hmsports

I'm building an EProd using an ATL 12 gallon cell. The support frame is simply some 1" square tubing welded between the car's frame under the trunk area that has been removed. See pictures Here. I am going to bend some 1.5" roll-bar tubing that will hang down and get welded to the vehicle frame. This will protect the cell from a rear impact. I'm also going to weld some braces from the tubing forward at a 45 degree angle to the vehicle frame. This will help keep the rear bar from collapsing. With the larger cells I have seen guys mount then higher in the trunk area. That's about all you can do to get the ground clearance. It does raise the center of gravity a bit though. Good luck. Rick

My EProd car isn't even close to being complete so I'm renting a 1975 280Z for this Saturday's Regional SCCA race at Gateway International Raceway in St. Louis. I'm picking the car up tonight. It is a car I used to compete against in ITS. It's been three years since I've raced so I'm pretty stoked! I'll try to post some photos and maybe a couple of in-car video snippets.

I'd swap them -- 275 front and 250 rear. Also, try the Koni inserts. They are $155 each from True Choice. I think they are the 8610-1149. I wouldn't waste the money on the super expensive three or five way adjustable. They are only good for the last few tenths and you can better use the money on tires or track time. Just my opinion.

I'm going to weld them in. Much cleaner of an install I think. The GC plates I had were aluminum and had so many little bolts it just looked sloppy.

The machinist who was going to make my plates for me retired so he couldn't manufacture them on 'company time'. I found a place online called eMachineshop.com that has some nifty software to download that you can CAD draw your part. You then simply submit the order and they will build it. Just ordered four of these plates: Plate Design Delivered cost was about $95. I'll let you know in two weeks how they came out.

The E-Prod cage was designed for chasis stiffness and safety. I've been involved in two major accidents and my cages didn't incur any damage -- nor did I. The NASCAR bars on the passenger side will be replaced by an X bar. The tripple vertical bars within the driver's NASCAR bar will not extend to the sill. The bars that extend to the front struts are there to triangulate and eliminate chasis flex. The cage will use close to 100 feet of tubing. I'm using 1.5" by 0.120" wall DOM tubing. It weighs about 1.5# per foot. As far as tie-in points up front, it is best to weld the mounting plate to the floor and bend it to extend up and weld it to the inner rocker.

Here's the proposed design for my new E-Production cage. It is already changing some but mostly it will be like this: E-Prod Cage Design Here's the main hoop with rear bracing drawn in: Main Hoop Here are some pictures of a cage I designed and built for an ITA Honda: ITA Honda Cage I will be happy to offer design advice and answer any questions you have. Rick

Born in Kailua, Hawaii Moved to Maui at 2 Moved to Castleton, New York at 5 Moved to Boston, Massachusetts at 18 Basic training in San Antonio, Texas at 21 Tech School in Biloxi, Mississippi at 21 Station at Scott AFB, Belleville, IL at 22 Moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado at 26 Moved to Swansea, IL at 28 Moved to Hazelwood, Missouri at 29 I guess I 'grew up' in Castleton so I'm 1049.49 miles from 'home'.

I have raced using the same tension rods for more than eight years with the aluminum/delrin bushings and never had any sign of failure or fatigue. When I smacked the wall hard the tension rod simply bent to about 90 degrees but no 'snap' and no sign of cracks when I inspected it (before tossing it in the trash).

Worn rings make the piston a bit looser in the cylinder but then the piston can wiggle around. I've had this happen on my of my engines and you can see very uneven wear -- indications of more friction.

Yes. It is pretty much like the manual bender on the page you linked in. I have three sets of dies. I can do 1", 1.5" and 1.75" tubing. Takes a while to get used to the measurements and where to start bending from. My first attempt several years ago took three tries to get a good main hoop. I would love to get the degree wheel option and the hydraulic drive.

No, this bender is of the $500 variety that makes smooth bends with no distortion of the wall. The tubing is drawn around the die through a mandrel block, not simply pressed like the HF hydaulic benders.