My chenowth 4lwd upgrades *Now Honda swap*

[fordfreak]

Most buggy trans mounts are solid anyways so would it really make a difference? The idea of the engine hanging out there with no support creeps me out. Anyone run mounts on the engine like this?

[Getrdone]

Don't necessarily need the ears. Goes through to the cage on the other side.

[dustymojave]

I disapprove of them, especially coming up from the bottom of the cage. 1st bang on the skidplate and it's bye-bye engine case. As a Tech Inspector who checks cars after races I get a close look at a lot of cars after flogging them hard. I see more cars with cracked cases with rear mounts then without the rear mount. I also have issues with cars built with the skidplate right up against the bottom of the case. For 50 years VW-based cars have raced without rear mounts. The vast majority have no problems.

[Devastator]

FWIW, I tried running my sandrail without any brackets supporting the trans from above and bent the snot out of the "horns".

[fordfreak]

OK I will chop them off!!
Dusty how close is too close? I'm at about 1in.

[BAJA-IT]

Never had a problem with the rear mount on our 9 car in the 17 years we have been running it. It is not a solid mount though. but then I don't smack the cage or skid plate hard very often either.

[JUSSUMGUY]

I have one on my Chenowth also. Never had a problem and never have smacked the skid plate hard though. I have about 1 1/2 inch of clearance

[uh60ce]

Same here. Never been a problem, but I don't tend to flog the hell out of my buggy if I were then itd probably go without. I would guestimate about 1 1/2" clearance between the engine and skid plate.

[Turbo_Manx_Maniac]

I've broken several sumps when running a steel skidplate and ~1" of clearance, I switched to 6061 3/16 aluminum and never had a problem again. My old car mashed the skid plate quite a bit. The aluminum resists denting and will stay flat longer than steel and it's way lighter. It's pricy though.

Bitchin car.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

I run in softer stuff so I haven't had a reason yet to have a skid plate yet. In the softer sand they are like a plow so they dig up and pack sand between the plate and the sump. I think the idea of the 6061-T4 is a good idea as that is probably the best all-around alloy and temper and its equivalent in steel would be think and heavy. 7075 is tougher but not as resistant to corrosion resistant. The 5052 series is OK too but for all-around capabilities 6061 seems to be better.

[Devastator]

FWIW, 6061 is easier to find in a T6 or T651 condition.

[dustymojave]

Sorry I hadn't spotted this since my last post.
I go for 1-1/2" space between the bottom of the engine and anything else. In 2011 while pre-running at Barstow, I banged a pointed rock with the skidplate and put a substantial bend in the bottom tube of the bumper cage as well as the skidplate. I didn't even notice it until the next time I went to change the oil. The bumper cage is outboard of the case and so the cage tube was pushed up beside the sump of the case. No mark on the case, but it may have touched.

I don't recommend add-on sumps on offroad cars for the simple reason of increased clearance problems. I drive in rocky desert and mountains, so skidplates are a MUST to me. And in soft sand like dunes, a skidplate would still be on my required list. Too many people I have known have suffered engine and trans damage from banging the belly of the car on a dune including collapsing a skidplate that wasn't supported well enough to take casing on a sand whoop.

If you have trouble with damp sand packing in between, then simply clean it out when you get home. In salty beach areas, you should be cleaning the underside of the car very thoroughly to get salt out of there anyway.

My Baja has a skidplate which has been on it since Gremlins, Pintos and Vegas were the hot selling cars and nobody had heard rumors about Pintos catching fire when you ram a parked one with a full size van packed with nearly 2,000lbs of people going 55mph. It's a steel 3-piece one which you can buy a new one of right now. It's been hammered straight a time or 12. Never damaged a case or trans yet.

My preferred material for rear skidplates on VW-based buggies and Bajas is 1/8" to 3/16" 6061-T6. Diamond plate works well too. Strong, springy, lightweight, you can hammer it back into shape after damage, weldable if required. Tough to form though.

[fordfreak]

Took the car out for a ride last weekend. Everything worked great! Except my bypasses are waayyyy too stiff. I'm only using about 4-5in of the shock. I also need to drop the front springs about 50lbs. Sits too high with the collars all the way up.

My scrub radius is a lot better and my steering feels great because of it. (see my beam steering thread)
One thing I am doing this week is power steering! That was no fun.
The engine runs really strong despite my 44 IDF's having 30mm vents. The motor is really choking and had to jet down to 50/115/175 for it to run right. The motor really needs 48's, hopefully I can find someone to trade for some 48 IDF's. Anyone?

[Ol'fogasaurus]

...And in soft sand like dunes, a skidplate would still be on my required list. Too many people I have known have suffered engine and trans damage from banging the belly of the car on a dune including collapsing a skidplate that wasn't supported well enough to take casing on a sand whoop.

If you have trouble with damp sand packing in between, then simply clean it out when you get home. In salty beach areas, you should be cleaning the underside of the car very thoroughly to get salt out of there anyway...

I run a sump because some of the dunes I ride in are steep enough to cause oil starvation (I didn't want to go to a dry sump system). I also don't run a skid plate. I have the tabs for it on my cage but in the soft and damp sand I usually ride in it does collect up under the skid plate. If you get enough up there it can pack in tightly and push up on the bottom of the engine.

One thing that might be done, depending on how thick of a plate one is running is to put a limited number of flanged lightening holes (dimples should work OK if the material is thick enough) to stiffen up the skid plate and give you access to the oil drain. Flanges do allow for drain of the sand but also can aid in sand collecting on top of the plate.

Rolling some beads, again material thickness limits this, should help give stiffness to the material as well as proper flanging at the ends of the plate (again thickness determines this).

[fordfreak]

It's been a while since I posted anything. Desert season is comin up so I have the itch again.
Here's a little update on the buggy..

Made some side panels. Removable windshield is next.













Electric power steering from Dans performance parts. I got the EZ steer 220 watt. Its amazing. I can finally steer with one hand and my scrub radius issue is no longer a problem. No idea how long this unit will last. I will be putting a lot of hours on it this season.