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Notso Special Rollcage Build - Caging the BeastThe Notso Special Goes All Race Car On Us From the December, 2012 issue of Rod & Custom By Kev Elliott
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Up to this point in the build, the Notso Special has been a fairly straightforward hot rod build, if you discount the sections of rollcage structure already in place. With the bodywork sorted, I could now move onto fabricating the remainder of the ’cage. Back in January at the Grand National Roadster Show, a discussion with Craig Morrison of Art Morrison Enterprises about the project resulted in the offer to have the company build the “Funny Car” section of the cage. The first order of business then was to fabricate a jig/pattern, from which Art Morrison Enterprises could make the cage. With this duly made and shipped off to their facility in Washington, I eagerly awaited the delivery of a bunch of bent tubing, followed by assembling the cage on top of the tubing I’d already installed. Knowing where the vertical tubes of the Funny Car cage intersected the shoulder tube, I could then make and install the vertical tubing and diagonals from here to the chassis. Clear so far? [1] After sitting in the car,... [1] After sitting in the car, and measuring where my head would be, I set an old MX helmet on my camera tripod in the same position, to enable me to construct the cage template at the desired height. SCTA rules state there has to be a maximum of 2 inches between the rear of the helmet and a padded headrest, and that the front hoop of the cage is a minimum of 3 inches forward of the front of the helmet. Armed with a number of 20-foot lengths of 1 5/8-inch 0.134-inch wall tubing (though the minimum wall thickness required by SCTA is 0.120 inch), I set about bending and notching all the tubes to meet the SCTA rulebook requirements, tack-welding the structure together. If you plan on doing something similar, don’t underestimate the time it takes. I built a Pro Street Anglia with a cage some 23 years ago, and vowed never to do another, yet here I am! You’ve probably gathered by now that I like to do as much of the work as possible on my projects myself; however, while I can TIG weld, I wouldn’t say I’m proficient enough to weld a rollcage, which after all, is responsible for saving a life in the event of an accident. With this in mind, I hauled the tacked-together chassis/cage over to Circle City Hot Rods, where owner Jimmy White spent eight solid hours welding it all together, while I carefully ground off my MIG weld tacks and re-cleaned all the joints as he went. Fun stuff! The finished chassis was then taken to the Source Interlink Tech Center where I can now set about final assembly. No more tedious tube notching for me, thank goodness!  [2] Here’s the completed jig,...  [2] Here’s the completed jig, with the lateral movement structure tube locations also in place. This prevents the helmet exiting the outer plane of the rollcage.  [3] When the tubing arrived...  [3] When the tubing arrived from Art Morrison Enterprises, the package included this drawing, denoting the location of each (marked) piece of tubing. A separate drawing of the tube, showing the lengths and angle of bends, was also supplied for my reference.  [4] The “Funny Car” cage as...  [4] The “Funny Car” cage as supplied. Not only did this save me a heap of time bending tubing, but each one fit perfectly once cut to length and notched.  [5] Using what was available...  [5] Using what was available to me, I placed a length of C-channel across the body, clamped to the shoulder tubing, then used a block of wood and a scissor jack to mock up the first piece of tubing. With the car set at ride height, the top of the cage was set level with the ground.  [6] With two temporary spacers...  [6] With two temporary spacers (arrows) made to maintain the 6-inch center-to-center distance apart of the two tubes, the second tube was clamped in place. A square was used to ensure they were perpendicular to the rear section of the shoulder tube.  [7] Prior to welding any tubes...  [7] Prior to welding any tubes in place, a small hole was drilled at each joint to prevent any pressure buildup inside the tubing during welding. If this isn’t done, the last section of each weld could blow out.  [8] With the main part of...  [8] With the main part of the cage tacked in place (minus the lateral movement tubes), I reset the chassis so it was level, making it easier to ensure each vertical tube from the shoulder bar to the frame was vertical.  [9] With the vertical tubes...  [9] With the vertical tubes in place, I set the top of the cage level again and installed the lateral movement tubes. These are slightly smaller than the main structure, at 1 1/2 inches in diameter.  [10] Prior to installing diagonal...  [10] Prior to installing diagonal tubes from the shoulder tube rearward into the pickup bed, I fabricated this floor section to mount the gas tank, battery, and fire extinguisher.  [11]  [12] … with the DJ Safety...  [12] … with the DJ Safety fire extinguisher behind the driver. This has to be mounted at a minimum of 15 degrees from horizontal.  [13] I used my trusty Miller...  [13] I used my trusty Miller 375 X-treme plasma cutter to make the fire extinguisher mounting brackets from 3/16-inch steel. The aluminum clamps will bolt to these.  [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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