Here are some photos of my cage and window net area:http://users.adelphia.net/~johnthawley/ The attached PDF is my half-assed doodling of the window net situation.

I'm trying to come up with some sort of linkage system for the lower edge of
the net that will move it out of my way when its released, yet still keep
the fixed pivot point near my head for ease of fastening it while strapped
in on the grid. The other deal is, I want the lower edge to move outboard,
toward the door skin, when attached (for the most elbow room) and inboard,
toward the seat when released to clear the NASCAR door-bar and fall all the
way down with the top bar.

The appropriate mechanical linkage is not presenting itself to me. A lot of
guys use cable or nylon webbing, but in my case that either allows the net
to stretch too far inboard when attached OR prevents the entire net from
falling down all the way when released.

Any thoughts?

PS: Hit refresh on your browser if the full sized images don't come up the first time.

 

John, am I being a simpleton in thinking that if you had a dowel mounted at 90° wrt the door bar and the top mounts positioned where your clamps are, it will always fall inward when released (provided it doesn't come off your shoulder rest/shoulder on the way down but that looks low enough to not have that happen). If you space it so there is just enough room for some SFI padding to slide under it (the dowel) you'll likely never hit it w/ a foot getting out - or only do so insignificantly. Otherwise, position it lower wrt the door bar and just end the padding butted up to it (but that might change how it falls).

A couple guys I know used a spherical end on the top dowel and attached how yours looks to attach (w/ a hitch pin on the outside - would be on the inside in your case if I understand your picture correctly) so that the bar falls down from the front but remains hinged at the rear. I think w/ a large enough opening it is ok but if not, it might make it much more cumbersome to get out of the car.

So if you combined those two, but maybe angled your eyes on the door bar away from the driver and mounted your top mounts so their angle would be on the same plane when the net's stretched flat, would that not give you the most elbow room down below but still let it fall inboard when released? Personally at that point, I'd prefer the rear to be unfixed as well as the front but I don't know your space and egress concerns.

 

mmm john id be more worried about the car missing a roof

 

You have a very serious build. M&R can make most any size and shape you need. We put a pair of plates w/holes on the upper door tube and used their supplied 3/8" rod and clips for the bottom. The upper mount is pretty much as seen on most race cars these days with the rear anchor on the main hoop at the door jam and the front one on the halo NASCAR style. Pictures-e-mail. Just a setup to share.

 

Oh that is below the belt Casey!

John, is that thing still not fixed!?! You better bust a move if you plan on making the August crossover!

 

Only suggestion I can think of is to use 2 of the pivots (like your using on top). The one you use on the lower edge has to be limited to pivoting in one axis (so a spherical won't work) so that you can weld the base of it to the cage at an angle and kick out the forward most bottom edge towards the door skin. Hopefully when that lower bar drops down it won't be in the way of your ingress/egress.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jpl95si &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Only suggestion I can think of is to use 2 of the pivots (like your using on top). The one you use on the lower edge has to be limited to pivoting in one axis (so a spherical won't work) so that you can weld the base of it to the cage at an angle and kick out the forward most bottom edge towards the door. Hopefully when that lower bar drops down it won't be in the way of your ingress/egress.</TD></TR></TABLE>
That's kind of what i was thinking. But the geometry has me baffled. I guess I'm just going to have to make a bunch of different cardboard puppets and play around with them. I was hoping someone smarter than me had already figured it out. But they are probably also smart enough not to care...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by eLusive ek4 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">mmm john id be more worried about the car missing a roof</TD></TR></TABLE>

the roof is one thing

it' the doors and winsheild I'd be woried about

 

Jeez, you guys are sweatin' the easy stuff. The doors go on with four bolts each, the glass goes in with two calking tubes of urethane rubber, and the roof goes on with a few rosette welds from my new Lincoln MIG welder.

The hard part is deciding whether to use "don't ever screw with it again" epoxy paint for the interior or Home Depot Industial Enamel so I can continually mess with battery locations, fuel cells, ballast, radio mounts, video mounts and 3rd & 4th generation window net mechanisms. Then there's the color to think about....

We photographers can be a picky lot.

 

Mig thawley !!! come on! i thought you would be tiggin away by now!

I still don't have my car yet damn transport company's and oh the cage looks very nice

 

is it just me or are you rocking the gangsta lean on the seats ?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by stormy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">is it just me or are you rocking the gangsta lean on the seats ?</TD></TR></TABLE>
That's to get my head back closer to the sub-woofs, dude.

And to fit my 6'4" unit (plus helmet) under the cage without having to lower the floorpan.