I know that Autopower makes bolt in cages but is wondering if there was such a thing as pre-cut, pre-bent and weld it yourself cages. Anyone ever heard of such a thing? If so, where would I find one?

If you do a search here, I think at one point, long time ago Tony C offered them.
So, he has the patterns to do this, and he can cut one up and send it up to you.

I am sure that McMark knows how to get in touch with him, he is in that area,,,norcal area that is...

Rich

autopower ALSO makes bre bent YOU weld it kits...

www.ioportracing.com

I believe this is tony c's site that is discussed above.

Hope this helps.

Jim

tcdesign

If your looking for simple and cheap, Autopower is the ticket. First of all let me say Autopower makes quality products, I've always made them a consideration when quoting roll cage jobs. However, from everthing I've seen, everyone I've talked to from supplier to consumer, I've come to this conclusion: Autopower and every other pre-bent kit has one downfall... they over-compensate tolerances, resulting in a cage that makes an already small cockpit smaller... I have two problems with this. One serious and the second annoyingness. No matter how much you spend on SFI approved, top of the line rollbar padding, simple logic still applies: Put the tubing as far away as possible. Roll cages serve two purposes; they keep other cars, trees, hard objects, etc. from entering into your personal space. In any case, steel tubing is still harder than you no matter what object its attempting to counteract. So the closer you are to the tubing the higher the odds that your going to do more damage to yourself. The annoying thing about the pre-bent kits is that they physically suck to get in and out of.

I've made everything from bolt in 914 & 911 hoops to full 8pt cages like the one in my 9146gt clone. If you can afford to spend a little more, I recommend finding a local off-roading shop or race shop and see if you can get some side deal going. Heck, even a 16yr old kid whos been making sandrails in his backyard works... as long as he has the right dies in good shape and doesn't waist half your expensive material on wrong bends, your good to go. Fallow PCA, POC, SCCA, etc's rule books for tubing size, and sketch out dimensions of the tubes you need bent up, then weld it yourself.

Good luck on your project. Don.

Read up on this. There have been several discussions on the pro and cons of cages in street cars. Also you will want to be sure the design and materials meet local sanctioning if you plan to race anyplace in your area.

Safety Systems roll cages are much better than Autopower.

Got a link? When I search safety systems I get a bunch of websites regarding safety but not roll cages.

Don: Thank you for the advice. I was quoted $4k for a 4 point cage that extended to tie in the suspension points. So I thought I would see what my other options were. No doubt the custom cages are built to tighter tolerances. A friend of mine has offered to do it for the cost of materials and I might take him up on it. Only problem is he uses a conduit bender and I'm not sure if that makes proper mandrel bends. He built a rally cage with it but I was told that the scrutineering is more thorough in road racing here.

Jim: I've been to his website before but it doesn't say anything about providing a weld in kit. He has pictures of a custom cage he built for a 914 though.

Rick: I searched the forum before posting and I didn't find much on pre-built cages other than Autopower. Our local race organization follows the SCCA rules fairly closely.

Try this it's Saftey Devices. I have on in my car and I like the fact it attached to the rear firewall. The drawback is the bar at the top of the windsheld makes it hard to get the top on and off. I have seen this bar moved as not to interfear with the top.
Van914

Here is the site >http://www.safetydevices.com/content/section/8/50/

i think he means safety devices....

solo,

My initial reaction to $4K is also a bit steep, but I would also need to know more details about what materials quoted and workmanship... cause the latter unit (99% of the time) will make or break the bank.

However, you do have one key asset... your friend with the pipe bender. If you trust his skills as a fabricator, I would suggest you buy a cheap ratchet style tubing bender (JD2 "model 3" bender is what I started with and still have for doing jobs on site. Give these guys a call, they're really helpful... http://vansantent.com/tube_bending_machines.htm ) pick one up new or used from Evilbay, get the die you will need for your cage tube diameter, then sell it when your done and get a few bucks back. Shop around, figure a safe $1000 on material and a good bending tool (you should be able to pick one up for less than $600), a few six packs and pizza for your friend, your on your way.

Cheers, Don.

Even if you do get a Safety Devices stick cage.. you have to fit every single piece..

You have to measure and cut the fishmouths for every piece of tubing..

I have a Safety Devices cage in my 914 .. its nice ..