Tom Posted March 6, 2011 Report Posted March 6, 2011 to fitting roll cages then? I've just bought a safety devices one and i'll be fooked if I can get the front bars in!! I can get one in but then in all jams up and I can't get the other in. Bloody things have fallen on my head 3 times so i've given up!! Help please......
over_head_cam Posted March 6, 2011 Report Posted March 6, 2011 If I remember rightly Tom, the last one I did took ages and ages to get it in but all of a sudden it all went loose and it was in. Couldn't tell you how I did it though Not much help am I?
Tom Posted March 6, 2011 Author Report Posted March 6, 2011 Lol not really! Its a pain in the arse mate I pulled the feet of the main hoop forward and leant the top back, put a bolt through the lower hole where the main hoop and front sections meet and tried it that way but it just binds up. Then I scratched the dash, hit my head and squashed my thumb. Now i'm indoors I'm only mocking up so I can get the foot plates cut and welded in, then its gotta come out for paint and then go back in again!
Baz. Posted March 6, 2011 Report Posted March 6, 2011 Put a small ratchet strap around the legs m8 thats how i got mine in, even if you gain an inch, dont ratchet it up and bend the fooker though
gearbox100 Posted March 6, 2011 Report Posted March 6, 2011 i think what i did was tilt the back half backwards like you have said by pulling the bottom of the legs forward, then put the front half in and loosely bolted it together , then got me dad to hold that in place whilst i twisted the rear half back into possition , didnt put eny bolts between back half and front half untill they where both in possition . Still fiddly but wasnt too bad , like you i only put it in to weld the plates to the floor and then removed it . thats the best i can explain it , hope it makes sence
Tom Posted March 6, 2011 Author Report Posted March 6, 2011 It does mate, thanks. I think having a second person there will make it do-able
mex255l Posted March 6, 2011 Report Posted March 6, 2011 Put a small ratchet strap around the legs m8 thats how i got mine in, even if you gain an inch, dont ratchet it up and bend the fooker though Thats the best way ive found ,ratchet strap the two main legs and fiddle around for hours rip the head lining scratch the dash and most of the paint on the inside of the car!but as phill says you get to a stage when it all falls into place
Retromotorsport Posted March 7, 2011 Report Posted March 7, 2011 There good fun untill you get the hang of it .... but you have been told now how to do it, back fits into front, not the other way round
Tom Posted March 7, 2011 Author Report Posted March 7, 2011 This is your fault Gary! Ah whilst your here. What's the best shape for the bracket that will bolt the cage to the B pillar seat belt bolt? Will an L bracket be strong enough or will it need more strength than that?
Retromotorsport Posted March 8, 2011 Report Posted March 8, 2011 You should roll a piece of 3mm steel up into a U shape and weld to the cage opposite the bit that sits just below the rear side window, weld a piece of steel 40x25x8 with an M10 tapped hole in the middle to that part of the shell, then a long M10 bolt through the U and into that .. If you do weld to seatbelt area ..anything will do because that area flex's, and any bracket to make it strong will cause head to bolt head contact issue .. i wouldnt do it. A flat L bracket of the cage to the seatbelt hole will flex in and out, and because you need to close the distance by comming away from the cage it will flex fore and aft too... to stop that you need to box, tube it etc.. now look where your head is! If you look at some Group4 turret mount cages you will see the B pillar fixing
Toby Posted March 9, 2011 Report Posted March 9, 2011 When I bought my Safety Devices cage years ago I stuggled to fit it too. I had heard that they shouldn't be under pressure when they're fitted. I had a conversation with SD at the time and they said something along the lines of "oh it must have rhombus'd - bring it to us and we can bend it so it fits" I got the feeling it was going to be free, but it was too far to take the car - so I fitted it the same way everone else is suggesting with brute force and ignorance. In all honesty it wasn't that bad but it didn't just "sit" If you've bought yours new this might still be a service / option they offer?
