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Author
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Topic: Lo Buck '66Falcon Race Car Roll Cage Pictures:
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F15Falcon
Journeyman Posts: 42
From: el paso, tx.
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 03-21-2005 10:15 PM
   
After waiting for a couple of weeks for a shipment of chrome-moly to build the roll gage, only to find out that the company folded because of the soaring costs of steel, I finally settled for a mild steel cage. This is a Lo Buck project right, so the mild steel would be fine and I was able to find the material here in town. I am going to be able to save some weight over the .134 wall tubing that most cage manufacturers use, because I found some 1 3/4" x .125 wall tubing that meets the NHRA tubing rule.I feel that NHRA and the IHRA could add a few bars to the cages that they now deem legal in order to make them safer, because in my experience, I have found that when a race car crashes, tremendous amounts of energy are released and a few bars could help save a drivers life. The one bar that I feel shoud be instituted is the diagonal in the rear hoop of the cage. A rear hoop with just a cross-bar is simply a box, and it is not very strong at all. The addition of a diagonal makes two triangles out of the rear hoop, and the triangle is the strongest of all geometric shapes.
 I also added a small kicker from the door bar back to the main hoop to aid in side impact protection either from the guardrail/wall or another car.
 The main hoop was made as tall as possible in order to provide maximum protection for the driver in case of a roll over. Too many times I see rollcages installed with the headliner of the car the determining point of the height ot the main hoop. If you want a headliner, drive your wifes car!! The rear braces were made with two bends in order for use of the back seat as someone may opt to put this car back on the street as it will be up for sale soon.
 The rear kickers go down through the package tray speaker holes and weld to 1/8" plates that are welded directly on top of the rear frame rails.
 The main hoop and the door bars weld to weld through the floor square tube kickers that weld to the rockers on the outside, and the sub-frame connectors on the inside. This is by far a stronger method than simply welding to the more common floor plates most kits come with.
 All the notches on this cage were made with the Lo Buck chop saw method I demonstrated a few weeks ago. The welds were also done with a MIG because a TIG is too high buck for this car and offers no advantage. Taking a tip from my Top Fuel buddies, the roll cage will wear a coat of WD-40 instead of paint because this car is all business, and paint merely gets scratched and adds weight!!
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XR7
Gearhead Posts: 129
From: north Idaho
Registered: Mar 2003
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posted 03-23-2005 02:01 PM
Looks good! Keep the pics coming, I for one like to see them. I'm putting a roll cage in my car soon. Looks like you are a great welder/fabricator and photographer! What welder are you using? When do you plan on taking it to the track for some test-n-tune time slips?------------------
68 Cougar XR7, 428 4-speed, Best ET 6.82 @ 101 1/8, 10.69@ 127.44 with 1.51 60 ft. Street legal all steel car w/ full interior.
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Dubz
Gearhead Posts: 1718
From: Manitoba Canada
Registered: Oct 2002
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posted 03-23-2005 03:25 PM
Very nice welds! Nice cage, and nice selection of rear ends!And that diagonal of the main hoop seems like a darn good idea. A little added safety is worth it. 
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Moneymaker
Administrator Posts: 25883
From: Lyons, IL, USA
Registered: May 99
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posted 03-23-2005 05:22 PM
Looking more and more like a stockumup car every day.  ------------------
Alex Denysenko
Co-Administrator and Moderator NHRA/IHRA/SRA member and licensed Superstock driver
NHRA and IHRA SS/LA & SS/MA National Record Holder '00,'01,'02,'03,'04 &'05
First SS/MA in the TENS!
IHRA division 5 Superstock Champion
Fleet of FoMoCo products including 88 ASC McLaren Mustang #28 The Barry of BarrysGrrl Quote #1: "I never met a magazine mechanic I liked."
Quote #2: "Make sure brain is in gear before engaging mouth!"
Quote #3: "If you can't run with the big dogs, stay on the porch!"
www.moneymakerracing.com
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F15Falcon
Journeyman Posts: 42
From: el paso, tx.
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 03-23-2005 05:58 PM
quote:
Originally posted by XR7:
Looks good! Keep the pics coming, I for one like to see them. I'm putting a roll cage in my car soon. Looks like you are a great welder/fabricator and photographer! What welder are you using? When do you plan on taking it to the track for some test-n-tune time slips?
I use the same L-tec 225 amp MIG welder that I bought 18 years ago. L-tec used to be Linde, and they are now called ESAB. I do roll cage work/race car fabricating for a living, so it is second nature now. I also use Co2 as a shielding gas instead of the more common Argon/Co2 mix that alot of people use, as it gives the welds a more uniform appearance, and it is by far less expensive.
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Moneymaker
Administrator Posts: 25883
From: Lyons, IL, USA
Registered: May 99
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posted 03-23-2005 06:18 PM
Welds look great, but I do believe that the Co2 allows more heat into them.------------------
Alex Denysenko
Co-Administrator and Moderator NHRA/IHRA/SRA member and licensed Superstock driver
NHRA and IHRA SS/LA & SS/MA National Record Holder '00,'01,'02,'03,'04 &'05
First SS/MA in the TENS!
IHRA division 5 Superstock Champion
Fleet of FoMoCo products including 88 ASC McLaren Mustang #28 The Barry of BarrysGrrl Quote #1: "I never met a magazine mechanic I liked."
Quote #2: "Make sure brain is in gear before engaging mouth!"
Quote #3: "If you can't run with the big dogs, stay on the porch!"
www.moneymakerracing.com
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F15Falcon
Journeyman Posts: 42
From: el paso, tx.
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 03-23-2005 07:00 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Moneymaker:
Welds look great, but I do believe that the Co2 allows more heat into them.
Co2 does weld a tad hotter, but not enough for me to turn the heat down or anything and the weld strength is not affected at all. Penetration is what it is all about.
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68F100
Gearhead Posts: 2377
From: Fort Madison, Iowa USA - United We Stand
Registered: Oct 99
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posted 03-23-2005 09:53 PM
This is one cool project. I wish I could work as fast as you. I read that you were going to sell it soon, how come?
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johnny 4-speed
Gearhead Posts: 149
From: Larkspur, Ca. USA
Registered: Oct 2004
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posted 03-23-2005 10:00 PM
There's no stop in the action!
It looks like you have a 9-inch or two sitting around!  Thanks again for the great posts! JD
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Mark T 7724
Gearhead Posts: 152
From: Palmdale, CA
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 03-30-2005 01:39 AM
I've got a problem with the rear bars they need to be @ a 30 deg angle to the frame and Straight down, You can't have them 90 deg off the main hoop.
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F15Falcon
Journeyman Posts: 42
From: el paso, tx.
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 03-30-2005 02:00 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Mark T 7724:
I've got a problem with the rear bars they need to be @ a 30 deg angle to the frame and Straight down, You can't have them 90 deg off the main hoop.
You are right, it is 30 degrees if you have only two bars, but I actually have four diagonals, its just that they were not installed at the time that the pictures were taken.
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