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Hardtop 90 Rollcage - How To Guide


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As promised :

Heres some pics and lineage from the 90 Cage I made for the new toy.

Lot of work, hell of a lot of work, much thinking between Jon White and I on some of the mounts, esp the front cage, and this may well help or inspire others.

Why did I make it myself ?...quite simply I phoned around a lot of so called "Specialist" cage makers, when I explained EXACTLY what I wnated, the tolerances I was looking for (really close inside and outside) etc, they ALL lost interest...

So starting with the back :

2 Hoops, welded to 2 huge 6mm thick plates, these were positioned and tacked into place, the roof was unbolted just enough to jiggle and get the rear hoops in, then roof was bolted back down.

The main 2 hoops were then moved / jiggled some more and tacked into place upright....then some tubes welded between front hoop and rear hoop at the top, and some on the sides for trianglulation.

I decided against the normal down bars to the rear cross memmber for 2 reasons.

1. The 2x hoops and bars are a snug / touch fit, inside the hardtop, as are the roof bars

2. This would / should help to keep shape of Hardtop,

3. the MSA type down bars to rear crossmember reduces internal space massively

4. My Comp safari days are over, and they are easily added if I ever needed...

Pics :

Cage4.jpg

Cage3.jpg

the down side bars end up at the back end of the top of the seat box :

Cage5.jpg

Lots of room inside !

Picture022.jpg

When its all tacked up as much as I could get to it, remove hardtop, remove cage and weld up everything, then paint, I also took the opportunity to make Highlift Mounts, I have always had the highlift on the hoop cross stay, not often wnated but when you do you have to empty the back to get to it - not clever, this was a way to have easy access, and yet virtually no restriction into load area

Cage7.jpg

from the front without roof on just pre welding up :

Cage8.jpg

Front cage.

Even worse and more difficult than the rear, cos you WILL see it all the time and if its not 100% symetrical it will / does look horrible.

Time here is best spent working out angles, how close you can get it and measure measure and measure again :

Picture024Medium.jpg

This hoop is onto the special Homemade brackets Jon & I made :

Picture011Medium.jpg

Make with Cardboard (cornflake packets etc), then when you happy make in steel, these are 6mm and seam welded.

On top oif this is the CDS Tube I lathed out so the hoop "Drops in" with a little jiggling, then a HUGE Bolt goes up through the base of the outrigger into a 1.5 inch "Plug" that has been tapped to take the bolt, another bolt then goes through the whole assembly front to rear, very strong as cross bolted, think the plug is M16 the cross bolt M12.

Picture026Medium.jpg

The cross bar is essential to have welded in once it all lines up weld up the tubes to the outriggers.

The plates on the roof (and inside) were made up by making a template shape, then bolting to it, heating with Oxy Acet and beating bending to sahpe, these were all then bolted to the roof with a matching plate inside, all 6mm and M12s

The side bars are horrible to make, lots of failed attempts before we got them right, again time care measure and make sure that the fishmouths on the joins are as good as you can get them - makes it

a) Neat

B) MUCH Stronger than just filled in with MIG to cover up hole !

Picture055Medium.jpg

Picture043Medium.jpg

We put 2 side bars each side :

Picture046Medium.jpg

And I added 1 across the roof line drivers head to passenger front, makes it HUGELY Strong, as this triangulates it :

Picture071Medium.jpg

This shows how tight we made it to the bodywork :

Picture054Medium.jpg

Remove and paint :

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Refit (with aid of M8000 on Jons motor to get all holes to fully line up !)

Then joining the outside from bars to the inside plates :

6mm plate drilled tubed where required and seam welded :

Picture007Small.jpg

(these have bolts to go through the cage etc)

These are the roof plates :

Picture005Small.jpg

Picture003Small.jpg

Which look like this from outside rear door :

Picture001Small.jpg

Then lastly :

Make up mounts from underneath rear hoops down to chassis, these at the front hoop were done again with cardboard templtes then make in 6mm plate, then weld to chassis, these have in effect another 6mm plate under the fllor to match the one above the cage is welded to, then 4 sides of a very specially shaped "Box", this is all welded up (horrible to get to), then finally a big lump of 6mm plate is welded from the new mount right down way down to the base chassis, just to be sure :D

Doors027Medium.jpg

This side also houses a double clamp for the rear MileMarker Hydraulic Hose pipework...

The rear was done, again a plate to match the one on the top of the rear wheel box, bolted up and then a second outrigger made (6mm) welded to the chassis, gussetted, and then tube made to cleat tyre and welded top to bottom etc (another pig of a job) :

Doors038Medium.jpg

and yes missed a bit of piant too, rushing for Slindon Winch Challenege !

All in all a HUGE amount of work, but one I'm happy with, if I could have found someone who would have done exactly what I wnated I would have, but sadly all wnated to "Simplfy" design or "Increase tolerances", neither I was happy in doing, hence several months work ....

HTH - Maybe one for the Tech Archive as it comes up so often ???

Nige :ph34r:

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Erm,

<cough> from <cough> a Skip <cough> one of my "Other" Hobbies :blink:

This is a "Trait" SWMBO :wub: is none too thrilled at.......... :D

I go down the tip with a load of rubbish, and then see / buy (posh pikeys around me mate) liberate some new stuff...drives her mental, now she comes to the skip with me in a desperate attempt to ensure I don't bring more than I take.

Last time I picked up an Anvil (well struggled :lol: ), a slighly 'SCL'd' HUGE Stilson, and other bits, she was not at all happy with me, I was chuffed to bits :lol:

And I have also been given clothes, (better get this in BEFORE Jon W wanders along) the last lot by my smiling neighbour, I wandered why so many odd men kept wnadering up to me at 4x4 events and chatting, I later found out I was wearing a T shirt from an Ibiza Gay club :(

Ho Hum, binned that one........ :ph34r:

Nige

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