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body armor/run-flat tires?

Ghost2012

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just buy a m998...you would have that much in upgrading a vehicle that was never intended to be armored
Not to be a **** but the HMMWV wasn't originally intended to take the armor/weight requirements currently emplaced upon that chassis either... Why run let him run what he brung and go for it?

Plus we all know the UParmored HMMWV has done SOOOOO well :roll:

P.S. The preceding post was made in light hearted jest, please take no offense.
 

MrM4

Member
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Location
Wall, South Dakota
If your just looking for materials to do the Armor job with you might google AR500 or Brillian 500 Steel. Both will stop or deflect .30 cal rounds a point blank range. I have some steel targets on the range that are made from them. Its not cheap but it works great. 3/8 will do pretty much everything you need. I only tried the 50 bmg on them a few times but I have 1st hand experance that shows a plate of 3/8 inch will stop a .50 from 300 yards away, and the 1 inch stuff will stop a .50 ( plain FMJ ball) from 75 feet, API will go in about 3/4 of a inch from that same distance. I am pretty sure it was what the millitary was using on HMMWVs a few years back, I rember at around the time of the start OEF that it was super hard to get and VERY expensive.
 
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Mohawk Dave

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CA
I have Tyron Bullet Proof Run Flats I'll sell you. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbd-x2_MPkg[/media]

-Dave
 

Jtspendy

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there is always the option of taking the time to temper any steel you use to make it more bullet resistant as well but don't do it to anything that needs to flex as tempered steel will break instead of flexing :shock:
 

Ma Duce

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yorkville, IL
I agree that adding armor to a bigger truck would be a bit easier.

However, back in the late '80s and leading into Desert Storm, we began modifying our 60 mounts on hummers to resemble the old ACAV 113s. conveyor belt inbetween two sheets of 1/4" steel would stopp 7.62 x 51 rounds. Since it was mostly small arms back in the day that was enough. WE took them to the range and hit one with a belt out of a 60 and nothing made it through. It looked pretty beat up and had dings and divits in it as it was only mild steel.

We were doing this on our own cause Brigade was to uptight about vehicle mods, so we scrounged the steel and mild plate was all we could get.

But this talk and a pic from another thread has given some real bad ideas to a bobbed project or beefed up M35A3.

Just thinking what a guy could do with a plasma cutter, mig welder and a few beers......
 

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bill2444

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I was playing around with some of my 5/16" 6061 aluminum. I thought that the aluminum was some pretty tough stuff for its weight. I took my skidplate to the range, and was not that impressive. It did stop a .22 long, but a shot from my 30-30 went right threw.
 
There are many better platforms for this type of vehicle. Armored, comfortable, faster, more maneuverable etc. start with a more modern SUV with a good frame, less glass, stronger engine.

Agree - why not start with a water/soda delivery truck (low, boxy, common looking) and mount it on a deuce frame (with proportional bodywork to mask the obvious as much as possible.) and go nuts with armor. Or a garbage truck (the front lift attachment plus a snowplow angle ram to flip it sideways = pick up roadblocking car hulks, lift and toss aside) Will only appear "normal" at first glance but should attract a lot less attention initially than anything with obvious military heritage. Check out the BBC show "Ultimate Force" on Hulu - in one episode they use a modified garbage truck to ruin nuculear waste around stealth like. Even though it was defeated with a shaped breaching charge...
 

andytk5

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Location
florida
Seems like a deuce or 5 ton would be a great platform, all the flat panels can be cut and replaced with the AR500, if you figured out the door mount/hinge you could just replace the doors with your own fabbed up set, with fixed poly carb windows. Add A/C....

Front windows would be doable as well. Have poly pieces (roughly $40/ft 1.25"thick) cut and set into channel steel to weld or bolt into place. And just AR500 the back of the cab and the front areas, louvered grill. Not going to be cheap but not outside the realm of possiblility.
 

