travisk
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Fullerton, CA
Not just any fool can build a hybrid exo cage on his XJ, so I hired my friend Kalil to help me build one. He's new to Jeeps, but he's fabbed some really nice cages for his Ranger bros. Surely nothing can go wrong.
This design is definitely a compromise between added passenger safety and protecting the unibody in a low-speed flop.
Here it is, in pics:
I picked up seven 22' sticks of 1.75" .120 wall DOM tubing for $2.60 per foot. i'm pretty sure we won't use 154 feet of tubing, but better safe than sorry.
First I spent a few hours stripping out the carpet, plastic pieces, seats, center console, headliner and front fenders. This is the part where you realize how insignificant the amount sheet metal is protecting your head in a Cherokee.
Kalil started on the halo. There are 4 bends up front. Bending an 18' tube indoors was a challenge. We had to move a lot of things around the shop and flip the bender around a few times to get it done.
The halo came out pretty good, but we ended up cutting it and slugging it up front to get the width and shape exactly how I wanted it.
I'm told slugging can be just as strong as keeping the piece whole, so I'm not too worried about it.
Four bends in each of the three spreaders.
It took a while to get the notches in each of the spreaders just right.
Running a 2" hole saw through layers of sheet metal with a high-torque drill was good way to almost break my arms. No turning back now.
Lots and lots of notching.
Getting the fit right takes a while.
Getting the cage to hug the roof fairly tightly is a priority for me.
Kalil tacking in the spreaders.
B and C pillars are set in place.
The B pillars hit 6" plates at the floor, which will bolt through to plates underneath that will be supported by a very short tube to the rock slider support, which is welded to my frame stiffeners.
Continued...
This design is definitely a compromise between added passenger safety and protecting the unibody in a low-speed flop.
Here it is, in pics:
I picked up seven 22' sticks of 1.75" .120 wall DOM tubing for $2.60 per foot. i'm pretty sure we won't use 154 feet of tubing, but better safe than sorry.
First I spent a few hours stripping out the carpet, plastic pieces, seats, center console, headliner and front fenders. This is the part where you realize how insignificant the amount sheet metal is protecting your head in a Cherokee.
Kalil started on the halo. There are 4 bends up front. Bending an 18' tube indoors was a challenge. We had to move a lot of things around the shop and flip the bender around a few times to get it done.
The halo came out pretty good, but we ended up cutting it and slugging it up front to get the width and shape exactly how I wanted it.
I'm told slugging can be just as strong as keeping the piece whole, so I'm not too worried about it.
Four bends in each of the three spreaders.
It took a while to get the notches in each of the spreaders just right.
Running a 2" hole saw through layers of sheet metal with a high-torque drill was good way to almost break my arms. No turning back now.
Lots and lots of notching.
Getting the fit right takes a while.
Getting the cage to hug the roof fairly tightly is a priority for me.
Kalil tacking in the spreaders.
B and C pillars are set in place.
The B pillars hit 6" plates at the floor, which will bolt through to plates underneath that will be supported by a very short tube to the rock slider support, which is welded to my frame stiffeners.
Continued...
Last edited:
How you going to tie in the A pillars? This is exactly what I'm looking at doing. I'll start with a 2x5 or 2x6 rocker replacement to have landing spot for the A pillar. Erics XJ style. Oh, when you do the A pillar, make sure to leave room to change a windshield. 
