I am putting my interior in with a cage.
Here's the work in progress.
It's a S&W kit and built in a buddies garage.




I'll post up more once the seats and dash pad are back in

 

looking good!

 

nicely tucked! that's the first "halo hoop" style that i've seen that i would be happy with. normally the halo sticks down funny and the a-pillar bars attach at an awkward place. i wonder if the halo and a-pillar bars can be purchased from s&w separately from the full kit.

 

Yes they can be purchased separately.
Just call them, they were great to deal with!

I accidentally order the wrong a-pillar bars (the ones that go in front of the dash, not thru).

So I bought the correct bars and they gave me a sweet deal and told me to keep the other bars.
This is chrome moly as well.

Does anyone have pics on how they cut or modified their dash pad to fit the bars through it?
I may wait until spring and take it to an interior upholstery shop, I want it to look really good.

 

are you putting in the rocker bars and the main-hoop-to-tunnel diagonals as well?

 

I'm not sure what you mean by rocker bars ?

I am not putting in the "d-bars" (the bars behind the front seats that go diagonally from the main hoop to the trans tunnel) until I am running 9.99 or quicker.
I am running at a IHRA track, so they arent needed until then

 

"rocker bars" go from the main hoop to the a-pillar bar along the rocker panel

 

I think you only need those for a 25.X cert

Once I put in the d-bars and a window net, I'm good to 8.5

Currently I'm good to 10.0

**Edit**
You only need rocker bars once the stock floor has been removed.

http://www.bluetoad.com/publication/?i=186944&p=1
page 89

 

in the very next paragraph it says "A dash bar and rocker sill bars are mandatory on all entries going 150 mph or faster". 8.50 is normally 160ish...

 

Yah, I'll worry about the dash bar and rocker bar when I get to that ET and MPH.

How has working outside on the chassis been going Matt?

 

lol, it sucks. we are hitting it hard this weekend (both days) and hope to be driving around the block by sunday evening.

 

Really liking this thread. Has anone designed one to keep the security cover at all? I plan on making mine this year and plan to keep the cover

 

you could put the bars forward of the cover, but would probably keep you from keeping the rear seat then.

 

What is a security cover?

Here's more pics




Ran into my first snag with the interior trim. The piece on the rear side of the door (just below the speaker) won't fit!


Any suggestions? I might try and melt the piece so that it fits in place.

 

he's talking about the roll up cover that spans the width of the hatch area. attaches right behind the seats. not all cars got them.

my interior trim pieces there didn't fit either. an unfortunate by-product of putting the main hoop back so far. i cut notches in mine for them to fit around the bar.

 

i had some spares, but i only ruined one. i cut mine vertically and made it two pieces. its dim back there anyway. you can only see it if the sun is shining directly in the hatch or you have a flashlight on it. then it looks like pooh. the skinny piece that clips into the door rail gets a screw, so its held in place, then the seatbelt piece pops into the upper sail panel so its pretty firm back there. no rattles and my car vibrates pretty good.

i ordered an S&W main hoop because ups wont ship tubing over 8ft. it was cheaper that way for me. their main hoop fits tighter than any other pre bent. really had to pull it in with straps to even get it to fit in the car, much less room for a interior panel.

 

The only way to get that in is to cut the panel. My buddy cut his and then took a tube and used fiberglass on the tube to make a imprint so you couldnt see thru the cut part the the body. Turned out really well and looked like the interior panel was moulded that way from the factory

 

Got a pic of that?

 

unfortunately I dont and he sold the car. I will see if he has one somewhere

 

I started with a ssm lift bar set up (ladder bar) .got the car set up..then installed the 9 ".
No TQ arm. Also keep the LCAs. Doing it this way I had to get a 2nd set of bars.. just the bars. When I gave the 7.5 away. It had the best parts you could buy in it/ on it...with broke gears.and liftbars/ladderbars.ya just cant get them to live with any power...weekend to weekend...