B3.3T

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So much of this entire discussion is simply trying to reinvent the wheel. None of it is cheap, none of it are going to give you the results you expect; the protection, cost or maneuverability. Properly armored, you are talking an expensive and heavy vehicle. All the way around, you might are well buy a Saracen, Saxon, or something Russian.
 

Shrapnel

Just a Hoosier stuck out west!
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Delta, UT
Owens Corning makes a fiberglass armor called Shieldstrand. I've seen a test block that stopped a .50 caliber. It was about an inch thick. A smaller thickness would be lighter and able to handle small arms fire. It's in use by the military now in some applications (do a google search if interested).
 

Ma Duce

Member
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yorkville, IL
So much of this entire discussion is simply trying to reinvent the wheel. None of it is cheap, none of it are going to give you the results you expect; the protection, cost or maneuverability. Properly armored, you are talking an expensive and heavy vehicle. All the way around, you might are well buy a Saracen, Saxon, or something Russian.

trying to up armor a 1009 is tough as they were never intended for that. Once upon a time we use to put sandbags on the floor of the Jeeps we had for added protection. But jeeps were not designed to be armored troop transports either.

but having an up armored truck is different from an APC. If you are trying to stop things up to a RPG that's one thing. If you are trying to stop small arms fire below 50 cal, that is something else.

I haven't looked at the specs on a V100 recently, but I seem to recal that .50 cal API or APTI will get inside and play **** with the crew. and I thoink they were built usinf duece axles and a V8 motor. So I would bet that I could bob a M35A3, and buold a cougar type truck and have equal acceleration, pulling power and turning radius. It won't swim like a V100, but there are trade offs.

If it is keeping the same capabilities to stop small arms, again under .50 cal, I think it can be achieved with less weight and cost.

besides, we all need another excuse to buy another truck, and spend countless nights inthe shop working on a new creation.
 

andytk5

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Location
florida
I am thinking 30-06 non-AP and below would be possible using poly carb windows and AR500 steel over or behind the sheetmetal. Like some have said a heavier truck platform would be easier to start with. You could probably get IIIA protection by using lighter steel and lighter polywindows. Not sure the thickness, you would need to research that. Probably some stiffer springs and higher rate shocks would be in order along with driverrain mods axles/numerically higher RP ratio change/transcooler/engine upgrades/larger brakes etc.. All depends on the wieght added and where the center of gravity now exists after mods. Rear Sway bar may need to be added. You should be ok with an extra 1000 pounds but you've effectively eroded that from payload.

These are great topics. Do we need armored cars? Doubtful.. Do we need MV's? Relative. Why not talk about this stuff? The above said, we all need a reason to buy another project!
 

100acre

Member
442
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Location
Bonners Ferry, Idaho
phone books

For all of you whom plan on using phone books as armor. Not only is it paper and flamable, butt and I say butt literally. For when the shtf or ground I plan on storing my local phone book connections for use in the nether areas as toilet paper:shock:

Sorry no pictures were available for this thread
 

B3.3T

Well-known member
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SW Ohio
For all of you whom plan on using phone books as armor. Not only is it paper and flamable, butt and I say butt literally. For when the shtf or ground I plan on storing my local phone book connections for use in the nether areas as toilet paper:shock:

Sorry no pictures were available for this thread
Toilet paper has a lot to do with this entire discussion...
 

tequilaiam

Member
157
0
16
Location
Brazil, IN
For your typical zombie situation (i.e. gang bangers and brigonds shooting 9mm or SKS with cheap practice ammo) you may get more bang for your buck with aramid cloth

Aramid Fabrics - Applied Vehicle Technology

aramid is the generic name for Kevlar. There's balistic grade and theres non balistic grade but I'm not sure what the difference is...probably relates to some DoD standard or contract stipulation. It would be worth trying a little bit of it to see how many layers are required to stop something "zombies" are likely to have.

Instead of ballistic glass, maybe do something like the punisher did...steel slats that can be rotated like mini-blinds.
 
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