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 [14] With the fuel tank and...  [14] With the fuel tank and extinguisher mounted, I could fabricate the diagonal tubes while knowing they cleared these components, and that they’d be removable if necessary. The tubes are also removable, with 1/4-inch plates at each end, the upper sandwiching the rear cab panel, and the lower bolting to the rear of the chassis with 1/2-inch bolts.  [15] Inside the body, corresponding...  [15] Inside the body, corresponding 1/4-inch plates were welded to vertical tubes of the cage structure.  [16] Wanting as many brackets...  [16] Wanting as many brackets as possible in place prior to final welding, I fabricated this bracket to mount the right hand side of the Wilwood pedal assembly. It also bolts to the firewall with six bolts, as well as the steering box bracket on the left side.  [17] My local metal supply...  [17] My local metal supply house sells these race car tabs, which I used to mount the body at the B-pillar. The brackets welded to the body were formed from 2x2-inch angle.  [18] I showed you the bender...  [18] I showed you the bender I used to form the majority of the bends a couple of months ago, but I used this Eastwood bender to form the bends in the diagonal tubes that will cross the door apertures. Note the length of welding rod I used as a pattern. Since 0.134-inch wall tubing is pretty stout, I added an 8-ton bottle jack to cope.  [19] Some of the more extreme...  [19] Some of the more extreme angles notches couldn’t be accommodated by the Eastwood tube notcher, so they had to be formed by hand. In the absence of a bandsaw, I used a Sawzall to start, then a grinder followed by a drum sander to form the notches. These are the diagonal door tubes.  [20] With all the body mounting...  [20] With all the body mounting tabs in place, the panels were removed to access the cage for final welding. The entire body is removable, panel by panel, and though pointless, the doors are on hinges!  [21] One problem I’d been...  [21] One problem I’d been wrestling with, thanks to the extremely limited space in the cockpit, was how to mount a vertical tube at the driver’s right shoulder, which has to locate the harness mount a few inches from the trans tunnel. With no space between the tunnel and the seats to install a tube, I used 3/8-wall, 5-inch diameter DOM tubing, cut in half. The ends of the crossmembers will be boxed with 3/8-inch steel too, and the joint gusseted on each side.  [22] SCTA rules dictate gussets...  [22] SCTA rules dictate gussets at each point where the cage attaches to the shoulder tube, with a minimum of 4 inches per side, 1/8-inch thick, with an open corner.  [23] Jimmy White at Circle...  [23] Jimmy White at Circle City Hot Rods TIG-welded the entire assembly, including as many brackets as I’d been able to install at this stage.  [24] This sucker’s heavy!...  [24] This sucker’s heavy! While it took five people to lift it into my truck, a forklift made light work of unloading it once at the Source Interlink Tech Center. Now for final assembly!
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