 

We do any kind of roll bar, cage, 25.x certified and a full interior if that's what you want.
It's a little tough to keep all of the interior when you run a 33" tire though. (The ones in the pic might be 36", I forget)

 

This is the nexed step im going to. After this last upgrade on my LPE camaro.
but ill buy a roller.or one thats done....will be cheaper. And it saves money for the power plant.
Have my other house iv had for the last 14 years ill sell off for the 2nd hot rod funds....lol dont need to rent it out any more...its just about paid for.

 

I figured it out!
I used a heat gun and melted the trim piece to fit. It's really snug in there!






Almost done!

 

that turned out fantastic!

 

Just the front seats and the console left

 

 

Bump for this thread.

Anyone have pics of how they installed the dash pad around the a-pillar bars for a cage?

 

i dont see arm rest.... full interior???

 

Looks like he may need door panels and pull straps I make both!

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/inte...stom-door.html

 

lots of good ideas in this thread.

i recently did a homemade cage, my first, and was able to make the arm rests clear. but they're low.


the car isnt full interier just showing the arm rests.

 

Don't the door bars have to intersect between the shoulder and your elbow?
They seem too low??
Will that pass?

 

the door bars and harness bar are too low as they sit. this will not pass an NHRA/IHRA tech inspection.

 

Bump!
Anyone have pics of how they cut the dashpad to fit around the a-pillar bar?

 

Did you ever get your cage done? Im getting a s&w 10pt on monday. Would like to see pics of yours all done!

 

Yes the cage is done, except for the dash.
I just can't bring myself to cut the perfect original dash

Some pics here
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/orga...ars-cages.html

What other pics you looking for?

 

Thanks. Didnt see that thread those will work. My chassis guy said to use a very sharp razor blade and only trim a little at a time. Thats the only thing im nervous about turning out nice is cutting the pad.

 

 

Any updates on cutting the dash pad? I am wondering if you can cut a "U" on each side and reinstall the dash pad starting form a diagonal position?

Very nice install, will be using yours as my template.

 

Yes, by cutting a "u", that's seems to be the common practice.
Also seen where a guy put a skin on the dash pad to cover the hole as well.
I haven't cut mine yet.

 

Lb9gta,
When installing the front a pillars did you run into the bars running right thru where your fuse box is attached on the divers side?

I have all the stuff to change from a 8 to a 10 point cage but when looking at the a pillars it looks like the drives side will run right into all the wiring.

Looking to upgrade since I will me well under the 10 mark coming up.

I guess I could just unbolt it and try to pull it over and strap it tight.


Older thread but just thought I would ask.

 

It was a total fluke that everything fit in there.
I disassembled the frame of the fuse box, then put it back together around the a-pillar bar. It fit perfectly, with just a lit bit of grinding.
Sorry, the pics don't show it well, unless I remove the knee-dash pad.

 

LB9GTA
Do you have any more pics of the finished project? im very close to the ET's for needing a roll bar and thinking of going full cage. just not sure how it will look since its a t top car. can you get your tops on and off easily?

 

T-tops come off easy!


What pics do you want specifically?

 

Ziggy89 check out this thread. https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/orga...ars-cages.html

I posted a few pics of mine in it yesterday. T top camaro, full interior, 10 pt. cage

 

looked at the pics the only issue I would have with that is the drivers side hoop bar. looks like its pretty low. how is head clearance? my car still sees plenty of street time.

 

Mine was a daily driver with the cage for over 8 years. In fact was my only car for about 6 of those years. I just pulled it from DD duty 2 years ago.

Head room is perfect. I'm 5'11" and even with my helmet on I still have alittle head room. It's tight with the helmet but not touching.

Without the helmet, it's no prob at all. Plenty of head clearance

My aftermarket seats also sit higher up than stock seats. I think it was 3/4" higher up IIRC

 

I have Kirkey seat and I lowered them to almost sit on the floor.
I also tried to push the seat towards the trans tunnel as much as possible

I have lots of head clearance, even with the helmet on.(I'm 5'11")
Just when I swing my helmet towards the door, I can hit the bar

 

What brand of bar padding are you using there? Looks to be really thin, allowing more headroom, which I am looking for.

 

I'll try to dig up the receipt, but I remember that it was "u" shaped and SFI rated as well.

 

I used this from summit
http://www.summitracing.com/int/part...-212/overview/