[the_WIZARD]

hi guys im new to the forum and new to zooking just bought a 93 soft top sierra wt stock as a rock with nothing but super cheap auto driving lights and am loving every second of owning it.

i have done a bit of off road driving before and am planning on doing a bit of touring some time next year, but with my past experiences of night driving on long straight unlit country roads there are a lot of roo's that seem to love jumping in front of you to avoid being separated from their mates....

anyways more to the point i was wondering if any of you out there have had any experience with skip strikes on home made steel tube bars as i am pretty handy with a welder and baZOOKa NEEDS A BULLBAR! and love the look but am a bit sceptical about the security of my radiator, headlights and panels if indeed i strike a roo with one of those bars that basically resemble a stolen street sign pole welded to the front, (almost like a replacement bumper)


any experience or opinions would be much appreciated

[shep]

mine mows stuff down really well although since i fitted really noisy tyres
i don't hit anywhere as much stuff.

[MacDaddy]

the_WIZARD wrote:

hi guys im new to the forum and new to zooking just bought a 93 soft top sierra wt stock as a rock with nothing but super cheap auto driving lights and am loving every second of owning it.

i have done a bit of off road driving before and am planning on doing a bit of touring some time next year, but with my past experiences of night driving on long straight unlit country roads there are a lot of roo's that seem to love jumping in front of you to avoid being separated from their mates....

anyways more to the point i was wondering if any of you out there have had any experience with skip strikes on home made steel tube bars as i am pretty handy with a welder and baZOOKa NEEDS A BULLBAR! and love the look but am a bit sceptical about the security of my radiator, headlights and panels if indeed i strike a roo with one of those bars that basically resemble a stolen street sign pole welded to the front, (almost like a replacement bumper)


any experience or opinions would be much appreciated

The steel bumper on the Sierra, is actually very strong, and will stop a small to med roo no problem... when i had my old 1L Sierra back in the 80's, there wasnt many options available, but one place made an alloy bar that bolted on top of the standard steel sierra bumper, with side bars for support, and later i found and got a steel bar that was welded onto the standard sierra steel bumper, it was a bloody strong bar, and proved its strength when i hit a decent med sized roo late at night in WA's north west, the impact threw me forward in my seat a bit, but there was not a dent or deformity on the bumper and bar at all... so if you are handy with a welder, and dont want to spend too much, i would get some steel tube or box section, and weld it onto the steel bumper, so it comes up to protect the grill and head light, and possibly a bit below the bumper so the roo doesnt go under the Sierra... its an option to think about...

[Moph]

Do you have a decent bender? If not, what about cut and shutting some 150 x 100 x 4 RHS? Slice the back web off to form a C-section (use the scrap steel for mounts) then cut tapers in and weld back together?

I did it the hard way using 150 PFC ... bloody strong, have hit a medium sized grey at 80kph on the outer edge and left no sign of it, but also pretty heavy and a hell of a lot of cutting disks to work with. I like the look though - 'tis about Page 3 in my buildup link below.

[the_WIZARD]

thanks guys for the feedback its good to be part of such a diverse community with so many opinions.... and moph that build up was excellent i really love the look of that bar (and your zook), just a couple of questions for anybody,

moph:when you clipped that roo at 80 did you get any headlight/quarter panel damage and roughly how much would a bar like that cost to make with raw materials

also

as said before by macbear would a full on troopy style steel bullbar with upper and lower bars be another viable option? or do they work out a lot heavier in the long run and not so worth it for the possibility of a roo strike in the not too distant future

sorry for the noob questions

[the_WIZARD]

also re: tyres moph did you find much scrubbing with the 235/75s or was clearance not much of an issue??

[laurie]

i have not hit anything yet but it cost stuff all and weighs not much

[Moph]

the_WIZARD wrote:

moph:when you clipped that roo at 80 did you get any headlight/quarter panel damage and roughly how much would a bar like that cost to make with raw materials

also

as said before by macbear would a full on troopy style steel bullbar with upper and lower bars be another viable option? or do they work out a lot heavier in the long run and not so worth it for the possibility of a roo strike in the not too distant future

No damage to anything ... not even the paint on the bar Body lift, RUF and 31's no doubt helped as they raise the bar about 140mm above stock. A larger red would be more of an issue due to their height I think - in which case I'm stuffed as if I swerve to line 'em up in the centre of the bar then I'll probably stuff my HID spotties.

Could do top bars too for extra protection - I just prefer the look as-is.

If you used 150x100x4 RHS and 40x3 CHS for the cross bar I reckon you'd be looking at $100 in steel, $60 in spray paint (2x primer + 3x black Killrust) and $50 in other bits and pieces (flap disks, welding rods, bolts etc). Just guestimates but around the $200 mark. More if you have to buy drills etc.

To fit 235/75R15's you'll likely have to do a body lift. Before I did the body lift my wheel arches cut up the side lugs of the driver's side front tyre under compression - despite much hammering of the seams. Also need to trim the outside bumper mount plates to let you turn properly. I'm running 15x7 -18'ish (I think) F100 rims ... different offsets will have different scrub areas.

[the_WIZARD]

cool very helpful... so many ideas to work on.... look forward to writing up a build up of my zook hopefully with enough money and time it'll be looking as nice as some of your rigs... and laurie that bar is what i was initially thinking how much did it cost to fab up?? then it comes down to form or function....


cant wait till i have enough time to sit down and work on a decent build up plan and decide exactly what needs to be done for a good weekender/tourer everyday zook...lol

[laurie]

it cost about $80 but i got all the steel for 99c (ebay) i copied the mounting system and shape off shep strong is i think an understatment.