roll cage

CFMopar · August 26, 2005, 06:28:38 AM

I was thinking since I got my interior out now I might as well do a 4 pt or 6pt cage to help make the car even stiffer. What would it cost to get one built?

firefighter3931 · August 26, 2005, 08:30:46 AM

Here are some pics of my custom 8pt rollbar installed in the 68. I had the door bars bent to make front seat access easier.

The added feature of the contoured front bars is that you can still retain the factory armrests/baseplates for the stock look while still increasing the chassis' structural integrity....it's a win-win situation.

The 45* down bars go through the floors and are welded to the subframe connecters. The other six attaching points are double 6x6 steel plate bolted together through the floorpans/trunk. The rear bars are custom bent and fallow along the interior sail panels/roof line for a cleaner look.

This car will have the full interior re-installed. The bar is legal down to 10.0 flat....faster than that requires a full cage.

The car to this point has led a pretty pampered life. Originally a 383 2bbl car and later a mild 440 it is in fantastic shape, structurally, with only minor surface rust in a couple of areas. The sheet metal is all original and required a couple of small patches on the rear (lower) quarter panels. Seeing as this car is going to see some track time and heavy street action, the rollbar is an excellent addition. I've seen some twisted up b-bodies from track abuse over the years. Torn firewall sheetmetal, ripped door jams and wrinkled quarter panels. That's something i wanted to avoid with a car this nice.

The custom bar cost $200.00 from S&W racing and installation was another $600.00 and this included welding in the subframe connecters and boxing in the lower control arms.

Ron

firefighter3931 · August 26, 2005, 08:36:10 AM

More pics

firefighter3931 · August 26, 2005, 08:45:03 AM

The interior floorpans, roof and firewall were recently painted with Zero Rust. The entire underside/chassis was also coated with the same product. The exterior sheet metal is now in epoxy primer, awaiting a fresh coat of tx9 paint and new vinyl top and black interior.

The car will also be getting a red stripe to accent the paint scheme.....triple black with a red stripe....

Ron

MoparYoungGun · August 26, 2005, 10:55:23 AM

Quote from: firefighter3931 on August 26, 2005, 08:45:03 AM
triple black with a red stripe....

Ron

mustanghater · August 26, 2005, 12:02:46 PM

how much of a gape do you put between your mounts on the frame?

CFMopar · August 26, 2005, 06:46:35 PM

Where is this s&w racing?

I just got quoted 130 a point for the roll cage which isnt bad but your guy boxed in the lca and did the subframes.

firefighter3931 · August 26, 2005, 07:01:59 PM

Quote from: Thread_Marshal on August 26, 2005, 06:46:35 PM
Where is this s&w racing?

I just got quoted 130 a point for the roll cage which isnt bad but your guy boxed in the lca and did the subframes.

That's actually a pretty descent price....does that include the steel tubing and fabrication ? Or, is that just the installation cost with you supplying the materials ? S&W Racing is a chassis shop that sells rollbar kits and other race car goodies. They are located in Pennsylvania. I had the 8pt bar, subframes and lca boxes welded in locally by a tube chassis fabricator/race car builder.

http://www.swracecars.com/

Ron

Ps. Bottom line....get it done now while you've got the interiior out of the car.

firefighter3931 · August 26, 2005, 07:05:28 PM

Quote from: mustanghater on August 26, 2005, 12:02:46 PM
how much of a gape do you put between your mounts on the frame?

Not sure what you're asking....could you be more specific ?

Ron

CFMopar · August 27, 2005, 06:23:49 AM

I think hes refering to the gap between the floorpan and the connectors. I dont think it matters. Some people put them through the floor, contoured to the floor etc.

Ghoste · August 27, 2005, 08:39:59 PM

That's a nice piece you're building there Ron. I'm guessing by the boxed control arms you plan to drive this on the street?

firefighter3931 · August 28, 2005, 07:48:44 AM

Thanks Ghoste. Yep it's going to be street driven....pump gas engine. I'm planning on a bigger engine for the car so the lca boxes, rollbar and connecters were installed while it's all apart for paint. I have a custom built Dana60 to drop in there as well to replace the 83/4.

