could use (may still). It's free left over from my 76mm exhaust, just very thin. Some other pipe (also 76mm) that is probably better suited at nearly 3mm wall thickness. just very heavy.

While mulling over all this, the Sani is driving around with no rear end protection. I have always had a problem with the back end being to long and too low, so this is the time to start sorting this all out.

So build as we go with what we have and as usual, NO BUDGET

So this is what we have left on the Sani..

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That chassis just looks too thin to accommodate what I had in mind. I want beefy recovery points, but I have a tow bar that I believe could be a good foundation to work from.

The trip to the metal works got me some more materials to work with and broaden the ideas somewhat.

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First thing was to get some protection back, but I wanted to shorten the tow bar as this thing is now sticking out a mile without the bumper. Attempted just cutting shorter and using old drop plate, but the drop plate then turned out slightly too small for it's new position. This forced me to visit the metal works and I came home with a bit more than I expected.
Tow bar cut shorter, still have to take a pic of the new drop plate in place, just run one weld top and bottom for now to keep it all together for a Joburg trip I had to do on Thursday for some Taxi protection.

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[Kagiso II]

Davy !!!!! hoog tyd en BAIE Welkom hier oppi forum vir almal wat DATSUN en die se kleinkjenners van hou
DAVY !!!! about time en PLENTY welcome here on the forum fo' all mad what DATSUN and descendants kids of hold
[mens kanni Googler vertrou om te vertaal 'ie .. hulle maak droo'

O K - re the bumper on your SANI -- I remember when Nissan4x4 forum still ran we had a longish discussion on a SANI rear bumper replacement . .I had a fantastic one 'self made' for Sawwe Sannie - WITH spare Wheel Carrier... Then I obtained BRUTUS with his own as stunning bumper [Nico Nell inherited it after Brutus was written off.
Then onwards -- but moooo'za expensive - a proper steel with wheel carriers were installed on Boezman [still on him - ask Wimpie O for close up pictures

But I degress .. One of our friends way back also needed a rear bumper on his SANI -- and we scrounged a rear buimper off an ISUZU 2,8 diesel bakkie [ a REEF or Frontier or sum such .. special addition ones]
An dthat bumper fitted PERFECTLY on the SANIE [re positioning of the vasmaakgoeters and a paint job

Trying to remeber WHO used it -- vague memry says it might 've been Christo Slang [who now owns CHUCK]

Slangman .. if you read this ,, advise Davy on this ?

[B-Free David en jou Hillbilly

[davidvdm]

First time I am posting so many pics and this site is not the most user friendly in that department....

So here is the general thinking.

Tow bar being shorter should exert less twist and downward force than the standard. It is now nearly 200mm shorter, but only raises the ball by 30-35mm. New drop plate is also 12mm plate and the holes have been meticulously matched so that a another drop plate can be added to accommodate my Venter trailer that I have already given a 80mm lift to get better lined to the Sani.

I have in my arsenal a length of 16mm x130mm plate/flat bar that will become my recovery points, and 12mm x 70mm bar that will be used for support on the inside of the chassis rail.

The plan is to drill another hole further forward of the three existing holes seen in the pics to add a bit of additional support. I am also playing with the idea to enlarge the existing holes by a millimeter or two, just to make me feel better about the whole thing and adding bigger bolts.

Weight of the existing bumper and tow bar come in at exactly 30kg with the bolts (not including the bits of bumper still somewhere on the Bosvark trail ). So I am hoping to get away with around 40kg (maybe 45kg with a push) to get this all done.

The plan now is to attach the 16mm plate to the sides of the tow bar and run that on the outside of the chassis member.. That 16mm bar will be welded to the tow bar giving me a 24mm thick outside plate that gets attached to the chassis.

It then runs past the tow bar to the rear giving me a 16mm recovery point in a perfectly straight line to the chassis mounting points. The two recovery points are now also effectively supported and attached to each other by the tow bar.

Off the 16mm recovery bar and tow bar I want to use the 12mm bar to fashion the rest of the "bumper" shape I need to the edges/side of the vehicle.

I believe I may now have such a lump of steel at this point that I don't know if I will even have place to mount pipes to work as a bumper anymore. I may have another solution by adding a "cladding" of 2mm steel sheeting I have laying spare here, over the main steel structure. I will just have to be happy with the trail "houding" that steel sheet may end up getting when dented on a rock if I had to land on it.

My idea of going over kill on the main structure and just cladding it all is because I want a good strong base to work from for a dual spare wheel carrier hanging off each end of the bumper (project for another day).

So now for the comments and suggestions please. I am pretty sure I have, with my limted (ok, non existent) engineering knowledge, missed some crucial stress loading factors that are going to be exerted on this setup.

[davidvdm]

Dankie Oom Mac, ek is wel nou al so tydjie hier, maar gesels nie baie met die groot Patrol manne nie.

Ek probeer net alles so goedkoop hou, want soos gewoonlik is daar net niks budget nie. In teendeel, die projek het my lelik van 'n blinde kant aangeval en nou sit ek met die ding wat ek moet doen. SWAMBO is al klaar bietjie vies vir Hillbilly, want ek het R500 moes uit haar kar se "restorasie" fonds gaan trek om daai staal te gaan koop.

Hillbilly loop juis ook minus een rockslider oor ek dié mos so goed gebuig het op die Bridgstone challange dat hy my briek compensator nou druk dat hy dink ek ry met a ton agter op.

[ChristoSlang]

Yep, daai McMenamin memory is lekker skerp!

My Sani het met 'n Isuzu se plastic bumper bits aan die twee kante van die agterste yster-bumper gery. Maar die Sani I/II se bumper is natuurlik heeltemal anders as die fancy Sani III s'n...

[Kagiso II]

Thanx Slangman - maar dan is jou Sani nie die een wat ek bedoel nie .. Dit was n kompleet Isuzu bumper [daai twee pyp so opmekaar - en dan in trappie bo-op. En dit was op die Mk I sani [nie die softroader soos ene Hillbilly nie ]

Maar as Davy klaat gekoop het .. then thats that -- dan sal nuwe opsies nie werk nie -- Let us watch him do his magic :-)

[davidvdm]

Thanx Slangman - maar dan is jou Sani nie die een wat ek bedoel nie .. Dit was n kompleet Isuzu bumper [daai twee pyp so opmekaar - en dan in trappie bo-op. En dit was op die Mk I sani [nie die softroader soos ene Hillbilly nie ]

Maar as Davy klaat gekoop het .. then thats that -- dan sal nuwe opsies nie werk nie -- Let us watch him do his magic :-)

Gelukkig weet ek al drie die weergawes Sani is die selle onderstel maar met anderste lipstick en rouge .

Vinnige prentjie gevat vanmore van hoe die tow bar nou lyk met sy korter stingel.

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Ingekort met so amper 200mm, so exit angle is al klaar beter. Daai stuk staal is die basis vir wat nou gaan moet "groei" van hier af. Ek sou graag ook wou beskerming ingesit het tot by die agter wiele om die bakwerk daar ook te beskerm, maar ek gaan moet bakwerk sny om weer die hoogte te kry wat ek wil hê, en ek weet nie hoeveel sterkte ek dan sal verloor, en moontlik in a paar maande se tyd met krake sit op die kant van die kar.

[David M]

Hi Dave

I modified a Mitsubishi rear bar which gives you an insane departure angle.

I am unable to load pics but below is a link to my vehicle on Gumtree with pics. I know it also works for the Sani previous to yours as I did one.

http://www.gumtree.co.za/a-cars/midrand ... 0182465909

Managed to add the pic