DIY Armor plating for one's BOV

[IamZeke]

Let's not also forget that before it tries to penetrate your homemade armor it has to expend energy going through the skin of the vehicle. If we are talking about the heavy sheet metal found in a 50's Checker Cab then you might get by with a copy of Monday's newspaper to slow rounds down the rest of the way. But if we are talking about these flexi-plastic panels on these cheap "cross-overs" today then my advice it to hire a couple semi-trucks to always box you in on the road. So my best advice about up-armoring a vehicle is to pick an old vehicle first.

Also, those spray-on liner coatings might be a good thing to resist spalling and ricochets.

[IamZeke]

Originally Posted by 12G Slug

dangerous recommendation when you have CLEARLY never tested this. phone books barely stop a sling shot

Depends where you live, btw. The protection offered by a Chicago phone book is going to be a lot different from the Peoria book.

[Storm Shadow]

ive been looking at old apcs, i think it be a riot to buy one, ive got my eye on a mark 5 sarasen v8 apc for 15 grand, with up armour plating. its bullet proof already...

[12G Slug]

Originally Posted by IamZeke

Depends where you live, btw. The protection offered by a Chicago phone book is going to be a lot different from the Peoria book.

no. a phone book, period, will not do anything.

mine is almost 6in thick. and if you put 2 of them togather, it still does not matter

maybe is they were soaked in some type of resin and allowed to dry. but still i would not trust it.

[IamZeke]

Originally Posted by 12G Slug

no. a phone book, period, will not do anything.

mine is almost 6in thick. and if you put 2 of them togather, it still does not matter

maybe is they were soaked in some type of resin and allowed to dry. but still i would not trust it.

And in my post before that one I mentioned these books also reside behind the vehicle skin. An older heavy vehicle and the books inside the doors might definitely reduce the force of low power rounds.

[beastmode986]

Make an extremely ghetto plate carrier and put one in the front and back maybe? If I wanted body armor I would just get the real stuff though. Its not that expensive.

[beastmode986]

Originally Posted by Storm Shadow

ive been looking at old apcs, i think it be a riot to buy one, ive got my eye on a mark 5 sarasen v8 apc for 15 grand, with up armour plating. its bullet proof already...

I plan on owning an old apc before I die. It would be hilarious to drive one around until you look at how much you spent on gas

Are they even street legal?

[Storm Shadow]

the ones ive been looking at, 6 wheeled ones, british saracan where i was told you can get classic car registration for them if you join a classic military vehicle club.

the fuel use would be a worry i think

[Smokeyr67]

Originally Posted by Storm Shadow

the ones ive been looking at, 6 wheeled ones, british saracan where i was told you can get classic car registration for them if you join a classic military vehicle club.

the fuel use would be a worry i think

Gallons per mile, not MPG

[DWwolf]

To be fair, there was a joke that a local here had about that ( he owned a de-milled centurion ), the running joke between him and his local gas station staff was :
You want any loyalty stamps ?
Nahh, just gimme a case of towels.

[Storm Shadow]

i wonder how thick steel plates would have to be, to weld them inside your door pannels?

[DWwolf]

That depends on what you want them to stop.

[unit505]

For the cost of a decent, used SUV, I'm thinking that a dirt track car would be the way to go. My buddies pick up used Factory Stock dirt track cars all day long for the $1200-$1500 dollar range in running condition and sometimes with spare motors, suspension, Etc. You could go Mad Max wild with a dirt track chassis and cage. Open platform for custom armored interiors, you can pretty much use whatever junk yard suspension or engine/trans combination that you find. If it will weld to the frame rails, your set! With the number of dirt track chassis sitting in front yards around here, you could take your pick and never draw any attention. You can go 2wd, 4wd, whatever you want and not worry about having to have manufacturer specific parts. Not to mention, you could very easily weld up your steel plating around the cage, grab a bucket of paint and paint the sucker up, add a number to the side of the car and to the average Joe, it's just another old beat up dirt track car.