Retromotorsport Posted March 9, 2011 Report Posted March 9, 2011 The Pre Polish SD cages did fit well ...you always had a 3-5mm gap at the B pillar mount on the N/S of the turret mount cages,i just used to fit a spacer.. but that was it, i havn't fitted one since they went to Poland, A: they went to reduce costs B: the price of the cages went up C: the jigs must have stretched. D: I buy British The last one i fitted i struggled with for hours ... normally it takes 6 hours to fit (12 Point Multipoint Turret mount) , ie fit the cage in, mark all plates and multipoints, remove cage, weld in plates and fixing, re-fit cage, and thats me on my own doing it. That last one i was on it for a day, went home thinking i'd lost the plot, no way was it fitting, i was getting pissed off and thought i'd check online with a few companies, one SD supplier had put a 100 quid on the instal price.. hmmmmm.. Went back in the morning, pulled the rear out, cut the turret mount bars down an 50mm, re-sleeved them, touch up the paint .. and put it in the car, it slid into position like they used too. Heres teh original moan thread http://www.turbosport.co.uk/showthread. ... ty+devices I don't normally dish dirt on companies, i just dont use them again, but i along with a few others have had problems with the Polish Cages , and after all we was all expecting a cheaper to buy cage as they stated 'to reduce manufacturing costs to bring you a quality item at a better price ' or words to that effect..a better price to SD maybe That thread is from 2007 ... and being in mind i used to do around 4-5 SD cages a year, i havent fitted one ( a standard one ) since. I still fit the bolt in Mk1 cages because i change the rear anyway so that it mounts to the turrets (as SD dont do a turret mount Mk1 cage) I'd like to see if Tom has had sucess in fitting this one, and it is tub or turret mount? tub mount cage is 5 hours complete and a turret mount is now 8 hours to give you an idea
Tom Posted March 10, 2011 Author Report Posted March 10, 2011 Right, I don't quite where or how you mean with the U shaped bracket. Is that half way up the B pillar area? I wanted to go to the original seatbelt fixing to try and help with the B pillar flexing/cracking issue I spoke to you about before but if you think it's not worth it then I won't bother. It's a tub mount 6 point cage that I bought second hand. I saw the car it came out of and the guy said he only took one seat out to remove it, so it must just be me. I'm gonna add a removable diagonal and maybe some door bars but I'll prob just make up some bolt on brackets for the latter One thing I was a little concerned about is the main hoop foot plates. They are only small plates with 2 fixing holes rather than 5 is that right? I can cut them off and make up some bigger ones if need be Ta
Retromotorsport Posted March 11, 2011 Report Posted March 11, 2011 Yes the U shaped bracket is halway up .. i'll try and grab a photo .. That cage is ancient .. 2 holes where about in the 70's.. 80's/90's where 3 bolt moving into the modern 5 bolt (4 for fixing and 1 for the seat belt eye ) Theres a thread on TS with drawings and dimensions of the mounting plates
Tom Posted March 11, 2011 Author Report Posted March 11, 2011 Well i'm pretty sure the car is older! Leaving it as a 2 bolt fixing won't have any ill effects though will it? I know 3,4,5 bolts will be stronger in the event of a crash or roll over but for day to day use and the odd track session 2 should be good. (can you tell i'm getting fed up with cars yet? )
Retromotorsport Posted March 12, 2011 Report Posted March 12, 2011 Unlike you to want to shortcut ... do it right, you know you'll be thinking ' i should have change those feet ' for the rest of you life
Tom Posted March 13, 2011 Author Report Posted March 13, 2011 Now you're playing mind games!!! I found your post and pic about the plates needed to weld to the car but i'm struggling to find the feet dimensions one. Why is there 3 holes in the tub/front foot plates mate?
Retromotorsport Posted March 14, 2011 Report Posted March 14, 2011 The rules changed in the 80's to make the plates larger and with more fixings.. Plates are Main hoop= 3mm thick steel, 120cm2 with a half return vertical Front hoop/backstays = 3mm thick steel, 60cm2 The dimensions drawing on TS http://www.turbosport.co.uk/showthread. ... ost1081850
Tom Posted March 14, 2011 Author Report Posted March 14, 2011 Yep that's the one I found. I think I've gotten confused, are the feet the same size as the mounting plate just without the bit that goes up the sill? Doing things properly is such a pain in the arse sometimes! Lol
Retromotorsport Posted March 15, 2011 Report Posted March 15, 2011 Yep the feet on the cage match the plates on the floor, except the half return vertical ..
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