Another cage Q

[Crazy68Dart]

How close are your main hoops to your roof?  I have an S+W kit, and with the hoop in there as it was shipped, it is really close.  I assume they leave some extra for tweaking, etc.

I also need to get a headliner in there somehow, so any idea how close I can get with the main hoop and halo and still have a chance at a headliner?

Thanks.

[GON_RACIN]

my S&W cage about 2 inches from the roof, and thats measured with no headliner.  All the tubes come a little long so you can fit them to suit you.  I dunno how much room  you'd need to do a headliner after the cage is installed, you might wanna do the headliner first, then install the cage.  You can use cardboard to shield the headliner from any welding spatter.

[thebankerstoy]

Roll cages and headliners are NOT close friends.  A lot of the folks that have cars that are fast enough to require a roll cage, are not worryied about installing a headliner, as they are just dead weight on a race car. I think that I would stay away from a cloth headliner, cardboard and a hot welder. 

Richard

[gt]

Not too long ago I installed a new cloth headliner in my 69 Dart. I just measured from the top of the main hoop and I have 1 5/16" clearance to the frame of the dome light. The headliner was installed after the cage. No problems installing the headliner with that clearance.

gt

[Crazy68Dart]

Thanks!  Where exactly is that measurement taken from on the dome light?  Just from the top of the hoop to the bottom of the light, or?

[gt]

Sorry, I should have made it more clearer.
That measurement of 1 and 5/16" was taken from the top of the main hoop to the reinforcing frame that runs along the width of the roof. The dome light is attached to this frame. The chrome base of the dome light is about 1" thick, and I have 5/16" clearance from that.
Something that I just thought of, I don't have a lens cover on it yet, can't find it or I don't have one; not sure if it will fit, no big deal though.
I need to go out, when I get back I will try to take a pic for you.

gt

[Crazy68Dart]

Great, that helps a bunch.  Thanks!

[gt]

Ok Crazy68... here are some pics. Hope the upload works. After looking my dome light lens will fit as it is ahead of the main hoop.

gt

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[gt]

More.

gt

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[gt]

Another.

gt

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[gt]

Last one.

gt

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[Midnight Special]

Andy...

there is also a previso, that if a bar/cage is installed and the top side cannot be reached with mig/tig weld, as long as the weld covers at least 3/4 of the area to encircle, the weld is considered good, if your having trouble .

Dave

[Crazy68Dart]

Gt, thank you a bunch for the pics!  That helps a lot.

Dave, ya know, I was wondering about that.  That will make life easier.     Thanks for the info.

[Ciscodog]

Andy - you can snug it up to the roof pretty tight.  I did mine with the headliner already in the car.  I used a sheet of aluminum and some wood to space the headliner away from the tubing.  Worked pretty good and I only had one spot where I couldn't get 360* weld.  Don't get me wrong, it wasn't easy at all - it was a royal bitch.  But the hoop is up so high you can't even see it from outside the car.  I wanted to hide it as much as possible. 

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[OldSkool]

If you want to get a 360 degree weld on your cage, which your most likely going to weld to 6x6 1/8 plates
on the floor, size the cage, roll bar, front braces, ect, then fit in the car, tack weld, mark the floor under the
bars, and use a 3" hole saw to cut the floor out. Drop the cage into the hole, this will give you room to weld
completely around the top of the cage. Be careful welding the joints, you have to do an inch on one, move
to another do an inch in the same spot, completely around the cage. If you completely weld one joint at a
time, you will warp the cage.

Put the plates under the cage, weld them to the floor, and no one ever knows there were holes cut.

OlSkool

[blackbetty]

Take a look at this it    http://www.cachassisworks.com/cac_how_to.html  should help you in the right direction.

[signet]

OldSkool

sweet method!

thanks

[b569rr]

 

OldSkool

sweet method!

thanks

Thanks. Learn something new everyday.

Tom

[Ciscodog]

Yep - that's how I got mine so tight to the roof.  Forgot how I did that