I am working on the rustoration of my '73. I had originally planned on installing an Engman Long Kit. However, my brother thinks I should install a cage; but I really don't like the way they look. I would not have purchased a targa car if I wanted it to look like the roof was still on all the time.

He suggested that some sort of a cage, even a partial one, would give increased impact protection in the case of an accident, and would provide nice anchor points for installation of a 4 or 5 point harness. (my stock belts no longer retract and need work/replacement).

So, in looking at various cage designs, I saw pictures of the one Dana Stokes put into his Subie conversion (pictures can be seen here http://www.cardomain.com/features/turbo914). I think I could live with a design like this with the hoops behind the seats, or a single bar, tied into bars running along the tops of the longs and then up under the dash.

My questions are:

1) Would I still need a long kit if I went with this sort of design?
2) Would a cage like this really provide much in the way of increased impact protection?
3) Which of these provides the best performance in the way of increased chassis stiffness?

My brother has a tube bender so making something would not be too difficult if I decide to go that route. However, before doing so, I want to know that there are real benefits over a long kit and then want a design that is pretty unobtrusive. This will be a subie conversion street car. I have zero track plans for this car. Thanks.

There is no such thing as an unobtrusive cage that I have seen. If you are not going to track the car, then just go for the Engman kit and be done with it. I am building a V8 car and just using the Engman kit and the outter long siffening kits alond with a few other reinforcements. If you want a harness system, they make a harness bar that bolts in. I will even run mine on a track from time to time just to have fun. It will have plenty of rigidity and as for impact protection? I will just avoid any accidents by keeping alert when I drive.

I agree about staying alert while driving. But I am still concerned about everyone else. I rode motorcycles for years and ended up "dirt tracking" my sportbike on one occasion due to the minivan driver that decided to take the spot I was inhabiting on the freeway. I had even been careful to assure I was not in the blind spot and had an "out" on the road. Even then, I found myself boxed from the front as she moved into my lane.

I've also had that occur while driving my car. In the left lane overtaking slower traffic in the right lane when someone moves over into the lane without bothering to check first. I was also rear ended in a car one time while sitting parked at a stoplight (yes it was red). So, no matter how carefully anyone drives, impact protection is a consideration.

My preference is to stiffen the chassis while keeping it as stock looking as possible. I did a bunch of searches on the long kit and cages here but never saw the pros and cons of the two debated as to stiffness, impact protection, etc. Hence the questions.

Forgot to say: Thanks skline and I love your avatar! My wife was pregnant with our 2nd child when I first saw that. I had visions of my daughter in utero getting ready for the 914.

Well, it sounds like you are an alert driver from your posted experiences, I too used to ride street bikes and the same things happen here but in much larger vloume. I have lived in Minnesota for a short time, I have some family there and I remember the traffic out there and it is nothing compared to here at any given hour. They no longer call them accidents here, they are called traffic collisions, reason being, they are not accidents, someone is always at fault. Out here, it is women in SUV's talking on cell phones, those are the worst in my opinion, and I see it all day everyday. Next time you are out and about, watch for an SUV driving down the street, 9 out of 10 will be women drivers and most of them, will in fact be talking on the phone. I can hardly wait for the law to pass banning cell phone usage while driving. Most of these women can barely drive at all let alone a huge vehicle with limited visibility. Then they add in all the distractions like 4 kids screaming in the back, the cell phones and last but not least, make up and hair grooming while they drive.
The whole concept of them driving the huge SUV's are that they are safer for them to drive, maybe for them and they know they wont get hurt if they run over someone in a much smaller vehicle so they drive carelessly. Something needs to change before too many more people get hurt, like us in the small cars and the bikers.

Rant off

The cage is safe until you smack your head into it in a roll-over. I'm not a fan of cages in street cars. BUT, a cage will give you the most impact protection. There are two opposite ways to build a cage, stiff OR unobtrusive. The stiffer you make it, the more it's in your way. The more you keep it out of your way, the less stiffening/protection. Your biggest protection is going to be a door bar. It will also be your biggest annoyance getting in and out of the car.

I completely agree! I should also note that all of my experiences were with women drivers in larger vehicles. That was one of the main reasons I gave up riding bikes. It was one thing when it was just me and then my wife and I. Now that I have two little kids to think about, the risk was just no longer worth the reward. Hence, the 914 is a sort of replacement for my bike.

As a side note, I used to live in Washington, DC and my wife has family in both Southern California and Las Vegas. Driven through all of them and they do make the traffic here look reasonable, which is saying a lot!! So, like I said, impact protection is a consideration.

I agree. It's no accident that everything on the inside of a 914 is padded. The impact protection you really need is between your head and the inside of the car. Don't put in a cage unless you plan to wear a helmet and harness all the time. (I heard of a rally driver that was killed in a minor traffic accident on the way home from practicing, because after he practiced he loosened his harness and took off his helmet, figuring the dangerous part was over)

Even if you pad an un-obtrusive roll bar/cage, it instantly becomes obtrusive. Turns a 1 1/2"- 1 3/4" dia tube into a 3 1/2"" dia. monster. That would include anything you're likely to bang into; if you've ever banged your knee into a steel tube, then you know what I mean! No tidey solution for the street that I'm aware of.

Andys

Thanks guys! That was what I thought. I think I'll go ahead and order the Engman kit as planned and not bother with a cage.