Warning Diesel owners read this !!!!!!

[syncroand101]

I'm all for supporting home business. But the syncro community is also a small one , and I feel it is important to support those Syncro businesses that have been supporting us with product R&D for years, most of which is/was funded with love not profit.

Other suppliers like Henning aka Syncro Services also put a great deal of effort into events such as Syncro 25.

Just my 2 pence or euro-cents worth.

[Aidan]

you'll need a diesel van with everything insitu to pattern them from (That'll be Jed I guess), they can't just be flat as the offending bit of gearbox actually hangs down below the edge of the bars by a couple of mm - the german ones I've seen on ebay are 6mm and have a clearance hole which is then covered by another sheet of 6mm tigged on, also need drainage and vent holes so you can get the power washer in their to clear out the mud otherwise it will go off like concrete between the box and the bars and give nasty vibes and to help keep box cool - that's why the original protection is limited, if it was solid sheet then that brings a whole load of other issues into play, as it is I see lots of gearboxes with wear marks from where the protection has been remodelled by the landscape and then worn against the gearbox - mostly on diesels it has to be said, that could also be due to degrading engine mounts allowing engine to sag a dadge
I'd recommend rivnuts and countersunk fittings but only upto M6 alloy are readily doable with the cheap small hand riveter, beyond that you need a bigger tool

I'm sure Henning would negotiate a group buy if the order was big enough, he'd be able to get his supplier to cut him a deal; his mark-ups are pretty small mind, not 100%+ markups like Heritage have on oem parts from Classic.
If there's interest I'll ask Henning.

[syncropaddy]

3mm steel and weld on, or thicker aluminium and rivuts?

Neither. 6mm Aluminium and stainless M6 bolts drilled through the box section. Rivinuts will loose their grip in those conditions and you wont be able to undo them. You will also need foam rubber to fit between the gearbox and new shield.

The tea bitch has spoken!

[silverbullet]

I'm all for supporting home business. But the syncro community is also a small one , and I feel it is important to support those Syncro businesses that have been supporting us with product R&D for years, most of which is/was funded with love not profit.

Other suppliers like Henning aka Syncro Services also put a great deal of effort into events such as Syncro 25.

Just my 2 pence or euro-cents worth.

I agree, the UK syncro community is a small one when compared to the Europe or the US.
But surely by this same token, the UK syncro community needs to look to it's own resources rather than the European marketplace, which is so much larger and capable of supporting larger businesses like these?
(Is someone like me going to knock a hole in Syncroservices market share? I very much doubt it)
There is a vast difference between making a business from something that you love - it helps to be enthusiastic - and merely doing something for love and goodwill (the route to bankruptcy)

No-one is in business for love. It's about generating profit so the business can grow. Nothing else, no matter how it's dressed up. You support your customers so they come back and spend more with you, not the competition.
Sorry if this sounds cynical, but to think otherwise is profoundly naiive.

For my part, I do like to make things that people can use and enjoy; it gives me great satisfaction to have customers who are genuinely pleased with my efforts and come back and say so, far more so than making some part where it's priced to the wire, that I have no idea of it's purpose and the customer never even says thanks...

It's the one thing that makes the biggest difference when I go to work. The fact that it pays the bills isn't always enough...

[John Potter]

The Syncroservices one looks great, 6mm alloy, laser cut & CNC bent, lots of holes and bends and stuff (I think - for some reason I get an error when I try to drill down for look at the picture which is out of focus...) and retails at 164.22 yoyo's. I suppose shipping is a lot, didnt go and check.

So, I'm up for a group buy or a group make, whatever it takes. If no one else wants to play I'll get one from Henning.

As I said, tis a flipping expensive gearbox in there now and I'd like to give it some protection...

[jed the spread]

There may be a product review on the SS one soon. The likes of Henning and other Syncro supplers (futbus, brickwerks, busman, etc etc) took a huge financial risk with the Syncro 25 event this year for us
syncro drivers and for this fact alone I stand with Jakes comment. Keep The Syncro Culture alive.

Jed

[Aidan]

Ok I have just emailed Henning and Dina and asked for a quote on 10 with delivery to me, I'll let you know what they say.

[syncropaddy]

I agree, the UK syncro community is a small one when compared to the Europe or the US.
But surely by this same token, the UK syncro community needs to look to it's own resources rather than the European marketplace, which is so much larger and capable of supporting larger businesses like these?
(Is someone like me going to knock a hole in Syncroservices market share? I very much doubt it)
There is a vast difference between making a business from something that you love - it helps to be enthusiastic - and merely doing something for love and goodwill (the route to bankruptcy)

No-one is in business for love. It's about generating profit so the business can grow. Nothing else, no matter how it's dressed up. You support your customers so they come back and spend more with you, not the competition.
Sorry if this sounds cynical, but to think otherwise is profoundly naiive.

For my part, I do like to make things that people can use and enjoy; it gives me great satisfaction to have customers who are genuinely pleased with my efforts and come back and say so, far more so than making some part where it's priced to the wire, that I have no idea of it's purpose and the customer never even says thanks...

It's the one thing that makes the biggest difference when I go to work. The fact that it pays the bills isn't always enough...

Wholeheartidly agree. Give that man a cuppa

I made 3 sets of these for Dave, Paul and myself just before Syncro 25. Each set included a front diff bash plate and a gearbox bash plate. I also had a front bash plate made for paul. There is no science in these at all. They dont need to be laser cut or CNC bent, a simple guillotine cut and press fold will be sufficient. I cut a few 30mm holes to drain off and water and muck and stuff. Its no biggie really and they cost a lot less than the ones from Germany

[axeman]

i welded some 3mm zincec (think thats right) steel on to my bash bars about a year ago, just got some cut and then cut out some sections in it so that all the mud and crap can escape, i like the idea of steel and welding rather than alloy and rivnuts, as it wont come loose.



neil

[silverbullet]

The likes of Henning and other Syncro supplers (futbus, brickwerks, busman, etc etc) took a huge financial risk with the Syncro 25 event this year for us
syncro drivers

That's any entrepreneurial business in a nutshell. Weigh up the risks versus the potential benefits and make a decision based on what you can stand to lose if it doesn't pay off.
I do concede however, that there's a knife-edge to be walked when it comes to earning a living and being part of any community such as the syncro one. It's very hard to have friends when you're in business.
But never forget that the customers support the business, not the other way round.
You may percieve that these businesses "support" you and your hobby, but they are the ones taking the money home at the end of the day...

There is no science in these at all. They dont need to be laser cut or CNC bent, a simple guillotine cut and press fold will be sufficient. I cut a few 30mm holes to drain off and water and muck and stuff. Its no biggie really and they cost a lot less than the ones from Germany

Agreed. We could go into a long and protracted discussion about gearbox cooling airflow in a syncro vs. a 2wd and how that could lead to elevated temperatures on long high-speed journeys if the bash plate is excessively enclosed, but it really boils down to applying a bit of common sense and experience.
How much you have of either determines the level of success and/or expenditure

[Aidan]

Dina will contact her supplier, but he only makes them in small batches so we'll see what they come back with, in the meantime......

[syncrodoug]

I'm with you Neil, can't beat a nice chunk of steel as my truck bares testimony to!
Doug
PS Note to myself - must get the truck weighed!

[Syncrobaz]

If I needed extra protection I would fabricate panels. drill and countersink and fix with taptites nice