First off i will be putting a 10pt. cage in my car in teh next week or so...... Does anybody have plans on how to make one? And what are all the rules for our cars? If somebody has them if they could please email or post them here. The reason i'm not buying a kit is due to the fact that i want one made out of chrome moly to save weight but nobody has them. (or that i've seen) thanks

Josh

 

my personal opinion is.... if you have to ask, you shouldnt be the one making it.

 

i know i can buy the NHRA book and get the rules...... I was just trying to save $50..... and just because i can't find a chrome moly kit doesn't mean i don't know what i'm doing

 

An NHRA rule book is $10. You should buy it for reference, but there should be a few guys on here that have done it before and can help you out.

Also, you could look at some kits and see what they look like and then make your own. Good luck.

 

Definately spend the 10 bucks for the NHRA rulebook. I would also ask at the local speed shops which shop install cages in your area. They have to be installed correctly or it won't pass tech inspection.

 

http://www.nhra.com/contacts/tech_faq.html

that page has some diagrams on it about half way down that show the rollbar specs..... i couldnt find one for just the cage, but the rollbar specs are part of the cage specs if that helps..

 

my recommendation is to buy the precut, pre-measured kit from S&W racecars. they usually have rollbar madness during october.

 

hope your good at tig if your gonna make a moly cage

 

S&W offers moly or mild steel, and yes moly = tig, mild = mig (someguys tig mild too but you dont have to).

Im going mild, that way if something needs to be attached to the cage in the interim I only need a mig to do it. sure its heavier. I am lightening the car considerably but Im barely removing any interior and it will still be full power everything.

I hoping to make her as light as possible then if I need to mix it up "there" where traction is limited (I aint saying where "there" is ). I can throw some wieght in the box and suddenly I can be Capt. Hook "there" too

 

Get a mild steel cage. The difference in weight between the 2 might be 20 pounds. My 6 point 1 3/4" roll bar is 70 pounds installed. My 12 point 1 5/8" roll cage had a shipping weight of 120 pounds. Since most of the bars will be cut to length, the weight will be decreased when it's finally installed.

You don't want to "make" your own unless you spend a lot more than you already want to.

You'll need a MIG welder or a TIG welder if it's made from CM.

You'll need a madrel tubing bender. Not those cheap bow and arrow type pipe benders.

You'll need a chop saw and a tubing notcher. You can get away a bit cheaper by using a hacksaw and a grinder but it will take you hours to do what the proper power tools will do in minutes.

A large enough place to lay it all out on the floor to calculate the angles.

The NHRA rules for 2004 will be that all T-top cars running 10.99 and quicker will need a full cage. All cars need a 6 point roll bar at 11.99 and quicker however hardtop cars that have unmodified floor and firewall can use the 6 point bar to 10.00.

You can buy a CM cage from any place that sells the cage kits. S&W, Jegs, Chassisengineering etc all sell MS and CM cage kits. I purchased a Jegs 12 point MS cage. It's not a 100% direct fit and I don't think any of them really are. The bars that are supposed to be bent, already are. The main tubes have been notched at one end. All the tubes must be cut to length depending on the exact location you wish to mount them at. The rules don't give precise locations because of the hundreds of different cars out there.

The cost of the cage is cheap. It's the installation that's expensive because of how much time it takes. A rough estimate for cost is $100 per point. If you still have full interior it will cost even more. Add in extra gusseting and brackets and the price goes up more.

If you get a CM cage and want to weld a bracket onto it like something to hold a tach, it must be welded on with TIG. As soon as a CM cage has been welded with MIG, it's automatically rejected.

The rulebook is only $10 but wait for the 2004 book. There's a bunch of changes for cages in the fast cars but I'm not sure if there's any changes for the general installation rules. I'm not expecting any changes.

This is the type of tubing bender you need. These are the cheap ones. http://www.blindchickenracing.com/to...bingbender.htm

You can also buy a new one http://www.speedwaymotors.com/produc...No=1&redirect=

 

I built my own custom cage from chrome-moly steel. The actual weight savings is almost exactly 30% over mild steel (1 5/8 x .083 CM vs. 1 5/8 x .120 MS). If your total cage weight is 120 lbs in MS, then it would only be 84 lbs in CM (a 36 lb. weight savings). The other advantage is that it is more easier to cut, grind, fishmouth, etc because of the thinner wall thickness. You MUST have a TIG welder to assemble it though (with the correct filler rod) to put a NHRA legal CM cage together. You also need a very good tubing bender for CM also, because thin, high strength steel kinks much easier than the thicker, softer MS. I used the tubing bender from Pro Tools with excellent results. The slight cost increase of CM over MS tubing to me is well worth the added cost, as long as you have access to a TIG welder, a very good bender, and have the experience/training (or someone who does) in welding with this combination.

MCM