Real roll cages cost money. A few grand minimum. I now know why. This post will be about installing a rollcage (not just bar) in my galant. It should pass NHRA spec but more importantly it is actually safe
I'm sure I'll leave out some of the steps but I'll do my best to answer questions. The guy holding the cutout is Erron, he owns the bender and is the real genious here. He's done 4+ cages now, not including the 3 iterations in his sweet road race 3SI.
First steps. Gut the rear of the car. All of it. Carpet, seats, tar at least around the base plate areas, unbolt the wiring. The car will be torn apart for a while although I've kept mine drivable to get back and forth from home to Erron's place. Both front seats have to come out when you are doing this. Mine are in for this picture but they came out right afterwards. It doesn't work with them in the car, believe me I tried.
Next make a cutout. Get a big ass piece of cardboard and make it line up as well as possible with the inside of the b pillar. This is important as it makes life much nicer when you are at the bender and your car is 50 feet away. I have 2 of these now. I may consider loaning them out.
Next help Erron setup the bender in the new concrete at the new house. This is long process. You get hot, burn your arms and neck because you are stupid. Doh. Now bender is setup. It looks sweet. Good thing you only dropped it once and not on your toes. It weighs a lot.
Next cut your tubing. I'll save you all the hassel and tell you to cut a 13 foot length. Don't mess up or you'll have to cut a second 13 foot length. Like we did on the 2nd bend. I''m dumb. Our tubing came in 20 foot lengths. Then you'll need a ~6 and ~7 feet pieces for the harness bar and main hoop diagonal. These 3 bars (including the main hoop) are the most important to get in. You cannot do ANYTHING until they're in. The messed up first piece is still good for other bars. The pound the floor flat where the base plates go. I'll detail this tomrrow when I finish. This part is hard. Plasma cutter or a sawzall at least are very nice. You'll see why tomorrow. Finish the main hoop. Angle it into the car. It's too long on one side. Take it back out and cut it. Try again. The top and side angles are not quite far enough. Bend a bit more. Now you got it perfect. Main hoop fits TIGHT into the car. Look at work below and smile. All day and main hoop is finally bent. It's okay that it comes "in" at the bottom. We'll be expanding the hoop INTO the b pillar and seam welding it there when finished. This will further increase the strength.
This concludes the first of many many installments of how to do a real, tight cage install. BTW the main hoop weighs 17 pounds. GVR4s have BIG main hoops.
First steps. Gut the rear of the car. All of it. Carpet, seats, tar at least around the base plate areas, unbolt the wiring. The car will be torn apart for a while although I've kept mine drivable to get back and forth from home to Erron's place. Both front seats have to come out when you are doing this. Mine are in for this picture but they came out right afterwards. It doesn't work with them in the car, believe me I tried.
Next make a cutout. Get a big ass piece of cardboard and make it line up as well as possible with the inside of the b pillar. This is important as it makes life much nicer when you are at the bender and your car is 50 feet away. I have 2 of these now. I may consider loaning them out.
Next help Erron setup the bender in the new concrete at the new house. This is long process. You get hot, burn your arms and neck because you are stupid. Doh. Now bender is setup. It looks sweet. Good thing you only dropped it once and not on your toes. It weighs a lot.
Next cut your tubing. I'll save you all the hassel and tell you to cut a 13 foot length. Don't mess up or you'll have to cut a second 13 foot length. Like we did on the 2nd bend. I''m dumb. Our tubing came in 20 foot lengths. Then you'll need a ~6 and ~7 feet pieces for the harness bar and main hoop diagonal. These 3 bars (including the main hoop) are the most important to get in. You cannot do ANYTHING until they're in. The messed up first piece is still good for other bars. The pound the floor flat where the base plates go. I'll detail this tomrrow when I finish. This part is hard. Plasma cutter or a sawzall at least are very nice. You'll see why tomorrow. Finish the main hoop. Angle it into the car. It's too long on one side. Take it back out and cut it. Try again. The top and side angles are not quite far enough. Bend a bit more. Now you got it perfect. Main hoop fits TIGHT into the car. Look at work below and smile. All day and main hoop is finally bent. It's okay that it comes "in" at the bottom. We'll be expanding the hoop INTO the b pillar and seam welding it there when finished. This will further increase the strength.
This concludes the first of many many installments of how to do a real, tight cage install. BTW the main hoop weighs 17 pounds. GVR4s have BIG main hoops.
