JIM73240Z Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 because your car now weighs more than a sherman tank and there is no room left for any more metal, i would leave them out. you just have no more room to weld anything to. he he. paint it. jimbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 9, 2007 Author Share Posted November 9, 2007 because your car now weighs more than a sherman tank and there is no room left for any more metal, i would leave them out. you just have no more room to weld anything to. he he. paint it. Just remember, the 6 point cage is the heavy tube. All the braces and extra stuff is 1.625 x .065. Total cage weight should be ~175 or so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 go weld up some tubes with gussets. Trust me.. it will impress you with the difference they make. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 9, 2007 Author Share Posted November 9, 2007 So where would you suggest I put them bj? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 I have thought about it a little while, our cages have a lot of similarities. I believe we have the same thing in mind but we have chosen different methods and features. I used a lot of sheet-metal gussets and you have used more diagonal tubing. I decided to keep the passenger compartment open while you added the center support. I tied my dashbar into the upper torque-box(cowl) and reinforced the firewall. You used a straight dashbar and a tube down to the tunnel. As far as the gussets go... I started mocking things up with the "taco" gussets and a lot of custom gussets in mind. Many of these parts were formed and fitted before the cage was welded. Several of these gussets were welded before the cage was fully installed. Your cage is mostly done. Many of the improvements the gussets might have made have been compensated for by the additional diagonals. I would gusset areas that could result in a tube comming loose and impacting the occupants. Look at the footwell areas and perhaps the center rib and it's junctions. I made a decision early on to minimize weight, and maximize chassis stiffness. Many of the things I have done are not intended to deal with hitting another vehicle(low and penetrating). I am more concerned with retaining wall impacts and rollovers. I have also made some tough decisions to accomodate a passenger seat(no halo-diagonal or petty-bar). I also decided that the center tube running through the passenger compartment will be a liability in it's own right. Most race cars run the bar away from the driver right where the passenger seat is. I don't think compromising the center bar's location to accomodate a passenger was the best choice for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehelix112 Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 Hehe.. explicit irony. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 11, 2007 Author Share Posted November 11, 2007 I was looking around at door bar pictures and I happened onto Jay Hitchcock's pics, and it looked like his bars had to go into the door to avoid the seat. Went out to the garage and sure enough when I put the seat in I didn't have room for the door bar to hit the shoulder bar. Damn! So I took a cue from Jay and bent the backside of the door bar where it goes around the shoulder bar. I found that because my main hoop is tucked so far back it was impossible to get the tube attached, so I had to notch the door jamb. Actually I just cut it away, but I'll weld some sheet back in there to make it a true notch. The good news is that I can make this notch deep enough that welding the underside of the tube should be easy. This also required notching the door, no biggee there. So now for the rest of the X. I think I'm just going to weld in straight pieces of tube to complete the X. Because the bottom of the halo is so tight in the corner there it would take a HUGE notch to get the tube in there if it had the same bend as the top does. Plus I figure my shoulders are a lot wider than my hips, so I'm still getting space where I need it. On the passenger side it is going to be a simple flat X and I'll just have to avoid seats with shoulder supports on that side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehelix112 Posted November 12, 2007 Share Posted November 12, 2007 That looks damn good Jon. I like how the `point' of the door bar, which I would have to guess is the point that will absorb the most energy is directly where the driver is. Do you have any more detail/follow up on your door gutting thread? Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted November 12, 2007 Share Posted November 12, 2007 Hey! I see a place for a gusset! Brace the door jamb to the roll cage using... a gusset! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 12, 2007 Author Share Posted November 12, 2007 Hey! I see a place for a gusset! Brace the door jamb to the roll cage using... a gusset! I guess you missed the gusset that the welding clamp is hooked to. I suppose I could "double gusset". Hey, maybe I should go back and double up ALL of my gussets! I keed, I keed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube80z Posted November 12, 2007 Share Posted November 12, 2007 So my only question is how will the other bar fit in? Cary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 12, 2007 Author Share Posted November 12, 2007 Not sure what you mean Cary. The other bar on the X? I'll run a straight bar from the dash bar to the existing door bar, then another straight one from there to the hoop, and weld it through the hole I've already cut in the outside of the fender. Seems pretty straightforward, so I think I'm misreading your question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube80z Posted November 12, 2007 Share Posted November 12, 2007 I was curious how you'd do the X given where the bend is in your current bar. That's what all my question was really. Cary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 13, 2007 Author Share Posted November 13, 2007 Here it is 2nd part tacked in. Looks a little funky because it isn't symmetrical, but I think it will be functional and the more I look at it I kinda like it: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 14, 2007 Author Share Posted November 14, 2007 Woofrigginhoo! Cage is basically done. Need to fill the holes in the fenders and fix the door jamb on the driver's side, which probably will attach straight to the door bar like John suggested. Then I can paint this biatch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted November 14, 2007 Share Posted November 14, 2007 Ta Dah! Congratulations! But, one small suggestion, don't go down the paint path becuase it looks like crap after 6 months of use unless you use a good epoxy paint. Try lots of steel wool on the roll cage tubing and then wipe it down with Boeshield T9. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 14, 2007 Author Share Posted November 14, 2007 Ta Dah! Congratulations! But, one small suggestion, don't go down the paint path becuase it looks like crap after 6 months of use unless you use a good epoxy paint. Try lots of steel wool on the roll cage tubing and then wipe it down with Boeshield T9. I like polishing my tube as much as the next guy, but that sounds like a hell of a lot of work! Plan was to use Zero Rust and then coat of some gray (or some other neutral color) Rustoleum over it. I was thinking spray can rustoleum for the interior so I could touch it up easily. I had thought of Zolatone, but I don't know that it would be a good choice for the roll cage bars. Maybe Zolatone the floors then paint the bars with rustoleum or something... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted November 14, 2007 Share Posted November 14, 2007 I sandblasted everything(including the tubing) after it was complete. Paint sticks like hell to the sandblasted metal. I am going to cover the wear areas with a clear protective film after the paint dries. Don't forget to weld your window net tabs and the mirror mounts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMWHYR0HEN Posted November 14, 2007 Share Posted November 14, 2007 Jon's roll cage finished? could this be it?! What's a good metal cleaner before paint? acetone? I'm going to be painting soon as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetride2go Posted November 14, 2007 Share Posted November 14, 2007 we did a chassis for a drag car, but we didnt use gussets, instead used mini diagonals at a lot of the critical right angle joints... of course, the gussets are quite functional, prolly a lil cleaner looking and a bit more compact... =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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