Roll Cage

[71Nova]

I just droped my nova off at a fab shop in Orange CA to get a roll cage installed. I could not decide on what I should do for the bars on the side of the doors. I brought it in to get a 6 point but changed it to a 4 point because I could not decide what I wanted. What are you guys running for door bars? The fabricator said that he dosent like pin in bars because if they fail durring an acident they would swing around and do alot of damage to you. He wants to put in the normal cross bar that is popular with drag racing. Is their a style that is better for a road corse type car? Maybe like a low bar tyed to the floor or something. If I figure out what I want by WED I can have it added in this sesion. I don't want it to be to hard to enter and exit the car because I plan on driving it alot. Any sugestions or pictures woud help out alot. Thanks.
David

[rockdogz]

I like the one Steve Chryssos has:

http://www.lateral-g.net/chryssos/splash.jpg

[71Nova]

Thats funny. I was just looking at pictures of his cage about 5 seconds before I saw your reply. I like his cage alot. The only thing is I am not running the halo bar and the front down bars. I don't know if it would work without them. I am a little scared of having bars that close to my head in a colision. If it was a track car only where I would always have a helmet I would defenetly do it similar to his. Tom your car is turning out great. I love the color with the racing stripes. Looks like you had a really good painter.
David

[Steve1968LS2]

You must of left it at Fast Freddies.. he does KILLER work.. not cheap but very very good.. he did my car "back in the day"..

[71Nova]

Your right, that is where the car is. Eddie is working on some killer cars. a couple of old vettes, Studebaker, even a pt cruser with a hemi and 9". He even stocks Detroit speed and engineering minitubs!!! Good to hear you like the work he did for you! His shop rate is also $30 less per hour than the place in Escondido you know about. I hope your dog is feeling better Steve.

[Steve1968LS2]

Your right, that is where the car is. Eddie is working on some killer cars. a couple of old vettes, Studebaker, even a pt cruser with a hemi and 9". He even stocks Detroit speed and engineering minitubs!!! Good to hear you like the work he did for you! His shop rate is also $30 less per hour than the place in Escondido you know about. I hope your dog is feeling better Steve.

Hot Rods and Custom Stuff can't hold a candle to Eddie when it comes to fabbing a roll cage.. Fast Eddies is not a "bling" shop and you will know that the cage will be functional as well as pretty :)

Everyone is cheaper than HRCS.. but they do turn out some nice show cars.

Have fun and be sure to post pics!

[71Nova]

Yea, Hot rods and Custom Stuff was going to make me sign a waivor saying that I know the cage is only for looks. Eddie is alot more serious about the cage being functional. However If I was having a metal center console made, or other cosmetic fabrication, HRACS would most likely be the place to go. I really like some of the cars that come out of there as well.
David

[Rick Dorion]

It's not that hard to get used to getting into a car with door bars. A side impact can kill you so I would go back to a 6 pt. I have the basic side bar from the main hoop to the floor at the front of the door.

[Steve1968LS2]

It's not that hard to get used to getting into a car with door bars. A side impact can kill you so I would go back to a 6 pt. I have the basic side bar from the main hoop to the floor at the front of the door.

plus a 6-point adds a TON of chassis stifness..

I don't mind climbing over my door bars.. but they do make working on the interior a bit more of a pain.

[black2002ls]

I don't personally own a car that has a cage, but have ridden in several that do. They aren't too bad. You get used to getting in and out and learn a way that makes it much less of a hassle. Is there a way to bend the bar? To not have it go straight from the main hoop to the floor. possibly follow the seatback a little toward the floor and then bring it to the floor? Not sure if that would work withouth the halo. Also, like Steve said, if you plan on seeing some corner carving track time, it would help to stiffen things up

[71Nova]

Thanks for your input guys. I am going to call Eddie's on Mon morning and ask him to add the cross bars. Thanks for your help. He is also replacing my driverside floor. I had a surprise when I pulled the carpet out a couple of months ago. A hole in the floor was repaired with a licence plate. You can kind of see it in the picture I attached. The car has no rust any where else on the floor so I wonder what caused the hole. Weird. I got a new stamped floor from Classic Industries.

[Rick Dorion]

plus a 6-point adds a TON of chassis stifness..

I don't mind climbing over my door bars.. but they do make working on the interior a bit more of a pain.
My moment of truth was on the way home after the 8-pt was installed and I went over railroad tracks. SOlid to say the least.

