I am now caged!!!

[crab1092]

Last time i went to the track one of the officials told me that i would not be allowed to run anymore until i put a roll bar in. I really did not want to spend the money yet but i had no choice. I got a local shop, Madman Racing and Co., to build me one. It came out better than I expected. Usually when someone else does anything to my car i am disappointed, but not this time.

It makes getting in the car a nice pain in the ass. I was going to get swingouts, but i didnt want to spend the extra 150 dollars. Other than that i must say that i do feel better knowing that i have a better chance of living if i eat the wall or something. This thing is definetly beefy. Its built out of 1.75 OD x .083 wall chromoly.


Here of some pics of it.

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[eboy0]

Wow, they make you put in a roll cage @ 11s?

Man that thing looks beefy! Pain it black!!!

 

[absolute_DSM]

Looks good, yet I would have had the bar across the hoop more shoulder height. The straps are not safe at that angle. They should be parallel to the ground at shoulder height.

 

[bullettdsm]

Hey Crab, true fact about the crossbar. That will not pass tech at some places. It is actually dangerous in that, if you do happen to need the straps. The pull of the straps from that point can compress the spine (unless there is a weird visual going on).

Other than that, now you gotta go faster. You got the cage for it, .

MB

Edit, I believe the mounting point is no more than 4" below shoulder height.

 

[crab1092]

Ok now i need help. I just went outside with a friend and a tape measure. The harness mounts 4.5 inches below the holes in the seat. However it mounts 3.5 inches below my shouldlers. According the NHRA rulebook it must be mounted no more than 4 inches below the shoulder line.

I am concerned now because i we have a big import race next weekend but practice is this wednesday. I wont have time to get it rebuild, but dont want to race if the bar is unsafe.

According to my measurements I think that it meets NHRA rules. AM i right or am i misinterpreting the rules?

 

[bullettdsm]

The harness mounts 4.5 inches below the holes in the seat. However it mounts 3.5 inches below my shouldlers. According the NHRA rulebook it must be mounted no more than 4 inches below the shoulder line.

According to my measurements I think that it meets NHRA rules. AM i right or am i misinterpreting the rules?

By my understanding you are fine (the visual of the pic makes it look a lot lower to me, cool). You should pass tech with that BUT, like motor vehicle department, you never know who's gonna do what at tech.

MB

 

[absolute_DSM]

Just sit a little lower at tech Im not even sure if its legal to even cut that bar out and reweld it. The hoop needs to be one continous bend with no cuts in it. But what do I know.

It may be me but I dont like the words "compress" and "spine" in the same sentence.

Also, Im just wondering, why didnt you tie the rear bars straight into the strut towers?

EDIT - Man, when I reread this, I sound like an ass. Not meaning to, sorry, just interested!

 

[crab1092]

Well to be honest i thought that the guy who built this thing would have done everything to the rulebook. I mean he owns a 7 sec mustang and is probably the most well know shop anywhere around here. I know nothing about building a cage so as to why he built it the way he did, I dont know.

I thought about getting a longer bolt and using a spacer to raise the harness up about an inch. I dont know if that is legal or not. I am going to call the guy tomorow morning and see what he says about redoing the crossbar to make it right.

Thanks absolute_DSM for pointing this out to me. I would have never noticed it until i got to the track otherwise. I am definetly with you about not wanting to compress or in any other way screw up my spine.

Does anyone know if it is legal to have a bar go from the top of the main hoop to the crossbar? That way he wont have to redo the seat bracing and all that shit.

 

[1gDSM4g63]

Wow, they make you put in a roll cage @ 11s?

Yeah, roll cage or roll bar are required beginning at 11.49s quarter mile times. It looks like the official would not let him do anymore runs because he's strip and modify his interior and questions the firewall and floorboard.

 

[crab1092]

Actually the tech guy told me that they require a bar at 11.49 or 120mph. On my last run i hit 120.xxx. Thats why i could not run anymore.

 

[Slippi84]

How much did it cost you? I"m just curious because i'll be getting a roll bar(by the way you should watch that some people are funny about that. You have a roll BAR not CAGE. A cage requires a halo and bars that connect to sides at the front threw the dash and windshield bars as well.) S&W racing is 45 minutes from my house and I can go pick it up for $137 because they're having a special till teh end of the month. That's for a 8 Point roll bar. Here's the link for anyone interested Welcome!

 

[h8r]

MADMAN is one of the best around!! Huge name in suspension, Especially for the Stangs and Fbodies. Call him up, see what he says. I think he will work with you if you need a revision of the current set up.

 

[99gst_racer]

Well to be honest i thought that the guy who built this thing would have done everything to the rulebook.

