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Midnight Fabrication prototype light bar & skidplate!

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Old Mar 4, 2011 | 02:07 PM
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Midnight Fabrication prototype light bar & skidplate!

Just wanted to post a few pics of some new toys .

I previously had a less substantial commercially available bar that wasn't up to the task of supporting rally lights, except for photo shoots. On top of that, an ice rally mishap tore my splitter and bumper cover nearly in half, shredded my oil cooler, and instantly drained the engine of oil. I decided to make the most of the downtime.

Steve and Ian at Midnight Fab. / Midnight Hot Rods here in Milwaukee did an awesome job of building exactly what I wanted and fixing/concealing most of the previous damage. I now have a monster setup that should be up for plenty of off-road abuse .

The 1/4" aluminum skidplate extends past the motor in all directions, and the bottom bar tucks neatly behind the bumper cover for snow drift protection(yes, it required removing the broken splitter completely). We still have a few plastic pieces to replace/fit in, but I wanted to post these first. The bar uses four bolting points to the crash beam and subframe, but is still easily removable, and still strong enough to use as a tow point.

Lights are (4) Eagle Eye 6" 50W long range HIDs

Check it out:









Thanks Midnight for the great work!!

Last edited by Tractionlimit; Mar 7, 2011 at 09:22 AM.
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Old Mar 4, 2011 | 02:26 PM
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That looks pretty sweet. Now go and attack some gravel roads and dirty that car up.
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Old Mar 4, 2011 | 02:29 PM
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looks... sturdy
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Old Mar 4, 2011 | 02:38 PM
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Originally Posted by Girodisc Martin
That looks pretty sweet. Now go and attack some gravel roads and dirty that car up.
LOL, had to wash it for the first time this year to take these pics.
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Old Mar 7, 2011 | 09:06 AM
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updated pics
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Old Mar 7, 2011 | 09:14 AM
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Different, do u have to take ur skid plate off everytime u change oil?
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Old Mar 7, 2011 | 09:20 AM
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Originally Posted by GR33DY
Different, do u have to take ur skid plate off everytime u change oil?
For now, yes. it's 7 bolts. We may modify it some for the purpose, but I usually like to do a full inspection on the lift anyway, so it may be easier just taking it off. I've had a few transfer case issues, so I'll always check/change that too.
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Old Mar 7, 2011 | 09:42 AM
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looks like a beefy setup. Ready to tackle small bushes, trees, children, whatever.
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Old Mar 7, 2011 | 10:12 AM
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Originally Posted by kelvar13
looks like a beefy setup. Ready to tackle small bushes, trees, children, whatever.
lol....or whatever
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Old Mar 10, 2011 | 04:17 PM
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Very cool, about how much do you have into something like that?
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Old Mar 11, 2011 | 06:36 AM
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Couple things I thought of....

First, your setup looks incredibly functional, good job.

I also have been trying to increase lumens I swaped out my projectors for the FX-R projectors and love the extra width and the avoidance of shining light onto the tops of trees that the OEM projectors provide. Just search under my name if you wanna do this, I made a tutorial.

I have also thought of additional lighting, but have been trying to find a more discrete way of doing this. Here's an idea I had, which is probably stupid, but you guys tell me.

The area behind the grill above the center cross bumper support (basically the top half of the mesh grill) looks like it may support two mini HID projectors. I am thinking of trying to custom install some there with black reflectors inside so that they would be VERY difficult to see in the daylight and work at night.. Ideas?
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Old Mar 14, 2011 | 08:23 PM
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Originally Posted by ICEMAN99TURBO
Very cool, about how much do you have into something like that?
Not sure in total. Too much, as usual. I guess it's of those things where if you have to ask, it's not for you
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Old Mar 14, 2011 | 08:33 PM
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Thanks. I would be interested in hearing more about your upgrade as well, and how much of a difference it made in output. You could pretty easily hide some 4" 35W HIDs behind the grille. I'd skip the black lensesthough if you care about functionality. 6" might be doable to if you relocate the horn. Not so sure on that. I'd go with two Hellas if I could do it again and had the funds. You can save $$ by swapping an HID bulb into a Hella halogen reflector. Of course, you'll need to custom fab a hidden bar under there too. Don't cheap out on this, or the beams will bounce all over the place, good luck!


Originally Posted by tsitalon1
Couple things I thought of....

First, your setup looks incredibly functional, good job.

I also have been trying to increase lumens I swaped out my projectors for the FX-R projectors and love the extra width and the avoidance of shining light onto the tops of trees that the OEM projectors provide. Just search under my name if you wanna do this, I made a tutorial.

I have also thought of additional lighting, but have been trying to find a more discrete way of doing this. Here's an idea I had, which is probably stupid, but you guys tell me.

The area behind the grill above the center cross bumper support (basically the top half of the mesh grill) looks like it may support two mini HID projectors. I am thinking of trying to custom install some there with black reflectors inside so that they would be VERY difficult to see in the daylight and work at night.. Ideas?
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Old Mar 16, 2011 | 01:19 PM
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Not my cup of tea. But to each his own. I mean what is it for? Why would you drive that beautiful car somewhere where that is needed. Should have just bought an old reliable Jeep. I mean you wouldnt put that on a 'vette or Mustang or anything similar to Lancer. I just dont get it. Unless you did it just for the hell of it cause noone else has. I dont even see Rally Evo's with that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnT5B...layer_embedded
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Old Mar 16, 2011 | 01:31 PM
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Originally Posted by bigjay10
Not my cup of tea. But to each his own. I mean what is it for? Why would you drive that beautiful car somewhere where that is needed. Should have just bought an old reliable Jeep. I mean you wouldnt put that on a 'vette or Mustang or anything similar to Lancer. I just dont get it. Unless you did it just for the hell of it cause noone else has. I dont even see Rally Evo's with that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnT5B...layer_embedded
True dat.
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