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BamaBleach View Drop Down
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    Posted: 15 June 2010 at 9:49am

Thought some of you might enjoy drooling over some of Nick's latest work.  He's been building a cage for my Cruiser. 

First the B pillar:

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BamaBleach Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 June 2010 at 9:50am

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BamaBleach Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 June 2010 at 9:53am

Got some grab handles made.  Tied them into the cross bar for maximum protection.

And more random cage pics:

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And more:
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RL-RRC Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 June 2010 at 10:21am
Looks great, you can tell a lot time and effort has been put into it. Great work Nick
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote moloss Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 June 2010 at 11:29am
I wish I had 1/8th of his tallent.......my welding is only good for my cattle trailerLOL

Edited by moloss - 15 June 2010 at 11:30am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 50Willys Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 June 2010 at 12:23pm
Nice welds!! Clap and a good looking cage also. Big smile
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 83K10 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 June 2010 at 4:15pm
Looks really good! Is there something on the body for the back of the seat bars to bolt onto? I can't tell from the pictures. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote grcthird Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 June 2010 at 5:52pm
Nice work! What size is the tube and what wire size are you welding it with?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BamaBleach Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 June 2010 at 1:49am
Originally posted by 83K10 83K10 wrote:

Looks really good! Is there something on the body for the back of the seat bars to bolt onto? I can't tell from the pictures. 
I don't have a good picture but it bolts to the factory seat location.
 
Here's the tab:
 
And you can start to see where it mounts in the far right side of this pic:
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bluetoy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 June 2010 at 1:57am
Thanks for the compliments guys. Phil is doing a good job of building a really nice cruiser, I'm glad I could help him out a little with it. He needs to post a lnik to his buildup on the ih8mud forum. You should see what all he's done so far.
 
 
John, yes the rear seat bar has tabs that bolt the the floor via the factory rear seat mount locations.
 
grcthird, tubing is 1.750" HREW. I'm welding it with a hobart 135 using .023" wire.
TOYOTA FOUR WHEEL DRIVE................need I say more?   
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 94Blazer327 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 June 2010 at 2:34am
Looks good Nick
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Case Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 June 2010 at 2:53am
how many feet of tubing did you end up using?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 June 2010 at 3:15am
Nice work Nick!  Beautiful welds man.  Any interest in doing a little welding on a Nissan?  You know... like a D44 up front? Wink
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bluetoy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 June 2010 at 4:28am
I "think" we used around 5 20ft sticks of tubing (100ft) . That's including the short pieces we had left over, so not entirely that much in the cage itself. I didn't really keep up with it that good.
 
 
Drake, I'm not doing any work for anyone else until I get my 4Runner built.
TOYOTA FOUR WHEEL DRIVE................need I say more?   
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 June 2010 at 4:56am
Oh no I didn't mean anytime soon.  I gotta pay it off first before I get to hacking on it. LOL
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 83K10 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 June 2010 at 5:23am
Good deal on the seat tie in. The only other thing I see is it wouldn't hurt to have a diagonal or two in the main hoop(B pillar) but sometimes they can be a pain. I couldn't figure out a good way to do them when I did the cage in Sam's jeep because the seats have to sit under the main hoop. I kinda like the way the top of the cage looks like eyebrows getting mean. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JGbronc Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 June 2010 at 6:57am
Here is Phil's build thread on ih8mud:

BamaBleach's FJ40 buildup
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Case Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 June 2010 at 10:14am
Nick, I'm fixing to do a cage in my jeep.  Questions for you about this one:

How come no kicker from the B pillar to the c Pillar mount?
How come no crossbars on the B pillar other than the seat mount?
Do you feel HREW is strong enough?
How much does  a cage of this size weigh?
Welded to the frame or bolted to the body?

Now I understand a family cage isn't meant for the same kind of punishment a trail only rig would see, but I'm still curious about these specific design choices.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bluetoy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 June 2010 at 11:38am

Originally posted by Case Case wrote:

Nick, I'm fixing to do a cage in my jeep.  Questions for you about this one:

How come no kicker from the B pillar to the c Pillar mount?  I don't see a need for one.
How come no crossbars on the B pillar other than the seat mount? Same answer as above.
Do you feel HREW is strong enough? Absolutley. 
How much does  a cage of this size weigh? I would guess 250-300#
Welded to the frame or bolted to the body? It has plates that bolt to each side of the body. The lower plates will be tied into the frame. Maybe Phil can post a pic of them for you.

Now I understand a family cage isn't meant for the same kind of punishment a trail only rig would see, but I'm still curious about these specific design choices.

 
This is a trail rig. I feel this cage design is as safe as any other trail rig out there and probably safer than most. I like the minimalistic approach to stuff. I'm not big on a bunch of redundant, seemingly useless tubing that looks like a jungle gym instead of a rig.
 