And, yes, working under the dash is a joy :)

[ironworks]

Just out of curiousity, what is HRCS's labor rate. And how can Eddie be $30 less per hour but still not cheap? Man what are these guys charging?

Rodger

[71Nova]

HRCS $95 hour Fast Eddies $65 hour

[Steve Chryssos]

To get into my car, you first out your right foot in, then your head, then your ass. I explain this to people and some still try to get in the normal way. Then I ask if they know their head from their ass. It's a lot of fun.

If you are not getting a-pillar and halo bars, then a bent door bar with a secondary brace back to where the main hoop meets the floor is a good idea. Also consider a "Petty bar" (A diagonal brace that spans the main hoop) allows you to split the horizontal bar which facilitates access to the rear seat area.

As for head to halo contact, you gotta run racing harnesses and you must position the bar high enough to reduce the possibility of head contact. We're building cars that turn corners, so there is a real possibility of sliding sideways into a tree. This doesn't really happen with drag cars. Point is, a properly placed halo--in conjunction with a racing harness and the right seat--will more than likely save you rather than hurt you. If that tree encroaches the roof area, whattya think that tree will do to your head? Bar, or tree, it's a trade-off with similar endgames. In the case of my Camaro, I actually ended up lowering the seat a bit to gain ample clearance.

And yeah, you'll just love the chassis stiffening. It's as good as most suspension mods. It gets rid of that sloppy feeling during transition while the suspension is taking set.

[ottatyme]

For what it's worth, my day job as a project manager for an off-road specialty shop has shown me a few things with regards to cage fabrication, and I'd have ton agree that a fixed side bar is the way to go. A drop-down bar (something that bends or tapers toward the floor board near the cowl) is a great option that will offer both the benefits of stiffening the chassis, ease of entry into the car, and a measure of added safety in the event of a side impact. keeping the bar at around armrest-level, then dropping it down just past the mid-point of the lower seat cushion will provide the protection, and still allow some comfort entering/exiting.
A pinned sidebar sounds great, but is prone to failure... and the irony of being maimed by an item you had installed for safety is horrifying.
For additional stiffening, have you considered a solid body mount? We have milled solid mounts with great results in some of our trucks (elimintaing the crunches and squeaks a caged ride will sometimes offer!), and I'd think that applying this idea on a cornering street car would provide some assitional benefit, assuming you don't mind your fillings rattling around!
I hope this helped somewhat... and you've obviously chosen a great shop to have your cage fabbed... I've heard they do incredible work!

[71Nova]

I called him this morning and asked him to install the door bars. You guys really make it seem worth it to have them. Ottatyme I already instaled aluminum sub frame body mounts. I like the difference they made. The car needed them because if rubber ones were to compress the t56 would hit the trans tunnel.

[syborg tt]

I don't know if it to late but here are the door bars that we did in my project

I know they may not be legal. The bars were added to stiffen the chassis. I also have to consider my wife. If i want to keep her happy you have to make so she can get in and out of it without killing herself. I also plan to drive the truck so it has to be driver & passenger friendly.

http://www.sportmachines.com/albums/p-bcab/2006_03_10_001.jpg


http://www.sportmachines.com/albums/p-bcab/2006_03_10_002.jpg

http://www.sportmachines.com/albums/p-bcab/2006_03_10_020.jpg

[71Nova]

Marty I thought it was to late because I Already had asked him to put in the strait door bars. He called me today and told me that with strait bars I would need to remove the arm rests from the door. Then I asked him to put the curve in the bar and run the bars under the arm rest like yours is. He is also using the bar you have that goes from the middle of the bend to were the main hoop and the floor meet. Thanks alot for your pictures. I always wanted to build a 4.3 TT for a Corvair project.

[71Nova]

PICTURES!! I got her back today!!! They couldn't get the bar that goes from the bend in the door bar to where the main hoop and the floor to meet without hitting the recline knob on the Cobra seats. We decided just to not use the bar. I think it turned out great. I noticed a huge difference in stiffness. The car does not rattle nearly as much as before when going over messed up roads. The floor patch was also done very well. Thanks guys for your input.

[syborg tt]

Cool - glad i could help

ps - the pics look great

Marty I thought it was to late because I Already had asked him to put in the strait door bars. He called me today and told me that with strait bars I would need to remove the arm rests from the door. Then I asked him to put the curve in the bar and run the bars under the arm rest like yours is. He is also using the bar you have that goes from the middle of the bend to were the main hoop and the floor meet. Thanks alot for your pictures. I always wanted to build a 4.3 TT for a Corvair project.

[Steve Chryssos]

Looks great.