'Afternoon...

After some serious issues with a local "shop" that was going to be making me a 10 point custom cage for my '06 SFWD car, I have decided to utilize a pre-fab'd S&W 10-point cage kit sold from Charles @ Safe Drives (http://www.safedrives.com). I figured that since so many people on this board want to see pictures of the installation and fitment of this product, that I'd make a thread detailing my experience with the kit.

The chassis begins with my 1993 Civic EX Coupe. I plan to aim for 10.0 ET's, and 150 mph trap speeds, so a 10-point cage is the minimum requirement. I upgraded the normally mild-steel kit to chromoly for weight savings. A common misconception that people have is that the chromoly itself is lighter than mild; and this is not true. The fact of the matter is simply that the chromoly is a stronger metal, thus NHRA's requirement of tubing thickness is decreased. The only downside to the chromoly is that it is more expensive and must be TIG welded (for newbies, of course!).

My kit was shipped today, so I should have pictures of the cage prior to installation on Friday. I will document the process as I go.

Before I begin, does anyone have any pointers when fitting a cage and tacking it up? We will be using my Miller 180SD TIG for the project. My concern is getting nice welds all around the tubing in the hardest of places to reach. What do most of you do? I think what I plan on doing is using a 2 inch holesaw, cutting through the floor, jacking the car way up, and letting the cage "fall" through the floor so that the welds are accessible from the top. Is this the method that most of you on here use?

Thanks for any input you may have, and stay tuned...!

- Louis

 

make sure you have plenty of argon and if you don't have a cup, get one.

 

I have the largest tank possible (at the local vender) of pure Argon set to about 25. When you say, cup, do you mean gas cup (pink) on the end of the collett body?

 

I usually use a #8 gas lens with a 3/32 red tungsten on chromoly. Using a 17 torch can be kind of a pain in tight areas cause its big, but if you can afford a water cooler and a 20 series torch it makes it quite a bit easier.

 

Just got word from my girlfriend that the cage has just arrived. She said it is dirty as HELL (not that it matters) and that the packaging is shotty at best.

I'll have some pictures up soon!

- Louis

 

Thanks for sharing this. I'm about to buy the same kit (only in mild steel), and I was curious about the fitment. Did you buy the "through the dash" or "over the dash" kit?

Good luck with the install,

Soroush

 

Great info, I too need a cage in my 95 Coupe. So thanks for the info and pics when they come....

 

The kit I bought goes around the dash, which is exactly what I wanted (I didn't know it went around the dash when I ordered it).

Fitment of at least the main hoop looks to be ***** on perfect. A local shop once told me "You buy a pre-bent cage and the fitment sucks, you spend over $2000 with me, and it'll be much closer to the car"... Well, for $4and change, I don't see anyone getting much closer to the vehicle than this kit.

Pictures will be posted in about 10 minutes of the pieces and main hoop fitment.

 

As for being dirty...its chrome-moly and big chassis shops like S&W buy it buy the 'tons", so it sits on the shelves for awhile. I have never recieved "clean" 4130 from any chassis shop.
Your idea of cutting holes in the floor is probably your best bet. You'll get used to running the pedal with your foot, side of ur knee, underside of your leg, etc. Sometimes you just gotta make it work with what ya got. All in all, it will be great experience.
Good Luck!
Kyle

 

Thanks!

On with the pictures...

All of the pieces (came with good instructions, too)


Main hoop, sits closer to roof and pillars then it looks in pictures, it'll be tight with headliner and plastics back in


Toit like Tiger, can I paint his Yoohoo Golllddd?


Not cage related, but bodywork related... how many of your girlfriends will get their hands dirty with you 5-6 times a week? (She's obviously a car nut, drives a DOHC VTEC boosted del Sol, and an '06 STi
)

That's all for now, lots more pictures to come this weekend when I start tacking it up!

- Louis

 

The fastest and cheapest way is to drill 2 holes slightly larger then the circumference of the cage and have it drop/tilt. This should give you enough room to completely weld all the way around the a-pillar and b pillar section. Make sure it is shaped correctly and give it a few good tack to hold it in place, so when you put it back up, all you do is finish up on welding and weld the plates over where the holes are. If you have time and money, remove all glass and chop off the roof, but the holes will work. Post pictures when your done!

 

Why not save yourself a huge headache and use a mig?

 

From what I understand, you can't MIG chromoly. Besides, I'm a perfectionist, so I want it to look pretty when it's all said and done.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by discrete &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Why not save yourself a huge headache and use a mig?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I wouldn't want to mig a cage, after some discussion with a few buddies, mig welding a cage is a no no... Also migging CM is a big no no as well. Tig welding or oxy acetylene welding a cage is preferred because you are melting both base metal and adding filler to it.. NO COLD SPOT. Mig, you can't see where the cold spot is (which is the weak point of the weld) and you can't see if there is any air trapped inside the weld or contaminations. For increased safety, tig welding is the way to go.

 

Looking forward to this writeup.

 

Thanks for the pictures.

And one more question, what is the option for "around the dash" called. On their website, they have a "front end triangulation" choice. I'm not sure what this is, but they want an extra $120 for mild steel.

Good luck with the install,

Soroush

 

I believe the front-end triangulation would connect the front window pillar bars through the firewall, to the "frame" of the car. I might be wrong, but that would turn the 10-point into a 14-point cage, and would send you into a different class under NHRA reg's.

For the "around the dash" fitment, I simply ordered the run of the mill 10-point from Charles @ Safe Drives, and this is what showed up. Contact the user "Safe Drives" on here for this kit. Excellent customer service, and the cage showed up within one week.

 

Can't say I've ever seen a girl sanding with makeup on and nails done.

 

That's my baby! She may even be driving the car at some of the events

 

Hi All,

Charles here from http://www.safedrives.com. We supplied the kit for this install as HybridKOOP so kindly pointed out above.

I thought that I should point out that the S&W catalog does not show that most of the Honda kits have a through the dash option. We can supply a TD kit for any car but it might go through the dash at an awkward place requireing relocation of something. You just have to ask for that option and it's a free option.

Check out the S&W cage options here http://www.safedrives.com/products.asp?cat=72 They start at $169 for a basic NHRA legal kit + shipping.

This is the kit that HybridKOOP ordered.

S&W 10 point cage kit.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

 

Is the cage pre-notched? Looks great

 

About half of the kit comes pre-notched, the other half you need to notch yourself after a little bit of fitment.

Tonight I cleaned all of the pipes with lacquer thinner, then began sanding them. They clean up REAL nice. Almost a dull shine with a gunmetal color, looks sweet as is... I may not want to paint the cage when it's done!

If this post doesn't make sense, it's because I am LITERALLY high from gas fumes. I just dropped the gas tank out of the car to prepare for welding and I think I inhaled way too much. Holy shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.

 

Don't you have to heat treat chro-mo after welding?

 

sweet cage! got mine from safedrives too (just an autopower 4 pt though).

wish I could get my woman into cars

 

Dude youre girlfriend is awesome