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 Diamond
Plate CornersBy Bill Johnston Diamond plate is usually something you see on fire engines and show trucks, usually in chrome or polished aluminum. The difference is that one uses it for durable protection in tough environments, and the other... well, it looks good. We are going to use it for both reasons and it will only take about thirty minutes from start to finish. |
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  As
you can see, the rear corner of this Samurai has had a couple of dings that
could have been prevented with a little armor. In this case we are going to
use a set of black powder coated Diamond Plate Rear Corners from Low Range
Offroad to not only protect it, but also to cover up those blemishes. |
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  One
interesting note about these corners... they are delivered bent to fit. You
will also not the welded seam. The Samurai body is not flat. Take a look at
the photo on the left and you will notice a slight curve that would cause a
gap at the top if you were to just wrap a flat piece of material around the
corner. So the armor is sliced, sectioned and welded to conform to the stock
shape. |
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  While
it is possible to attach these with sheet metal screws, rivets are included
with the kit to ensure a solid, long lasting fit.
The installation was fast and easy. Starting with the two predrilled holes at the back of the armored corner, they were transferred (marked), drilled and riveted. |
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   Once
the edge has been established, the panel had to be held in place to drill
and rivet the rest. We started at the back and worked towards the front so
that there would be no gaps. These are some strong panels, so I wouldn't
suggest trying to hold them in place by hand and still hope to keep it
tight. We used a tie-down strap and it kept everything tight. The placement
of the rest of the rivets is up to you, but you can see were we put them
from the yellow dots placed in the photo above.Not only does it look good, but now it can handle the dings without a problem. If you have an incident where the armor actually gets any damage, you can be sure that the ding in the corner would be the least of your worries. |
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12/02/07 20:39
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