Custom cage installation

[steve91tt]

Thanks John, that gives me some good discussion points to take the builder.

Marty, I am putting the stock dash back on. The dash bar tucks up nicely to the firewall so I will only have to modify it slightly on the ends where the front hoop cuts through it. The dash has significant cracks so I don't feel so bad modifying it. You can see the masking tape mock up of the door bars in photo #8 in my original post. Hopefully that will keep the vipers out.

[steve91tt]

I dropped by the cage shop tonight to check on how things were progressing.

Dash bar is in...

The main hoop and roof structure is coming along nicely.

And some great looking main hoop supports. It's a shame that you won't be able to see them when the seats get installed!

If all goes well I can take delivery on Saturday.

[Jeff G 78]

I'm a road racer and not a drag racer, so it might not matter for what you need, but I see no way to get 360° welds around several of the bars. For example, in the last picture where the door bars meet the main hoop. The door bars are down tight against the boxes and also tight against the rocker leaving only about 180° of the bar exposed for welding. I also see this issue at the front of the door bars and even the A-pillar bars where they meet the rocker boxes. In most road racing sanctioning bodies, anything less than 360° is a fail. Again, it might not be an issue for your needs, but I wanted to point it out so you can ask your cage builder if needed.

Otherwise, the cage looks pretty good.

[Zedyone_kenobi]

Way to go Steve!!

that just looks Sexy!

[steve91tt]

Jeff, good catch on the 360° welding. This car will be used for road racing not drag racing so I'll follow up with the builder on this issue.

[John Coffey]

The 360 degree weld does not have to be a complete circle around the tube/mount junction. For those bars that are tight up against the rocker panel the weld can extend up the bar welding it to the rocker panel, over the top of rocker panel or where there's enough gap, and back down to the plate again connecting the bar to the rocker panel.

You can also get a small, flexible nozzle MIG or a small TIG torch in some surprisingly tight places.

Edited February 8, 2012 by John Coffey

[John Coffey]

But be aware of NASA's inspection rule. If they cannot inspect all around the welded joints, they will fail the cage. In NASA NorCal they use small mirrors and a bore scope to do the inspection.

15.6.20 Inspection

A 3/16-inch inspection hole must be drilled in each of the required bars in a non-critical

area for the purpose of determining wall thickness. All welds, except those mounted to

plates on the floor, must be accessible for inspection (360 degrees).

[John Coffey]

FYI... nice cage.

[Jeff G 78]

My bad. In your first post, you mentioned bracket racing, so I figured it would only be a drag cage. You might consider adding an additional driver's side door bar up higher. Z cars are so tight though, that you really need to gut the door and do NASCAR bars which might or might not fit into your plans for the car. Here is mine.

[steve91tt]

I guess I should have explained the bracket racing better. Every second Thursday at my local road course they have a 10 lap race that is open to any car/driver that will pass tech inspection. Each driver picks a brake out time and they stagger start the cars based on that time. If you go under your time for any lap you are assessed a 10 second penalty. First car across the line (plus penalty) wins. It's a fun race to watch. There are cars running 2:05's out on the track with cars running 1:30's. The fast drivers have to pass constantly. The slow cars have much more open track to play with. A few more bits of safety stuff and I get to go play.

[steve91tt]

Jeff, When comlete, the cage will include the upper door bar that you describe.

[Jeff G 78]

I've never heard of road course bracket racing. Pretty cool! Where is your cage builder going to land the rear diagonals Steve? Mine go to the top front of the shock towers, but they are a bit steeper than the 45° recommended angle.