Good to hear from you again arg012. Hows things? Is your Datto still going hard?
As I suppose you know, I sold the Mini and got my XB ute on the road finally. Sold the Mini for $3400 which is pretty good seeing as I bought it for $1500. : )

About those alloy cages. As far as I know (still have to check CAMS manual) the alloy cages were banned from competition use. This doesnt mean that they are all crap but some (most) are not as strong as the steel ones.

As for who makes them down here...I have seen in ads that Dynamic Welding can do them, in Derwent Park. Some guy up north with a private buisness does them, but hes up north. I would give Autocraft a call and ask them who does them, seeing as they build racecars.

Simon

P.S. If you do find out some prices for cages let me know cause Im in the market for one for the coupe, cheers.

in the cheap and nasty department the best prices me and my brother could find was about $800 for basic six point CAMS job aswell as far as i know noone does it cheaper.

are all alloy cages that dangerous? im starting to worry about mine, i got my full alloy cage around 3 to 4 years ago from bond roll cages. at the time i was told it was approved aslong as the bar which runs besides the seat is welded and that i have padding in the right places. i dont mind getting rid of that one if it is found to be dangerous as my friends and i race on closed circuits, paddocks etc and im afraid it might get used some day. if it is, what would be the best material ,keeping in mind i dont want to weigh as much as MrNismos XB Falcon
also a question for us tazzie guys who woulld make the best cages around? something else to look out for is that you can still use your window winders, if i didnt have electric windows in my sedan icouldnt wind my windows up and down and have the bar that goes over the roof in the middle the legal distance from my head. I am also challenging my mates to a drag race at the tarmak dragstrip (so my car will be scruteneered ((or how ever it is spelled)) for the first time there) what will i need to do to pass this (eg. overflow bottle)? pps . my diff is on its way out,im too busy to do a conversion myself so im getting a diff specialist to do it right the first time. i might just get the shortend commodore conversion (with disks) so future upgrades wont worry it. is there any real pit falls i need to worry about (rear brakes stopping better than the front sunny brakes)??? id expect a pro to do it right but of course it dosnt alway work out that well.

have you had any quotes as yet on your cage. If you do I would be interested to know where from.

I got a quote from a mob in Dandenong about 6months ago for my coupe, it was basically for a 6 point cage fitted (cams approved) around $800.

i just took my car to a guy named Mike Duncan at advanced automotive engineering in CHCH
it's thursday here and he thinks he might have the cage done by satur day this week it's a six point with diagonal roof bar and side intrusion with a belt bar and another diagonal going from just behind the seats to the wheel arches and get this he said it was going to cost only $700 bloody cheap

Ah your wife doesn't understand you either...........I'm glad to see Aussie has finally done away with alloy cages they've been illegal in NZ for over 10 yrs. I have seen alloy cages snap and do some really nasty damage to the occupants. When I do a cage I make the front legs in 2 pieces and join them down the windscreen pillar. With a tube inside and some plug welds as well as around the joins. I can then twist the 2 pieces to get the tightest fit in the footwell and roofline. Are you allowed to do that in OZ?? Where the join is on the pillar I also tag it to the body. It sure makes life easier than trying to bend tube in 2 different planes...

Homologation isn't hard as long as you plan to follow the rules they require before you start. You'll run into things like type of pipe, size and attachment of base plates, intrusion bars, bend radius and crimping etc. Cool stuff like you can only bend the front legs once i.e follow the A pillar down from the roof and then one bend and drop to the floor. Welds are critical with regard to penetration and all around jons - not tacked. My cage is in a circuit car but is legal for rallying - we designed it so that no matter what goes up front in the engine bay won't over power the cage with regard to speed and safety. The only difficult thing with the BBQ was sneaking it off the porch and taking it to the shed - it was a Christmas present and was only a few weeks old. Luckily my wife was on the phone...

Now that I've heard the story about BBQing rollcage pipe, I no longer think I'm as car-mad as I thought I was. I'm a mere novice.

You must either live in the bush or have good neighbours :)

Chris

So when can I place my order teretonga? :)
That sounds like a lot of work but I bet it is worth it. Was it hard to homologate it? ie. was there many rules you had to stick to?
What sort of racing are you using your coupe for?

Hi there everyone. Cages are probably one of my favourite topics. I've recently completed a homologated cage for my coupe. 40mm steel Tube cost $150 and it is far superior to any kit set cage you buy. The trick is to have the cage as close to the body as possible and kit cages don't have that tolerance. This cage is tied into the A and B pillars and has a cross bar under the dash and permanent X intrusion bars on both sides. The rear stays go to the inner guard as you are usually not allowed to go past the suspension points front and rear. I have a horizontal belt bar between the rear stays and a diagonal from the driver's head to the passengers rear stay - this forms a triangulated structure that is heaps strong over the drivers area. Another horizontal bar runs above the front screen. You can mock your cage up with PVC pipe or wire to get the bend angles right. All bending was done with a hydraulic former - the trick is to full the tube with sand, tamp down, top up with sand, tamp again until no more sand can be added and then mig a plate over the end. We then heated up the pipe over my new barbecue and coated the part to be bent with grease. You have to measure your bends with a micrometer - if it crimps then it won't be strong and won't pass homologation. Attach the A and B pillars with a bit of plate. You end up with a cage that offers great protection and really stiffens up the chassis. The kit cages are usually free standing with oodles of room between them and the interior. If you do have a major stack then the body deforms and then hits the cage with impact - sort of like a slide hammer action. A custom engineered cage is part of your body structure because you spend time getting it close to the roof and pillars and tying it in to them. You will need a ticketed welder to do the welding and then sign off on the homologation form. It can be a lot of work but if you have the time and want to have the best result get into it. A lot of laughs can be had slowly rotissering a 5 metre legth of tube over a BBQ at 2 in the morning!