rollcage

[v8dats]

for those of you guys who put a rollcage in your z's.how did the welding process go?was the welding done inside the car or was it welded in sections then put in the car?

what was the hardest part of the installation?can the seats be reclined?anybody have any pics of full cage?

[BLKMGK]

Quite a bit of mine was done inside th ecar. Getting a bead around the very tip top is next to impossible IMO without burning the headliner and whatnot. Mine was painted in the car too. I'll try to get some pics of mine up if you'd like. It's 4 points in the back tied to the rear towers, bars across the top of the doors, down by my feet, across the windshield, and angled side bars that are a pain to climb over. Lemme' know if you want pics and of what exactly you'd liek to see...

[Mikelly]

Quite a bit of mine was NOT done in the car... Crazy, different pathas by different builders I guess.

 

I started with an AutoPower 4 point bar, then went to the guys Jim also used and had them add the front "HALO" and door bars. They did it all bolt in, due to the rules I was under at the time, but welded the front halo/ a-piller together and just bolted the door bars and the footers in.

 

Now, this is good timing as I am planning to capture my cage and all related parts in photograph as my cage is currently out of the car and I'm redeisgning the whole thing. I will add a below the dash horisontal bar, and tie the front below the dash bar to the rear head brace, tie the front down tubes to the fire wall, and add additional bracing at the rear. All footers will be welded as well. All this means than there will be considerably more welding done in the car this time around since I'm going to weld everything in. I want this car to be bomb proof, especially after Scarp's incident!

 

One common way to make life easier for you in the install process is to remove the rear 1/4 windows to allow tubes to slide through more easily. Remove all carpet, plastic and interior, and cover all else with flame resistant mateerial.

 

Mike

 

------------------

http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html

"I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!"

mjk

[Andrew Bayley]

Oh come on Jim,

Climbing over rollbars to get into cars is what keeps us all so young

 

I've only got an 8 point "bar" (not cage), but I tried to weld as much as I could outside of the car. However, the only thing I could possibly do outside of the car was weld the down tubes and seat bar to the main hoop. It was a major P.I.T.A. getting in there once it was welded, but I would not have wanted to make those beads with the main inside the car.

Just my $0.02

Also, I was thinking about getting "swing-out" side bars, but since I've got used to climbing over the bar... I figure it's a good theft deterrant.

 

-Andy

[Mike kZ]

I welded mine inside the car also. It was hard to get a nice bead, but I managed. You can see my cage at the last page of my site.

 

------------------

http://members.tripod.com/~SnowSurfer/mikekz1.html

[johnc]

Actually, the easiest way to build in a cage is to cut the roof off the car! Saw it done that way for a cage in an EP 240Z and for a GT2 944. Pretty scary, but if the car is stripped and setup on a jig then its no big deal.

 

 

 

------------------

John Coffey

johnc@betamotorsports.com

[Michael]

Mine is a rather extreme example, done in a friend's shop. The front clip (forward of the firewall) was cut off, then the firewall and floor were cut out. A cage was build on a jig, welded together, then raised into the shell of the car, and welded to the body. Then the floor and firewall were welded back in. The frame rails rebuilt with the front clip welded back in, with new sheet metal bent to accommodate the new location of the firewall. Then the front strut towers and tension/compression strut mounting points were connected back to the cage. The headliner is the only piece of interior paneling left unmolested.

 

X-bars in the door openings make entry difficult, but not impossible (a relocated steering column and removable steering wheel help). A bigger nuisance is the longitudinal bar connecting the front strut tower and rear strut tower superstructures - it runs the length of the cabin, bisecting the car.

 

Pictures can be found on Pete Paraska's site, under "Michael OL's big block Z".