[BlackMachOne]

i'm going to be fabing up my own sub frame connectors, roll bar, and monte carlo bar/export brace. i want a beafy roll bar, bigger than the comp engineering one. what size should i look for? same for the subframes and engine bracing, what sizes? i'm getting tubular, not square. thanks

 

[BlackMachOne]

nothin?

 

[PMay]

I followed the guidelines of the SCCA and found stock thickness I.D. and O.D. to be perfect for size and strength. I run the popular 4-point Autopower rollbar sold through Mustangs Plus. I had custom trusses fabbed to the rear torque boxes to tie everything together. Using this SCCA approved system , I have seen and inspected complete rollovers at speed at College Station and everyone walked away--stunned and confused, but walking nonetheless. My advice: Rather than beefier, I would go "comprehensive" and make an off-the-shelf roll bar a 6-point with the additional legs that go over the window openings and down to the front floor pans. For this, I am going to go custom small-tube so that easy access to the car is not compromised.

My subframe connectors are Tin Man Fabrications that insert far into the frame-rail and end at the mounting for the Trac Masters. There is nothing firmer for stiffening a car without going to a full frame. Do not weld onto the outside of the frame rail; you'll regret it.

Question for you: I am curious about the beefier lower crossmember sold by Cobra Automotive web page (scroll down). This seems a perfect track upgrade that is reasonably cheap. DO you know anything about it?

Thanks,
Paul

 

[ehummelman]

Do not weld onto the outside of the frame rail; you'll regret it.

Can you expand on this? What is the potential failure? I'm curious as TCP, Maier Racing, and GW subframes all weld to the outside. :: Unless your welding skills completely suck, I don't see how this would be a weak point.

 

[BlackMachOne]

Do not weld onto the outside of the frame rail; you'll regret it.

Question for you: I am curious about the beefier lower crossmember sold by Cobra Automotive web page (scroll down). This seems a perfect track upgrade that is reasonably cheap. DO you know anything about it?

your car looks great btw, you should get some more pictures up.

why is it bad to wled them to the outside?

i plan to buy the cobra automotive front crossmember. anything from those guys is a great product. all i know it is is similar to what was used on the boss cars. that is on my list of things to buy by next summer, along with cobra automotives hollow front sway bar.

Thanks,
Paul

 

[BlackMachOne]

i didnt really think about the weight. thats not too much of a concern, as i have put almost 72 SQ ft of dynamat throughout my car and a couple of other heavy mods such as a fold down, and will be putting in a stereo system and AC.
do you suscribe to mustang monthly? if so, look at the november 2005 issue on pg 54. they show an orange 70 boss with a roll bar that looks quite a bit larger than the competiton engineering one. i just figured it would be better, but would it not be worth it becasue of the weight?

 

[dodgestang]

Roll bars look beefier after you add some fab padding to them.

 

[Comic]

If you do a cage(full Cage) you will not need sub frame connectors. and build a platform on the front of the cage going to the frame from the rocker panelto set it on.
This will give the sides the strength they need>
About the weight: cutting weight always comes from the back of the car putting sme weight in in with a cage or metal will only help balance the car out.

 

[LMan]

if you are looking to meet specs, you can reference NHRA or SCCA CCRs for current regulations.

Comp Engineering sells a nice DIY cage that meets all specs, AFAIK.

 

[mag011]

I just finished putting in the cage in a 65 fastback. Tubing is 1.75 OD with 0.095 wall thickness - as per SCCA spec. I did an 8 point cage that will allow for the rear seat to be in the car. Only thing I have left to do is a removable cross bar for the main hoop. Pictures will follow in a couple of weeks when I get back from the business trip.

 

[camachinist]

Unless you have the requisite fab tools (tubing bender, mig welder, fishmouth tools, etc), it's better to buy a kit, as most kits are mandrel bent and use tubing which meets the appropriate rules and will sonic test correctly.

I have all of the above and plenty of experience and I'd still buy a kit nowadays...

 

[BlackMachOne]

Unless you have the requisite fab tools (tubing bender, mig welder, fishmouth tools, etc), it's better to buy a kit, as most kits are mandrel bent and use tubing which meets the appropriate rules and will sonic test correctly.

I have all of the above and plenty of experience and I'd still buy a kit nowadays...

i bought a comp engineering, and i dont like it. i'm very picky. i want the roll car to be as close to the sides of the car as possible, i want it to look like it belongs rathr than being slapped in. i also want it to look beafy. i like doing metal work and i think i will enjoy my new tubing bender.

 

[camachinist]

The kits can be made to fit pretty tightly. It's just a matter of fabrication experience. I'll be interested to see if you like the tubing bender after putting the cage in

Good luck!

 

[bnickel]

Question for you: I am curious about the beefier lower crossmember sold by Cobra Automotive web page (scroll down). This seems a perfect track upgrade that is reasonably cheap. DO you know anything about it?

Thanks,
Paul

the cobra auto front crossmember is actually identical to the crossmember the T/A boss cars ran back in the day, the procedure for modifying your stock one is in the boos 302 chassis guide if you don't want to pony up the coin for the CA unit. what it does is attach to the LCA chassis attachmnet point and is designed to keep the LCA from moving around under hard cornering and therby screwing the alignment all up. basically you attach the x-member in the stock location, add longer bolts to LCA pivot and use nuts in the normal location follwed by a spacer, then through the X-member and 2 more nuts with one being used as a stop/lock nut on the outside. now no more worrying about your alignment moving/changing. pretty cool trick, you can accomplish the same basic thing using the pro-motorsports eccentric eliminator kit, but with the x-member you also beef up the front subframe some

 

[tjc1965]

Couple points:

I'm installing a 10-point kit from S & W Racecars right now. 1.75" DOM tubing, quality of bends is nice. Fit is fairly tight to sheetmetal, although their literature says certain parts are left "long" to be cut-to-fit, and I found the A-pillar tubes could have been an inch or two longer to get a tighter fit to the windhield pillar.

I also have the heavy cross-member, I bought mine from Delta Bay Mustang a few years ago but it's the same as CA and the Boss book. Once I got it I realized I should have made my own...Anyway, I found it didn't fit well with my Pro-Motorsports kit. You need to be able to torque the bolt in the mounting bracket, and the crossmember angle is not flush up against the back of the bracvket, so you can't really squeeze it down. Ended up flipping the crossmember around to use it. I think it was a little close to the Canton 7 quart pan also if installed correctly.