Ron

SuBLimE 69 · August 28, 2005, 03:00:48 PM

Whoa, that looks good, I need to get off my ass and get my subframe connectors welded up too !

firefighter3931 · August 28, 2005, 03:08:29 PM

Quote from: SuBLimE 69 on August 28, 2005, 03:00:48 PM
Whoa, that looks good, I need to get off my ass and get my subframe connectors welded up too !

Yep, get that done before you hit the track....torn sheetmetal sucks. The car will feel and handle much better with the SF connectors....promise !

Car's looking great Doug....looking forward to a track report. We can do an 1/8th to 1/4 mile conversion when you get some ET's.

Ron

CFMopar · September 02, 2005, 12:51:21 PM

Is their really a big difference between doing a cage in chromemoly and mild steel?

firefighter3931 · September 03, 2005, 07:12:15 AM

Quote from: Thread_Marshal on September 02, 2005, 12:51:21 PM
Is their really a big difference between doing a cage in chromemoly and mild steel?

Yep, the CM will cost a lot more than mild steel. It also has to be tig welded to meet certification....mig is fine for mild steel.

CM is lighter than mild steel.....but not by that much. For a street-strip or bracket car, mild steel is more than adequate, inmo. The other issue with CM is it tends to be more brittle and less flexible....thus making it crack prone.

Ron

Runner · September 05, 2005, 10:57:29 PM

ron, is that door bar legal?. looks kinda low? my frame conectors look almost identical to yours.

firefighter3931 · September 06, 2005, 06:56:19 AM

Quote from: Runner on September 05, 2005, 10:57:29 PM
ron, is that door bar legal?. looks kinda low? my frame conectors look almost identical to yours.

Mike, The chassis guy said it would be and he's been doing them for 30 years. The critical dimension is the upper attachment point where the rulebook says the doorbars must be between the drivers shoulder and elbow as well as providing side impact protection. These bars meet both criteria. He's done a bunch like this for street/strip guys and none have failed tech from what i've been told.

Ron

Runner · September 06, 2005, 07:49:27 PM

it is a nice set up, should make getting in and out of the car much more enjoyable than a straight bar.

firefighter3931 · September 06, 2005, 08:09:54 PM

Quote from: Runner on September 06, 2005, 07:49:27 PM
it is a nice set up, should make getting in and out of the car much more enjoyable than a straight bar.

That was my intention. This is a street car first and allthough we looked at a swingout door bar, the arm rests would have had to been deleted. The swingouts are supposedly weaker than a fully welded bar according to the chassis builder and he felt this was a good compromise. As previously stated, the full interior is going back into the car and i wanted to make access as easy as possible...at least into the front seats. I don't see myself going faster than 10.0 in this car so this should be sufficient. I'm amazed at how much stiffer the chassis is compared to before....looking forward to some hard launches when it goes back together.

Ron

morepower · September 11, 2005, 11:58:51 PM

what color was ur car og ron?

firefighter3931 · September 12, 2005, 01:13:54 PM

Quote from: morepower on September 11, 2005, 11:58:51 PM
what color was ur car og ron?

Triple black with a red tail stripe....is there any better color combo

Ron

MoparYoungGun · September 12, 2005, 03:23:11 PM

Quote from: firefighter3931 on September 12, 2005, 01:13:54 PM
is there any better color combo

Ron

NOPE !

mustanghater · September 12, 2005, 04:03:07 PM

how much would a rool cage like this coast?

Johnny SixPack · September 12, 2005, 06:48:29 PM

Quote from: mustanghater on September 12, 2005, 04:03:07 PM
how much would a rool cage like this coast?

Meh, not too far.

Slap some casters on it and I'll bet money it flys!

Ron, I like your layout, and especially the extra bends.

If I go the bar route, I'm gonna have to do that so I fit my fat @$$ in the car.

MoparYoungGun · September 12, 2005, 07:32:25 PM

Quote from: formula_440 on September 12, 2005, 06:48:29 PM
Quote from: mustanghater on September 12, 2005, 04:03:07 PM
how much would a rool cage like this coast?

