Some cage progress shots

[C-ROK]

Got a chance to get some progress on the cage.
The front half of the halo is in, interior B pillars and Chevrons, long front As and lower As.

Should have most of the occupant compartment work done soon.

 

[ashmanjeepxj]

The un-bent vertical B-hoop sides look kinda strange with the front being wider. Its nice and narrow at the b-hoop though and strong.

Why are you making the lower A-pillars bolt on?

 

[XJEEPER]

The un-bent vertical B-hoop sides look kinda strange with the front being wider. Its nice and narrow at the b-hoop though and strong.

Why are you making the lower A-pillars bolt on?

Gotta be so he can unbolt the entire cage and powdercoat it red metal flake.......

 

[Beezil]

greg......FYI.

and maybe you know this already.

first hand experience while trying to find adequate structure during the 4-link project has shown the trans/driveshaft tunnel to be terrible WEAK!

since you won't be able to send energy through the tubes into the tunnel area to be absorbed by anything else, do not rely on that point to provide any strength/energy absorbtion what-so-ever.

I suggest that you reconsider terminating those tubes in those locations.

good luck with the project

 

[Starboard M]

Gotta be so he can unbolt the entire cage and powdercoat it red metal flake.......

Would there be any other way? Like Beezil said, I wouldn't trust my life with that tranny hump. I would go to 'frame' or something a bit more sturdy.
Just my .02

 

[Beezil]

Would there be any other way? Like Beezil said, I wouldn't trust my life with that tranny hump. I would go to 'frame' or something a bit more sturdy.
Just my .02

well, you can tell by the rest of the cage that he's not trusting his life to that point....I just don't think its worth using that location

 

[C-ROK]

greg......FYI.

and maybe you know this already.

first hand experience while trying to find adequate structure during the 4-link project has shown the trans/driveshaft tunnel to be terrible WEAK!

since you won't be able to send energy through the tubes into the tunnel area to be absorbed by anything else, do not rely on that point to provide any strength/energy absorbtion what-so-ever.

I suggest that you reconsider terminating those tubes in those locations.

good luck with the project

Beez,
Good input. I didn't know it was that weak and had assumed because of the stamped curvature that it would actualy be pretty strong.
What is not there yet though is my mounting base for those pillars. I am going to form some 1/8" stock over the hump that those pillar base flanges will actualy bolt to. The formed stock will also be bolted through the floor pan and should give a total square mounting area of about 100" (5"x20").

Thoughts?

I obviously can't maintain the openess the Chevrons afford and terminate them at the frame; unless I severely tighten up the angle to the point where they probably wouldn't even provide much lateral.
I have got a tranny cross member under there somewhere though............

Ash,
I think the photo is giving a little optical illusion. The rear portion of the halo does not turn in (and down) untill after the B pillar intersection. The front halo bends are an even 90. It's the same width at the Bs as the width over the windshield frame.
The lower As are bolted on to make it easier to remove and also since the exterior parts of the cage usually take more rock abuse, this makes them easier to remove and replace.
I'll also have some similar runners coming from the rear of the rocker up to mid point on the Bs just for body protection and some more from the Ds to the rear bumper to protect the tailights.

and uhh, no powder coated metalic red, I'll be lucky if I can just keep it "metalic" for the next few months.

 

[Beezil]

yeah, if you add more steel to that area it would certainly help, and yes, the shape makes for some solid geometry, however, the metal there is so thin, once its compromised, its all over. There is only one thickness of.....what is it????like 20 ga. or something cheesy.......

the area needs help........see to it.

oh yeah, have fun welding your 1/8th material there! holy crap....this will test your dissimilar gauge welding skills. but you know you don't need long beads......stitch it in there.

 

[C-ROK]

oh yeah, have fun welding your 1/8th material there! holy crap....this will test your dissimilar gauge welding skills. but you know you don't need long beads......stitch it in there.

Well I was actually planning on bolting it in but maybe welding it isn't such a bad idea. Forming to match the contour well enough to get a tolerable gap to weld though might be too much to ask.
Welding the edge of an 1/8" plate to a flat surface of 0.050" or so though...... eeeaaasssssy stuff Com'on dude. This is not your mother with the MIG here

Welding the 150+ linear inches of my rear fenderwells was far and away, the most frustrating and difficult part of my whole project. The thickness of the side panels is closer to 0.040" and it was edge to edge stuff there. Waaay more difficult to control the heat on. But it did teach me how to get pretty Ok at it.
Where I capped the pillar openings where the roof was cut off was almost picture worthy.

When this is all done I'll have a total of 16 tie points (8 in cab, 8 out) from the cage to the body, bumpers and rockers. There will also be an X brace behind the rear seat (C pillar to pillar).
Understanding that some of those points won't be ideal standing alone, it will result in helping to distribute impact forces over a greater total area.

 

[ashmanjeepxj]

Im working on my 4-link right now, I cut out most of my trany tunnel up to the back of the seats. And the floor is really thin.
Its hard to cut with the sawzall its so thin and flimsey. Sheet metal.

If I was you I would Notch out some of the floor and make a hoop that is flush with the top of the hump, then goes down to the middle of your frame rails. It would be less then a 90 degree bend. My drive shaft when all the way up has about 2in between it and the floor at this hump so your hoop could be fairly low and not kill foot room...

 

[AJsArmor]

Just started on my cage this weekend and what I'm doing might be something to consider. I'm running a horizontal tube between the bottom of the b-pillars, about 1" off the floor and right up and over the trans tunnel. There will also be a lower horizontal bar from the A and B pillars which will give me the spot I need to run another horizontal bar up and over the trans tunnel. This will be located towards the front of the seat, giving me a really good spot to mount some racing seats. I'll try and get some pics once it's tacked back in.

The dash on mine is going to be fun, can't decide if I want to just scrap the whole thing or modify it because I refuse to stick those A-pillar tubes in front of it.