Well, if he was doing it right, he would have test fitted you in the car. I was test fitted at least 3 times for mine. The size and position of the driver and seat directly affects the exact location of the door bars, main hoop, and harness bar.

Also, a little constructive criticism; the main hoop looks sloppy. It could stand to be 4" wider on each side. Then he wouldn't have had to hook the door bar ends to meet the main hoop. I also would have extended the rear bars another 12" or so...

Is the main hoop sitting at a 90* angle from the floorboard, or is it angled back a little bit? I cannot tell from the pictures.

Also, I assume you meant 1-5/8" tubing, not 1-3/4".

Does anyone know if it is legal to have a bar go from the top of the main hoop to the crossbar? That way he wont have to redo the seat bracing and all that shit.

I'm not sure if that's legal or not, but it wouldn't be too much work to simply cut out the existing harness bar and raise it a couple inches. Instead of creating more work to bandaid a problem, fix it correctly.

 

[absolute_DSM]

Also, a little constructive criticism; the main hoop looks sloppy. It could stand to be 4" wider on each side. Then he wouldn't have had to hood the door bar ends to meet the main hoop. I also would have extended the rear bars another 12" or so...

Now that I look at that, youre right.

The hoop needs to be within 1 1/2" or so of the roof and side panels. I believe thats in the rule book too.

 

[99gst_racer]

The hoop needs to be within 1 1/2" or so of the roof and side panels. I believe thats in the rule book too.

Well, I don't see anything like that in the rule book, but it does allow for more usable interior space for the driver.

Here's a picture of the main hoop in my 1G for reference:

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[absolute_DSM]

It may have been just the standard WyoTech had us building them back in the day.

 

[crab1092]

Wow so many questions to answer.

First i meant 1.75 od tubing. That is the requirement if you are doing a 6 point bar as per the NHRA rulebook. The crossbar is smaller than the rest of the tubing. That may be what you are thinking of.

Second believe it or not the, hoop is as wide as possible. It is less than a half an inch from the edge of the floor. I know it looks like it sits way in but it really cant be any wider unless he anchored it to the backseat platform. Also its only about an inch from the roof. It sits 90 degrees to the floor looking from the side of the car.

He did test fit me. When i dropped it off he took some measurements with me in the car.

I called him this morning. He is going to come to the track with me tomorow night and see how everything goes in tech. The words out of his mouth were he likes to keep the harness as close to 4 inches below the shoulder as possible. He said that if tech has a problem with it or it is in fact too low, he will redo it. I must say that even though i wish i would not have to even worry about it, this guy is going out of his way to make it right.
Hell if nothing else happens tommorow night, at least i will be able to see my car roll out of a 53 foot race car trailer. YAY!!!

 

[Gamble97]

What did you pay?

 

[crab1092]

1100 with the seat and harness installed.

 

[bullettdsm]

Got enough to worry about yet, crab, ? Hey I've never had a good day at the track that didn't start with some kind of anxiety.

Good luck and I'm jealous (oh you already know that).

MB

 

[Slippi84]

$1100 WTF

I feel so lucky to know ppl. I have a guy that said he'll weld it in for 300 max and the cage cost me $137

 

[99gst_racer]

First i meant 1.75 od tubing. That is the requirement if you are doing a 6 point bar as per the NHRA rulebook.

Actually, the rule is 1.75" (.118 wall) for mild steel and 1.625" (.083 wall) for chrome moly. Being that you stated that this was a moly cage, I assumed that you got the diameter incorrect. I couldn't understand why anyone would want to use 1.75 chrome moly, and I don't even know if it's available. My local raw materials supplier doesn't even offer that size in moly.

It sits 90 degrees to the floor looking from the side of the car.

He did test fit me. When i dropped it off he took some measurements with me in the car.

These are good things.


Good luck at the track.

$1100 WTF

I feel so lucky to know ppl. I have a guy that said he'll weld it in for 300 max and the cage cost me $137

X2!

A great deal on 20-foot sticks of moly tubing + a buddy with a tig welder = a nice 8-point for a little more than $200.

 

[crab1092]

Well I went to the track lastnight. The good news is that it passed tech. It was at a different track than i normally run at. Tech was pretty tough there too. They checked every aspect of my car unlike the track that i normally run at. Put a damn caliper to the tubing for crying out loud. Checked my valve stems, wheel studs, lug nuts, battery bracket, among other things.

Anyways i am glad that i dont have to worry about it anymore. Thanks to everyone that was concerned about the harness and ultimately my safety.

The rest of the night sucked balls, but that is a whole other thread!

 

[evane]

looks good!

 

[bullettdsm]

The rest of the night sucked balls, but that is a whole other thread!

a bad day racing is better than a good day at work........um, unless you race for a living

MB