Another Hybrid Cage Build

Last fall, I decided that I was either going to ditch my exo cage or turn it into a hybrid cage. I liked having the exo, but the only down side was the added weight. Since it was my first cage too, I decided I didn't like the D-pillar on it, but fixing that meant reworking a bunch of other things too. So I took on converting my full exo to a Hybrid cage this winter.

My hope was to build a solid basic cage using my existing top halo, but to make it stiffer, tighter and lighten it up a bit. I also wanted to make it removable, mostly for the sake of repairng things later.

Here's what my cage looked like.


Fortunately I originally made it removable too, so pulling the top portion off was pretty easy.



I cut it up and pulled off all of the exterior parts.

First order was to change how the top halo mounted. I had been using some gutter mounts (to be redundant), but the "sleeve" design was a pain to get the mount parts in and out. I switched to some JCR mounts and welded them up to the existing halo cross members. There are a total of six of them (B, C, D pillars)


Plus, with having the top halo mounted first, it was easier to connect things to it.

As I said, I wanted to make the cage "bolt in." I decided to use 4"x4" x 3/16" thick plates on the roof tube mounts. Each connection has a plate above and below the sheet metal for a "sandwich." (The floor plates are 4"x5") I used 3/8" grade 8 hardware with lock nuts everywhere.


I have decided to leave out an internal D pillar. My main concern is the the passenger compartment. For the C pillar, I mounted plates to the two rear wheel wells (using the sandwich) and welded in a straight spreader bar near the floor. I still use the Jeep to haul stuff, so I did not want to invade the cargo compartment too much. I ran the C pillar straight up to connect with the halo (via the 4"x4" plate sandwich previously mentioned).


For the B pillar verticals, I bent the tubes so they would connect to my existing B pillar halo. I had to trim some of the stock sheet metal supports to fit my plate in. Here is a shot of the roof side mount:


Here is the floor mount which is the 4"x5" plate:


There is sandwich plate on the other side of the floor as well, and a tube that goes between the plate and a horizontal tube that connects between my sliders and plated frame rails.


I put in a spreader bar between the two B pillars. Since the picture was taken, it has been welded in and I added a 90 degree gusset on the top side.

The A pillar was a little more interesting. I looked at tying it into my sliders, but they were too short and I could figure a clean way to add to them. I had seen in another build thread someone who put the mounts on the fender wall. I decided to go that route.

I started with a piece of 3/16" plate that I stitch welded to the sheet metal. I beveled the edges to make it easier to weld up without burning through. I had to be careful too on the passenger side due to the fuse panel. I also bolted the plates to the fender well. I was able to get a 1/8" backing plate on the driver's side upper two bolts, but there just wasn't room on the passenger side. I added a piece straight out from the plate, and then another one 90 degrees to that so I had a vertical tube. I welded the 2 bolt flanges on there to keep things removable. What you can;t see here, is that I did sleeve the joint to reduce any shear there. There is a piece of 1.5" tube plug welded into the lower mount part.


From there I bent and welded in the A pillar and gusseted it between that and the halo.


I had hoped to put in a spreader between the A pillars just below the windshield, but I am out of tube. Overall, where I am at right now will work as a basic cage. At some point I may add that spreader, and some triangulation to the top halo.

This past weekend I cleaned up the interior welds and got the headliner back in. That was a PITA. I'll get some more pics of that up soon. I'll also put more pics up once I get things cleaned up and painted.

I am in the process of finishing my homebrew fiberglass "baja" fenders, but I will leave that for another thread...

Lookin good so far. Is yours going to look similars to Ericsxj's?

Oh a few other notes I forgot to add:
The A and B pillars are 1.75" x .12" wall DOM tubing. Everything else is 1.75"x.12 wall HREW tubing.
I used my Hobart 140 flux core to do all of the welding and my Speedway Motors bender.

twodoorXJ said:

Lookin good so far. Is yours going to look similars to Ericsxj's?

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Similar. I looked at a few different rigs for ideas. Eric's and JohnD's were the two I seemed to look at most.

Did that bender do ok or should I spring a little extra for one of JD2 Benders?

lowrange2 said:

Did that bender do ok or should I spring a little extra for one of JD2 Benders?

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Worked great for me, but I needed something that was portable (I've had it for several years). Since I have gotten into this kind of stuff I have been renting garages, so I couldn't bolt anything down to the floor. I don't do a ton of bending either. Downside is that the radius is larger and can only do 90 degrees. It's a little funky setting bends up, but I have been able to duplicate stuff by just making sure I write down the details.

I think most people will tell you that if you have the money and the right space, the JD2 will be better. Like I said though, it works great for me and my situation.

Cool, thanks. I don't have a garage either. I have a large tree in the back yard. I usually work on my Jeep with it sitting on the trailer.

thinking about doing a cage myself. Will be all internal (having a snorkel cant do the hybrid.

When you say you right down the details of a bend, what do you mean exactly?

jdbwrx said:

There is sandwich plate on the other side of the floor as well, and a tube that goes between the plate and a horizontal tube that connects between my sliders and plated frame rails.

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This is one part I plan to add to mine in the near future.

I lost track as I was going through, I think you said you are still using the gutter rail mounts. Why, just curious.

Looks nice!

kmanxj5050 said:

When you say you right down the details of a bend, what do you mean exactly?

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Just notes on where the tube is measured to start the bend, the degrees bent, accounting for some spring back, etc. Just remebering what I did one side so I could make the mirror for the other side.

JohnD, yes I am using gutter mounts. For one, it was way easier to get the top halo set where I wanted it and work from there. With the gutter mounts, I knew the halo would not be moving while I was messing with everything else. Also, it's just some redundancy on connection points. I figuring since the cage doesn't have a crazy amount of triangulation, a few more connection points to the Jeep aren't gonna hurt. I might still add some connectors fromt he B pillar tubes to the seat belt mounts too.

I tied the B-pillar to the seatbelt mounts too, I figured without a lot of triangulation it was necessary to do.

Nice work. Pretty much what I want to do with my XJ sometime down the road.

I'm gonna call the cage done for now. I'll have to get some outside pics, but here's a few after I threw some paint on it. Getting the headliner back in sucked!

Nice. You've given me a couple of ideas for some additional work on mine.

I like hybrid cages, a lot.
Yours is the first I've seen with a removable top - well done!

kndrewa said:

I like hybrid cages, a lot.
Yours is the first I've seen with a removable top - well done!

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..Word.. :thumbup:
looks great

Guess I forgot to post some nicer completed pics, so here's an action shot:



I also tweaked the inner B pillar cross bar so I can fit the kiddo's seat in the back too.

I may be over exaggerating a little here so take it as so.

Do you think that tweaking the harness bar the way you did would make it weaker? Assuming that it did make it weaker would it not collapse in a HARD side roll? Wouldn't you be concerned that your child's head would be in the direct path of both the halves of the harness bar?

Now, it may take a t-bone from a Semi to make that happen but I couldn't help but envision that.

Otherwise, it looks much better now! Certainly my favorite style of cage.

Love this cage! Definitely going to copy some things when i do mine.

Why'd you make it removable?