I build roll cages

[Chilezen]

The biggest gain we've achieved with this design is the headroom. This particular cage doesn't go as high as our later versions, but what you can see is how the AP bar by the driver's head is pushed up into a pocket I cut out of the roof. It's fiberglass, so there's no strength lost by cutting into it. And surprisingly, I haven't seen others do this. It's ideal real estate to bend a bar up there, which is great because it can better protect the driver by being that far up.

The other great improvement about this design is how the Main Hoop is welded directly on top of the frame of the car. If you aren't familiar with Corvettes, they're kind of like trucks, where they have two large frame rails that run the length of the car. It's a fine design, it works. But most cage builders will weld the bars to the side of the frame, or worse, on top of the gas tank sheet metal. They do that because the frame is obscured by many other metal panels, so it's easier to just... not do it the right way. My boss was adamant about increasing passenger space and tying into the strongest parts of the car, so that's what we did.

This set of photos doesn't quite show those details, but I have plenty more to come.

[Chilezen]

[Chilezen]

[Chilezen]

[Chilezen]

It's been a while since I posted, so yes, more cages have been built. But since I'm totally behind on updates, I still want to post about the earlier cages from the beginning of this company I'm with. In other words, I was originally hired because the boss saw a market gap for C5 Corvette cages. I had built some for him (and his fellow racers) back at my previous job, but they weren't "great." They were good enough to get the job done, but could use improvements.

This is what we had come up with.

[Chilezen]

Nice work and awesome MIG skills!

Only thing I noticed is your main hoop could be wider. You would still be able to have access to weld 360 degrees of the tubes. I like to have my main hoop against/as close as possible to the B-Pillars and roof bow.

Thanks!
There must have been a reason I kept the hoop thinner in this scenario. Sometimes it's a balance of a good fit versus providing ease of assembly for another fabricator. So far I have only built that one in-house, and have sent out a couple of kits. When I get another car in, I generally make slight tweaks in the design to optimize them. I agree, the widest it can be is the best for the driver (but frustrating for a fabricator). I have seen lots of cages where the welders don't complete the welds around, and that frustrates the hell out of me.

I like your cage too! For those door gussets, did you make a wooden hammer form to achieve that curve between the bars?

[Gtfour]

Nice work and awesome MIG skills!

I also built roll bars and roll cages in the past, between 30-40 and pretty much all for BMW E46 M3.

Only thing I noticed is your main hoop could be wider. You would still be able to have access to weld 360 degrees of the tubes. I like to have my main hoop against/as close as possible to the B-Pillars and roof bow.

[hasa]

I have not much to add. I like very much the OP's wire welding skills presented here in the pictures.

FIA rules that we are following in Europe use X-bar for doors. They are so used in forest rallies (notably in WRC) etc so they should be good for serious side impacts too, but I run out of skills if needed to estimate if the approach is right or not.

[ForcedFirebird]

Spot on! Price is on point too. I'm gonna point my locals to this! If you factor $100/hr, that's $3400 installed. I literally just quoted a bare minimum e36 custom for $3800.

[Chilezen]

You should approach you boss about a kit! I did them several years back. Shipped them all over the US. Back then 1.75" dom was $3.65/ft, and shipping was about $175 coast to coast.

Again, good on you for pointing to the shop. :)

Oh, we do produce a kit! I linked to it earlier, here. Shipping is $250 for us now, I guess that's not too much more, all else considered.

[ForcedFirebird]

You should approach you boss about a kit! I did them several years back. Shipped them all over the US. Back then 1.75" dom was $3.65/ft, and shipping was about $175 coast to coast.

Again, good on you for pointing to the shop. :)

[Chilezen]

If you look at the rule books, they aren't far off from NASA, SCCA, NHRA etc here in the US. Europe has slightly different rules being multiple countries on a continent.

Right, I remember looking at those rules years ago, and I don't remember seeing a notable difference. I'm interested to see what Hasa will share.

& thanks!

What do you charge for one of the Spec E30 cages, and what is the turnaround?

It just occurred to me you might have been asking what the cost would be for an in-house installation. In that case, you would have to make arrangements to be put on the schedule, and as far as I know, it wouldn't be very soon. But once the car is in, it should take a week or less. I don't have a cost off the top of my head. I automatically assumed to asked about a kit shipped to you haha.

[ForcedFirebird]

FIA is just international recognition. If you look at the rule books, they aren't far off from NASA, SCCA, NHRA etc here in the US. The US is a Continental country, Europe has slightly different rules being multiple countries on a continent.

[ForcedFirebird]

Good on you Chilezen hard to find loyal guys these days. I can give an honest answer.

E30SPDFRK 1.75" x .090" wall tubing is about $14 per liner for today. It takes about 90 liner feet with waste to do an e30 cage. Installation is approximately 13 hours if the chassis is prepped. Depending on location, you can expect anywhere from $75-200/hr for labor.

[Chilezen]

What do you charge for one of the Spec E30 cages, and what is the turnaround?

I asked my boss about the turnaround. We have a few orders to fulfill, so, right now it would be 2 weeks to have it built. it's a small shop so everything is built to order.

This post got buried. This is where you'll find the link to the E30 kit.

I'm not obligated to do this on behalf of my workplace, but I certainly owe it to my boss for allowing me to be happy building this stuff. With that said,

if you ever find yourself interested and needing a cage of your own, we sell this as a kit. With technology at our helm, I can run some bars through a few machines and mark and cut and bend each piece, and then put them on a pallet, and ship it anywhere around the country.

At this link, trackspecmotorsports.com you will find more detailed information if you wish to purchase this kit, or any of the others we've built. The kits are comprehensive, providing almost everything you need; all you need is a professional to install it!

Every cage kit purchased goes towards feeding and funding a young fabricator in need (me) and by funding, I mean helping me to build more car parts for E30's

I hope with this full series of builds I share, you see the details and care I put into my work. And if you have any ideas to share, please do! Any criticism and helpful comments are super appreciated, as I'm always learning and trying to improve.