I spoke with Kirk racing on the phone a couple of days ago, and it looks like they are going to be able to provide me with all of the pre-cut, pre-bent, pre-measured, pre-notched parts that I wanted. Certain accessories like the NASCAR style door bars will be pretty easy to install because the welds are easy to get to. However, things like the main hoop supports and halo are a different story, and I have heard that many cage builders have to work "magic" to get these welds strong and clean. So here's my question...

Kirk offers a bolt-in cage and a weld-in cage. The difference is that the weld-in cage comes cut and notched and you have to weld everything. How difficult is that welding for someone who has pretty good welding experience (builds bikes and such, and no it's not me)? Things like door bars and cross braces are no problem, but I'm wondering if I shouldn't get the bolt-in cage to eliminate the need for welding the halo and main supports. Either way, the joints will be welded and the feet will be enlarged and welded to the various contact points. The price difference is no big deal.

 

i've talked to the guy that's building/designing my cage and he stated that he'll probably cut out a section of the floorboard where the main hoop attaches. That way, he can drop down the halo and weld everything. Once the top sections are done, weld/ reinforce the area around the attachment points.

yshi - who requested that his cage be tucked up against the body as close as possible.

 

a method i like and have heard of is where you position the A pillars to where you want and tack it to the halo which hasn't yet been attached to the main hoop. you then tilt the halo and A pillar assembly, so you can reach the section of the cage which is normally inaccessable. and after that is completed, proceed with welding the halo to the main hoop.

 

What he said. Drill holes in the floor with a holesaw. Once the rest is finished, do the floorplates. Another option is to just have the verticle tubes shorter. Once the other welding is done, put perches under the tubes. Doing the floorplates is probably a lot easier.

 

I've also seen holes cut in the roof to access the top welds on the main hoop. Either way, you're cutting holes.

 

you don't think the tilt method would work?

 

Taking out the glass really helps getting the gun into the tight spots too.

I could see doing the front bars/halo & then tilting it.

 

we did the roof cutting method on our 4g project.. click on 4g and the 'roofcut' pic
http://briefcase.yahoo.com/evm1_99

we weren't concerned about aesthetics though..

for the 4g, the front section was done by tacking it to the main hoop, welding up the front, then untacking it and leaning it back to complete the welds on the top.

see my sig for more cage pics.

hope this helps..

 

Thanks for all of the comments, guys. I now have a cage on order from Kirk racing that will be welded in by me and a couple of friends who have much more experience with this sort of thing. I like the idea of cutting holes in the floor and dropping the bars down to get to the roof. I think we'll try that. I guess we'll also pull the windshield, since that seems pretty easy. Thanks again!