It all started last year when I got kicked from the track for not having a cage and going too fast. so over the winter i made plans to do my own cage [it cant be that hard right??] I bought a decent welder then started to work on it quickly, with my first S&W cage. well the hoop fit like **** i was not about to put that in my car, so i bought another cage because it was like 30 more bux for a full 6point vs just a new main hoop.

while teaching my self how to weld and installing the cage hating it the whole way the end result was shitty fit, a fuxord dash, shitty welds at best, lots of money lost and a car i hated.

I hated the car so much because of the crappy cage i posted everything for sale after 6 months of not touching it and was going to get another DSM. [ouch] eventually i came back to her. cut the **** cage out and shipper her to a shop that i knew could do it right.

LESSON if you cant weld and just have to do your own cage save your self a lot of time money and headaches and just send it away. this was the first time i ever let someone els work on my car and it was totally worth it.

before pix no more before pix tired of confusion





New cage! i am SUPER happy with it words can not explane , built just the way i asked it to be built.








super tight



legal "d" bars??


parachute ftw












Now a huge thanks to Dan at http://www.diamondracecars.com for making my cage so epic at a great price $2200!!!!

if youre in the toledo area and need chassis work def hit him up.


im so happy now thanks for looking






Modified by SwappedTURBOegg at 7:30 PM 11/6/2008

 

looks awesome dude

 

I'm glad you're happy and all, but I wouldn't pay $2200 for welds that ended up like this: http://img.photobucket.com/alb...3.jpg

Maybe $200, but not $2200.

 

Is this one ok?



all of them pretty much look like this not like that one

 

The welds still don't look spectacular. I would have preferred something a little more professional, like TIG welding, at that price range. An Autopower u-weld cage can accomplish what they've done for about $550 - $650, including rental of a MIG welder.

 

did you read the post at all?

 

cant wait for new times. looks good

 

Just curious, is that parachute mount too low? I was under the impression that the chute should be more in the air stream, but maybe thats just what the chute makers want..

 

from my understanding the pressure between the chute and the car will deploy the chute without any problems. i personally love its location.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SwappedTURBOegg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">did you read the post at all?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes, I did. Just because you state that you bought a decent welder, doesn't really tell us what you did buy. Either way, it still seems as though you overpaid.

 

lincon 135sp gas mig.

idk why everyone thinks i over payed. have you ever shopped around for a cage like this?

 

there is a guy in the portage lakes area who would have tigged your cage for $1400. full 10pt, nhra certified to 8.49. he builds super tight cages too.

just as a comparison.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SwappedTURBOegg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">lincon 135sp gas mig.

idk why everyone thinks i over payed. have you ever shopped around for a cage like this?</TD></TR></TABLE>

A local shop who deals with custom work on primarily Hondas (I won't name the company, but let's just say that the majority of Honda enthusiasts in the USA know about them) charges $75/hr for custom fabrication work. With a $500 AutoPower weld-in cage, and 8 - 16 hours total labor, you're looking at about $1100 - $1600 total cost. And, that's with professional TIG welding.

 

the welds look tig-welded to me....
but i agree with you... the welds should be a lot better for that kind of money...

 

c'mon, this is h-t... all the welds need to be bling or you'll get flamed. what most people fail to realize is that most of the work is in the fitment, not the welding.

 

If thats TIG my Migs look nicer

 

I wish I could find somebody to do a cage for as cheap as you guys found. Around here, getting a MIG-welded spec-miata cage done runs well upwards of 2500 bucks. It's essentially a 6 point with rear x-bracing, harness bar, diagonal hoop support, dash bar, and triangulation from the front mounting plates to the firewall. Sure, it's a lot more metal, but it's a hell of a lot easier to do because of the lack of a roof.

 

wow, you definetly overpaid for what you got in return. a cage like that around here would cost around $1000 and that is from some very professional people who have been in this business for a long time.

 

$2200 is a good deal for that cage. The welds might not be 100% show quality but the fitment looks pretty good and that's the hard part. I charge a lot more than that for a 10pt with chute and net. Ours a bit nicer and are painted, but none the less, you didn't get ripped off.

Those are tig welds.

Most every reputable shop that does chassis work will turn away a prefab cage install, at least the ones who have done it before and learned that lesson. Pre bent cages are garbage, they will never fit like a good custom cage.

Anybody that's doing a cage like this for $1k is just retarded, you have no idea the amount of time and materials that goes into something like this.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tony1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">$2200 is a good deal for that cage. The welds might not be 100% show quality but the fitment looks pretty good and that's the hard part. I charge a lot more than that for a 10pt with chute and net. Ours a bit nicer and are painted, but none the less, you didn't get ripped off.

Those are tig welds.

Most every reputable shop that does chassis work will turn away a prefab cage install, at least the ones who have done it before and learned that lesson. Pre bent cages are garbage, they will never fit like a good custom cage.

Anybody that's doing a cage like this for $1k is just retarded, you have no idea the amount of time and materials that goes into something like this. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I always love coming into a thread to see what you posted. I agree with you on that, 1k dollar come on man and its certified to an 8.49 lol....Tony you got some competition.

I dont think you got ripped off either, you love the cage who cares what the"I know someone" crowd on ht says.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tony1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">$2200 is a good deal for that cage. The welds might not be 100% show quality but the fitment looks pretty good and that's the hard part. I charge a lot more than that for a 10pt with chute and net. Ours a bit nicer and are painted, but none the less, you didn't get ripped off.

Those are tig welds.

Most every reputable shop that does chassis work will turn away a prefab cage install, at least the ones who have done it before and learned that lesson. Pre bent cages are garbage, they will never fit like a good custom cage.

Anybody that's doing a cage like this for $1k is just retarded, you have no idea the amount of time and materials that goes into something like this. </TD></TR></TABLE>

thank you tony, you rock my world

 

fitment and penetration &gt; show welds.

2k is on the high side, but I live in an area with tons of "race shops", so prices are a little cheaper.

 

The cage looks good for the price. In my area a 10 point will run in the 3k range. The welds will look better but still. So 11.0 and you need a chute? Does your car not have brakes?

 

I could of crapped better welds then that first one you did.

New cage looks good though. Dont you have to have a cage if you run over 11 seconds???

 

No one is going to build a good 10 point cage that is square for $1600.

OP, welds are kind of shitty, fab work and fit looks pretty good, you didn't get ripped off.

T1 speaks the truth here.