DIY Removable Mud Guards

[lazyjeff83]

I hate flux core lol

 

[MattAlpha]

Got some time tonight to clean up the beakers and the rails as best I could with a bench grinder and my grinding wheel. Would be nicer if I used the mini grinding wheel on the dremel, but I don't have that much time.



Everything fits together as they should and they're ready for paint tomorrow.

Here are the mud flaps I'm going to mount on the rails.


I hope to finish this project next week after the painting is done.

 

[MattAlpha]

Got the brackets, rails and associated hardware painted.


Here they are with the topcoat. I decided to use the "Hammered" look paint that I thought was black, but it seems more of a dark gray. We'll see how it comes out.


Once everything cures I'll install everything. Almost done.

On a side note, I found out yesterday that Rhode Island requires mud flaps. Glad I'll have these on soon.

 

[MattAlpha]

Had an hour to work on this today so I got the mud flaps mounted onto the rails. Here's everything now that the paint has cured.


I double checked everything (measuring twice or three times then cut/drill).


I cut them using a pair of gasket shears and also a box cutter with a new blade.



I used each rail and hammered with a rubber mallet to "mark" where each hole needed to be drilled after aligning everything the way I wanted it to be.


I used my drill press with a 3/8" bit to drill the mounting holes in the mud guards.


Here is everything assembled ready to mount onto the Jeep. I have the rails inserted into the forward tire mounts to show that everything fits.


I hope to get the rear mounts on tomorrow but that is going to be weather dependent. Got to love the continuous freezing temperatures and the snow storms...that what I get for living in RI.

Just a note, the mud guards I choose are reinforced with fiberglass, which I didn't think would matter when I cut and drilled them. I used my shop vac after each cut/drilling but my hands were a bit itchy afterward. Good times.

 

[HighwayTrout]

Looks good

 

[Kalums]

So when are you going to start mass production? I want a set but am lacking in tools and am a little lazy

 

[MattAlpha]

So when are you going to start mass production? I want a set but am lacking in tools and am a little lazy

Thanks guys.

We'll see how they work out when I have them mounted...they may not work and/or fall-off. I'm certainly not to person to mass produce anything.

I haven't fabricated the second set of rails yet because I want to see how these work out. There's always something to improve in someway.

 

[MattAlpha]

I finally got some free time to finished the rear set. I bolted the brackets on using the hardware for my rear bumpers, certainly overkill but they'll work just fine.

Here's a few pics:




With the mud flaps installed:










Seemed to have come out alright. I'm going to run them for a while and see if I need to change the rail design before I fab up the front set.

I still need to install the forward brackets, but I'm going to need to drill and its 25 degrees outside, not fun to work in with the wind...

 

[USMC Wrangler]

I don't have a need for these in my current living conditions, but I do love DIY stuff. Looks good to me! :thumb:

 

[Kalums]

Looking awesome!

 

[MattAlpha]

Thanks guys!

They're not to best eye-catching mod but they'll do what I need them to.