[Tommy Kaira]

On the subject of bullet proof windows I would avoid that if I were you. In Africa where armed attack is a weekly issue we were always advised NEVER to go with bullet proof glass. The problems is, in the much more likely event the vehicle rolls over, you have no way of getting out as you can't smash the windows.

You have to assess how likely it is that you will come under sustained fire and need a fully armoured bullet magnet, I mean vehicle (everyone shoots at vehicles, not people as it's the biggest target).

If you have absoultly everything else sorted, I would start to consider bullet proofing your vehicle. If you already have and know how to fit all the likely things that can go wrong (spare sump, plugs, several spare tyres/wheels, replacement electrical compnents, fuel pump and filter, fuel tank repair and a way of carrying enough spare fuel should you loose the contents of the tank, etc, etc)

It really is a 'nice to have'. Once you have everything you NEED then look at it but please don't end up with a fully armored truck and insufficient shelter/water/food.

Just my 2cent

[Soldiervivalist]

As far as welding steel into the doors of a vehicle, the type of steel is very important. At the beginning of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars there were not enough armored vehicles on the ground so soldiers started making doors and such out of plate steel that they salvaged. What ended up happening was Spalling, where the metal actually goes molten from the impact force and ends up spraying the inhabitants with lava that will go right through Kevlar. This was especially a concern for I.E.D.'s. The only way to stop spalling is to either A: use an actual ballistic metal ( $$$$$$) or B: run layers to slow the bullet enough before hitting the rear plate. the best way to eat this inertia is with ceramic and sand as is used in Sapi plates. None of this does anything for your weight issue though. a standard no armored Hummvee rolls a curb weight of approx. 8500 lbs. a 1114 up-armored Hummvee rolls in at approx. 12300 lbs. and it has a very beefed up FRAME and suspension. the frame part is a big thing to note as adding 2-3000 lbs. of armor to a half ton truck may cause the frame to fold on it's self. and then there are the axles. Best Bet would be to find an old 2500 suburban or 3500 truck and put a suburban body on it. then you at least have a strong enough platform to hold the weight of the armor. Food for thought from someone that's seen the effects of improper armoring first hand. I wouldn't wish that pain on anyone.

[willthrill81]

Originally Posted by 12G Slug

no. a phone book, period, will not do anything.

mine is almost 6in thick. and if you put 2 of them togather, it still does not matter

maybe is they were soaked in some type of resin and allowed to dry. but still i would not trust it.

Then you need to see how others have used phone books to successfully stop bullets.

When the Mythbusters tested this, they put phone books inside car doors. Perhaps passing through the metal door first improves the ability of the phone books to stop the bullets.

For them, one layer of phone books would stop a 9mm, .357, and a .45. A second layer was needed to stop shotgun slugs in the car door.

Take a look at this video of them shooting a vehicle covered in 400 phone books. None of the three inflatable plastic 'people' were punctured after many shots.
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/my...ion-set-up.htm

I'm not saying that it's entirely practical, but based on the evidence I've seen, there's no harm in putting some phone books in the otherwise hollow doors of your car. It will likely stop a stray handgun round.

And just in case you don't think that the Mythbusters are legit, take a look here. Jamie Hyneman is working with the military to develop lightweight armor for vehicles.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20053298-1.html

[lmfd20]

Armor what you can if you can. You don't see Police leaving their bullet proof vests at home because it isn't an entire suit.

[Storm Shadow]

what worries me, if you could successfully Armour your vehicle, it would be slow, heavy, handle like the exon Valdez, and be a very big target to shoot at.

your rubber tyred vehicle, would be disabled quickly, leaving you stuck inside a giant metal thingy with what ever is trying to attack you approaching you.

you would be screwed totally anyway.

id much rather light and fast bikes, wear Armour your self, not the vehicle.