Meh, not too far.

Slap some casters on it and I'll bet money it flys!

morepower · September 12, 2005, 11:05:20 PM

i did my subframe connectors nearly the exact same way

mustanghater · September 13, 2005, 05:54:16 PM

can you still get in and out ok?

CFMopar · September 28, 2005, 02:06:47 PM

Here are the pics of the new cage.

One thing I didn't like is how the bars come through the speaker box.. Gotta find another way to mount my rear speakers now. Any ideas?

CFMopar · September 28, 2005, 02:10:15 PM

Heres an inside shot

CFMopar · September 28, 2005, 02:12:59 PM

another inside

CFMopar · September 28, 2005, 02:14:13 PM

Heres the connectors they did.

CFMopar · September 28, 2005, 02:16:01 PM

The one thing that bothersme is how these are just welded flush to the rail. But If i have any problems Im Sure I can build a bracket around it and weld it on the side of the rail to.

CFMopar · September 28, 2005, 02:17:21 PM

last but not least the front of the connectors.

CFMopar · September 28, 2005, 02:21:27 PM

Verdict....

AWSOME

Car handles 10 times better. Dosnt feel like its 45 degs in a slow turn no more. Cant wait till i get my poly bushings in and rebuild the front, sway bar, 17 in wheels and better tires and a few other things done. I can see it now. Its gonna handle awsome. Musta been losing lots of power via chassis flex because I would chirp my tires on the 1-2 shift sometimes. But now every shift! Feels good to have it done.

Downs
Dont like how the rear bar goes through the speaker boxes. And I forgot to ask to see if they could do the curve bar.(my bad) also the rear seat is going to be hard to get in an out. (But not my problem

). Might make that bar a swing out bar down the road to make it easier.

firefighter3931 · September 29, 2005, 01:45:57 PM

Excellent.....looks very nice ! The subframe connecters are fine....they look very sturdy. The hard part now is going to be hooking the beast up....no more lost power through the chassis flex....everything that's supposed to get to the rear wheels, will be ! Those front bars can be a pain, but you'll get used to them. Interesting that he welded the 45* bars onto the driveshaft tunnel...it's different but i'm sure the added triangulation helps a bunch. Two thumbs up !

Ron

CFMopar · September 29, 2005, 02:24:28 PM

This shop knew what they were doing. You had to see some of the stuff they were building. I dont think a guy who owns two vipers and a couple drag cars would trust any shop to cut up his 2nd viper

RallyeMike · October 01, 2005, 09:23:43 AM

Cool.

Everyone builds a cage a different way - I like to see photos. Thanks.

CFMopar · October 02, 2005, 04:10:25 PM

The photos are up...

dart3404 · October 04, 2005, 08:25:23 AM

Looks good.

Mefirst · October 12, 2005, 03:31:55 PM

Thanks for the pics guys.. They will come handy as a reference when I build a cage into my own ride..

/Tom

CFMopar · October 17, 2005, 04:28:48 PM

Ron just wondering what your going to do with the rear dash panel? Do the bars run through your speaker holes aswell?

firefighter3931 · October 17, 2005, 06:14:33 PM

I had mine run through the small holes in each corner of the rear package tray area. The speaker holes were left alone. Second gens have 2 holes in each corner approx 4in x 4in and that's where i had the trunk bars run. I'll have to make a few small cuts in the package tray cover to put it back on but that's it....other than the holes for the bars themselves.

Ron

Mefirst · October 17, 2005, 11:06:38 PM

Quote from: firefighter3931 on October 17, 2005, 06:14:33 PM
I had mine run through the small holes in each corner of the rear package tray area. The speaker holes were left alone. Second gens have 2 holes in each corner approx 4in x 4in and that's where i had the trunk bars run. I'll have to make a few small cuts in the package tray cover to put it back on but that's it....other than the holes for the bars themselves.

Ron

Ron** Could you take a close up pic of this and post it..

Thanks..

/Tom

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