73 vega roll cage

[Caveman]

This is our roll cage setup.

[Bacchus]

That's awesome! But why did you move the main hoop so far back? I believe it has to be closer to the driver's head for tech.

[myvega]

I agree. The main hoop is too far rearward and the cross bar is nowhere near how it is supposed to be. Unless the driver is 7ft. tall how are you going to support the seat back? I do tech part time for an IHRA track and I'd have serious reservations about that one. The down tubes from the firewall bar are unique too. I don't see a halo bar. Does it have one? Why isn't the cross bar straight? It is supposed to prevent the main hoop from collapsing upon impact......something yours won't do. Good luck getting it through tech.

[Caveman]

Hi: Bacchuas And MYVEGA

Thanks for looking.

I posted some stuff in project journal that explains part of what's going on.

The two of us that drive the car are six feet two inch's tall and, we are going to use A 4 seats. They recline so that's why we moved it back.

As for the cross bar, that is what came in the kit from Jeg's. With the exception of moving the main hoop back everything is exactly to specifications. The halo bar only comes in the 12 point kit and we only wanted the 8 point kit. We did add a couple of extra things.

We don't have a real high horsepower engine so whatever they will let us run we will run . I think they will let us run to at least 13 seconds, I hope.

I will add one more picture. That will show the rest of it.

John

P. S. I looked it up and, the local track will let me run to 11.50 without a roll bar so, I don't think it will be an issue. we just don,t go faster then 11.50 et on the track.

Any input is welcom.

Thanks

[myvega]

Oh Dude, I thought you were building a 9sec.ride. One question though......Are you sure you didn't swap the cross bar on the main hoop with the firewall bar? The sill bars are a definite plus but I've still never seen an arched cross bar,and, the NHRA and IHRA rule books don't touch on it either. Still, I'm glad to see you're lookin' out for your butt even though you're only runnin' 13s.

[Caveman]

All of the other bars, I bought after the fact. And the kit from Jeg's has the instruction with that bar bent in it.

Plus, I was looking for 11.50 for my et in that car, I hope.

John

[Bacchus]

Man, I know it's tight in there. You are a full 5" taller than me. But that main hoop is at least 8" further back than mine. Maybe 10".

[Caveman]

It's about 6 and 1/2 inch's back. For racing I will brace the seat back.
I will be driving the car on the street too.

John

[Bacchus]

It's not 6.5" back from where mine is. I don't know how you would have measured that?

[Caveman]

The measurements are 6.5 from the edge of the B pillar to the edge of the bar. You are correct if center to center. I realy can't see your bar.

[myvega]

I can't think of one good reason why the cross bar would be arched. It makes no sense at all. Maybe Dreamweaver Dave can chime in here.

[Sirshredalot]

Hey guys....Im not trying to hijack this thread or anything but I did have a question or two.

1. What kinda of welder did you guys use to do your cages with?
Did you use shielding gas or can it be done without the gas?

2. Im trying to save the picture of that cage to my computer so I can look at it when i start mine...but it wont save it in a format that I can view.
How can I do that?

God bless
-Shred

PS: Its just my opinion but those welds look pretty good from where Im standing, nice fab job on the mounting plates too.
Are there no subframe connectors or do those sill bars connect the front and rear halfs of the car?

[Caveman]

Hi: Sirshredalot

Thanks for your reply. To answer your question, I use a Lincoln 175 MIG welder. You can get it at any Low's or Home Depot. Yes, I did use shielding gas. I think you can do it without gas but you would use the flux core wire.

The second question I can't answer. I would be willing to send you a couple of pictures if you send me your email address in a private message.

Understand, that I did some things that would not be correct if you are going to take your car to the track and run fast times.
To start with, I moved the center roll bar back. This is so I can recline the seat. I would say that the other people that posted on this strings, are correct. You would want the center bar over your head and you should get the rule book for your local track for the setup. Plus, getting info from people that have passed tech inspection is very helpful. I only plan to go to the track once or twice so, if they let it pass, I will probably have to stay over a specific time. In my case, I think the car should be able to do an 11.30 quarter mile on motor but my track wants a roll bar for 11.49 or quicker. With that said, I probably wont be able to go faster then that on the track.

Thanks for the compliment on the welds. Yes, I did sill bars instead of sub frame connectors.

John

[NixVegaGT]

Thanks for being so open with your process. It really helps strengthen the group as a whole. Did you fabricate the mounting plates for the tube? Or did they come that way from Jegs...

[Caveman]

Thanks for your reply NixVegaGT

The roll cage came with six inch by six inch flat plates total of six. I think it should have came with eight because, I ordered an eight point cage. My friend that owns the car went to a local metal shop and picked up a plate of sheet metal of the same gauge. We cut some more six by six plates for the bars that came with the kit and for the other bars that we added. Any thing that you see that is bent, we did it our self's. The two bars that go over the shocks, are the only ones that used the plates out of the box.

Any other questions please let me know.

Thanks again!