I do not have a all out cage, yet. But do have a 5 point rollbar with bars past the seats. I can get in and out of my chopped A just fine. And I am getting OLD!
Really? Im a little big, not around so much but tall and husky....i cant see crawling over that damn door bar all the time Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
there are a posts on here claiming nhra legal roll bars. i see side bars that are too low. i see side bars not going to the a pillar. i see back bars too high and too low. i see side bars with a bend in them also bars with bends going into the trunk. the roll bars need a 6x6 plate when welding to the floor. the rules are very specific about how and were the bars are placed. a copy of the rule book is available from nhra. I'm not looking to bust balls or act like a know it all. i just want guys to have safe cars and not have a false sense of security.
Side bar has to pass between shoulder and elbow from main hoop to floor..Mine makes it with slight bend out ward to clear seat back. Sorta have to slide butt in over bar and swing feet in at lower end; tend to punch out a speaker cover once in a while..Top rear supports have slight bend to make it through package tray and catch the inner face of wheel tubs right near body mounts..Horizontal cross bar has slight bend at ends to allow for seat back clearance due to seat change and at height for shoulder harness..Vertical head support bar has bend at top and bottom for the required clearance to helmet..This per 1975 and was done because required if have fiberglass fenders,in my case fiberglass nose, didn't run fast enough otherwise to need one, can't remember ET point.. Don't know what ET it be good for these days..Maybe I should build an engine to suit?
How do you get the cage in there w/out taking off the roof? i guess my specific question is, how do you weld the top bars nearest the roof/windshield etc (get a complete 360 degree weld.....or is it not necessary?)?
Thanks for these pics, i want to fit one to my 30 Coupe....this helps Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Using a hole saw drill holes into the floor at the a and b pillar location. Put the bars in place going through the floor. You are now using the shop floor as your cars floor. Weld the bars . Lift the welded structure up into the car. Put the 6x6 sreel plates on the floor. Lower structure onto the plates. Finish welding. Depending on the car pulling the windshield out works. A trick to get bars straight if they need to be cut to intersect another bar as in a x across the door. Use a piece of angle iron with a notch in it. That and some clamps work great. The bars lay in the ange iron keeping everything straight. During chassis inspections each bar is sonic tested for tbickness. Tbe rules have a spec for each bar. They only allow a few thousanths under. With that being said do yourself a favor and buy dom tubing. That stands for drawn over mandrel. Its military spec material with a guaranteed minimum thickness. It doesnt cost much more. Way cheaper than cutting out a cage because of a thin bar. Chromolly has its own spec. Its thinner material therefore lighter. Saying you have a certified cage and having a cage with a nhra chassis tag are two different things.
I.c. i don't believe in sacrificing safety for a little weight savings advantage; If anything i would go thicker than minimum spec required by rules. Here's another dumb question--Let's say you have a full framed car and you want to weld the cage directly to the frame(which i think is required per NHRA rules?, Unibody cars are allowed to bolt to floor?). How, then, would you accomplish all this using the hole in floor method? As you may be able to tell, i've bought my cars rather than building them. But this will change....
Yeah man its awesome, i think im gonna oull the body off my 30 A Coupe and mimic your chassis to fit my car.....should be strong to the max. More pics would be great Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
With the body off the frame and suitable holes cut through the floor I think the major parts of the cage could be lowered enough. Perhaps not with all pieces welded in, but as long as you start with the pieces that has to be lowered to allow access for welding. Another method for those somewhat less sensitive is to cut holes througn the roof and weld through there. Perhaps not the first choice for a good looking street car, but popular for banger racing here (on those cars it is left visible, a piece of metal is welded over the hole and that's it, but it can ofcourse be hidden too).
You can use a hole saw and cut the holes in the frame just like the floor and then the plates are not a requirement. Then you can leave the tubes long and weld to the top and bottom frame rail if you want to. Swing out door bars are great on street driven vehicles because you can actually take your side bars out when you are not racing. Just put some padded covers over the ends of the side bar if you do otherwise you can bang your arm or scratch your arm . Padding is must for any car with a cage street driven or not. Hitting your head or arm on a cage in a wreck is like getting hit with a baseball bat. Having driven many round track cars I can tell you your body may be strapped in but your arms and legs fly around like a rag doll when you arm flipping.
Forgot to add the photo on my last post of my cage in my old Morris Minor. Side bar removed for every day commuting . I had velcroed pads for the side bar stubs. ting
In my old race car, the roll cage was welded to the frame VIA holes in the floor board. I also welded in filler metal on the floor board and welded it to the cage. I did this so I wouldn't be trapped between the cage and body if for some reason the body mounts gave way from the frame. Dad's '71 four door wagon has a full cage with swing out bar for driver, it was a total pain to get in and out of before installing the swing out bar.
I really like this kit. It's for a 55 but could tweaked for any 50's car with a full frame. Nice clean and simple install. Fully NHRA legal to 9.99. https://wildridesracecars.com/shop/general-motors/55-57-chevy-6pt-exact-fit-roll-bar/
Brian. I like it a lot. Really strong and well built. It works great on the track and is fun on the street.
I saved it as an example if I do my same 41-46 truck, he's running 153 mph in 1/4 and still drives it on the street.
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