tall people cage questions (harness bar placement) Options

[smdubovsky]

Hi guys, been a while since I've posted. Im reworking the cage in the /6 to fit me better. When I bought it, it had a "short people" main hoop design;) The harness bar went straight across and the triangulation went the the upper corner. It limited the seat from moving back another 8+". The harness bar was also *WAY* too low. I'm 6'2" w/ long legs and need all the room I can get.

Here is what it looks like now (red = the bars I cut out, green = ones Im going to install)


Here you can sorta see how low the old bar was - below the door tops.


Ok, now here is my big question: Instead of the usual zig back behind the driver (tight against firewall), zig forward across the center firewall 'hump' (tight to firewall), and head straight across to the passenger side (w/ a gap to the firewall) - I want to do a zig back (tight to firewall), go THROUGH the hump, tight against passenger side firewall, and zig forward to the main hoop. This will be just above the existing fan cutout the POs did, and above the top of the fan housing (but not really as much as the pic shows). When the seat tilts back a little more, the shoulder 'wing' gets pretty darn close to the hump so there really isn't space to route the bar completely inside the cabin. I can't really bolt eyebolts to the firewall and forego the harness bar either - they'd get too close to the seat w/ the mounting clips and adjusters (which would then actually be sitting on my shoulders.)

Heres s shot of where I want to cut though the 'hump' to put the harness bar.


I'd leave ~1/8" between the firewall and bar behind the seats so I could still wrap the harnesses around.

Thoughts? Has anyone done this? I'm not racing this car so I have *NO* class rules to follow, but thoughts about legality if I ever get rich and change my mind would be interesting;) I think if I did a larger cover w/ ears and sealed it well, it wouldn't really count as another point.

[smdubovsky]

Thanks guys!!!

Andy Brain,
A straight bar is stronger than a bent one. Since you brought it up: I MIGHT cut into the floor to lower the seat at the very back edge *IF* I decide to install sliders (pretty much just about 1/2" just to accomodate the slifder height.). I leaned the seat back a little to gain the needed headroom. I wouldn't feel comfortable moving the floor down a full 2". That easily makes your ass the lowest point of the car - it would drag on everything.

Richard,
I looks like I might be able to keep the center crossbrace - the front lip of the seat clears it w/ the amt of tilt I need. I might angle the top edge of it to match the seat mount angle. I'll only move it fwd if it gets in the way of the sliders or something (again, *IF* I choose to use them)

Steve,
You mean the alternator harness under the shroud? I hate that freakin' job on a 911 as it and you don't have to work down a dark hole;) I would just drop the motor since its a very rare occurance. W/ carbs, its an easy job to drop. Id rather do that than sacrifice useability the other 99% of the time.

Again, I don't think I can use eyebolts bolted to the firewall. They take up MORE space than the bar (1" eye + 2" clip end + 1" 3-bar adjuster = 4" vs 1/8" gap + 1.5"bar + 1" adjuster = 2-5/8")

Sir Andy,
Im familiar w/ the TC design. Brad did the PPI on my car back in san diego said it looked like a very good copy of the TC except for the braces. The owner and codriver were both very short, so they didn't do the fancy rear braces. The reason I don't think I can do the arched brace is the shoulder 'wing' on the seat. W/ the seat snugged up against the center tunnel, the headrest almost against the rear glass, the 'wing' almost hits center hump. Definitely would have to move the seat fwd to clear a 1.5" tube in the correct point. Due to the back curvature in most composite seats and the lean, there is still a good 3" or so behind the shoulder slots to the firewall. So, the bar will fit behind the seat ok, but not bewteen it and the center hump - which is why I postulated running it though the firewall.

There is one thing we thought of later: Use flat bottom U-bolts instead of eyebolts attached to the firewall. I could wrap the harness around them like a cage and gets loads of clearance since there is no clip in end to use. I'll post a pic. I could reinforce the firewall w/ a small beam on the motor side - but I would still prefer to bolt into the cage.