Could we have added more braces and made it stronger? Definately. Do I think it will hold up to the type of rollovers it might see. Absolutely. If Phil was gonna compete in werock events I would have added a lot of extra bars.
 
Bottom line is, we built it as strong as we thought was neccessary for the type of wheeling it will see. Nothing more, nothing less. Wink
TOYOTA FOUR WHEEL DRIVE................need I say more?   
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 94Blazer327 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 June 2010 at 12:28pm
if thats a high pressure fuel pump I see under the seat, I strongly suggest you put one in the tank. If its low pressure , carry on. Ive done the high pressure external pump similar to that design and they last for a year or two and quit. Heat is the main factor because there isnt anything to cool them off like when the pump is in the tank.
 
Sorry for the hyjack, just thought I might save some heartache.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mavereq Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 June 2010 at 1:49pm
beautiful work
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BamaBleach Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 June 2010 at 4:11pm
Pics of frame tie-in plates:





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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BamaBleach Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 June 2010 at 4:15pm
Originally posted by 94Blazer327 94Blazer327 wrote:

if thats a high pressure fuel pump I see under the seat, I strongly suggest you put one in the tank. If its low pressure , carry on. Ive done the high pressure external pump similar to that design and they last for a year or two and quit. Heat is the main factor because there isnt anything to cool them off like when the pump is in the tank.
 
Sorry for the hyjack, just thought I might save some heartache.

It is considered a high pressure fuel pump. The few people that run a 3FE in a FJ40 have ran the same thing or something similar.  Thanks for the heads up.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 94Blazer327 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 June 2010 at 4:39pm
no prob. Ask Nick about mine quiting on me and I had to stop every 2-4 miles from Estill Fork to Gurley and pour water on it. Not fun. lol
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Case Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 June 2010 at 1:57am
Originally posted by bluetoy bluetoy wrote:

Originally posted by Case Case wrote:

Nick, I'm fixing to do a cage in my jeep.  Questions for you about this one:

How come no kicker from the B pillar to the c Pillar mount?  I don't see a need for one.
How come no crossbars on the B pillar other than the seat mount? Same answer as above.
Do you feel HREW is strong enough? Absolutley. 
How much does  a cage of this size weigh? I would guess 250-300#
Welded to the frame or bolted to the body? It has plates that bolt to each side of the body. The lower plates will be tied into the frame. Maybe Phil can post a pic of them for you.

Now I understand a family cage isn't meant for the same kind of punishment a trail only rig would see, but I'm still curious about these specific design choices.

 
This is a trail rig. I feel this cage design is as safe as any other trail rig out there and probably safer than most. I like the minimalistic approach to stuff. I'm not big on a bunch of redundant, seemingly useless tubing that looks like a jungle gym instead of a rig.
 
Could we have added more braces and made it stronger? Definately. Do I think it will hold up to the type of rollovers it might see. Absolutely. If Phil was gonna compete in werock events I would have added a lot of extra bars.
 
Bottom line is, we built it as strong as we thought was neccessary for the type of wheeling it will see. Nothing more, nothing less. Wink


OK for my edumucashun:

Everywhere I read and everyone that I talk to says that DOM is minimum necessary for a cage.   The race guys here at the shop insist on chromeoly tubing...  Can you please tell me your thoughts on HREW vs DOM?  Please keep in mind that I'm just trying to learn and am not critical of your decision just because I "read something on pirate".  Just trying to understand the principles of cage design beyond "lol throw more money at it" and "needs more triangulation". 
06 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited all torn apart.



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RL-RRC Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 June 2010 at 3:35am
All things being equal chromoly is stronger than dom and dom is stronger than hrew. Thats all at the same diameter and thickness. You can easily increase the size and wall thickness hrew to be stronger than the dom and chromoly you just pay for it in added weight. Most race cars have chromoly cages because it has a higher strength to weight ratio. Also be ware theres a lot of cheap quality steel coming in from china thats pure garbage.
 
Good article here


Edited by RL-RRC - 17 June 2010 at 3:36am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 June 2010 at 4:07am
Case, I have raced for years and had several cages made of HREW. I once took a T bone side impact where I was sitting still and the car that hit me was running around 90! The cage held up just fine. I don't think you will ever get an impact that severe in an offroad rig. My opinion is to save your money for other things like a Toyota (just kiddin ya) and use HREW.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 83K10 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 June 2010 at 5:41am
One good thing to do is make the bends where the welds are on the inside when possible.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dontoy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 June 2010 at 11:23am
Nice work Nick and Phil.
 
I used 1.75*0.120 HREW on mine and it has held up ok.  Anything will give if you put a large enough point load on it.
 
My cage may not be made out of USA steel however!
 
Don
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