Roll Cage

[mosstrooper]

I collected my new Roll Bar from Protection and Performance last week. Hoop, back stays and removeable horizontal seat-belt bar.

Beautiful job with a black powder-coat finish.

Trouble is, it doesn't fit ! The back-stay feet line up with the outside edge of the shock absorber mounts !

Transpires the jigs they have are marked 'Vixen' but they were based on one they made for an M series.

P&P have agreed to take it back. (so there's an opportunity for someone........).

So, what to do ? Stuart at the Roll Centre have offered to sell me a similar system in kit form. However, the bar is designed for a bare shell. He doesn't know if it will fit into a car with carpets and head-lining.

Has anyone here had a bar from them and fitted it into an upholstered road-going car ??

You help would be appreciated because my body is ready to be refitted.


Thanks in advance.

[Slow M]

mosstrooper said:

...So, what to do ? Stuart at the Roll Centre have offered to sell me a similar system in kit form. However, the bar is designed for a bare shell. He doesn't know if it will fit into a car with carpets and head-lining.

Buy it.
Trial fit it.
If it's too tall, you can cut a little bit off the bottom of the legs.
After that, you'll likely have a little fiddling/fettling on the back-stays.
B

[mosstrooper]

Thanks Slow M. A good suggestion. I can reduce the height (though I would prefer to buy with the foot plates already fitted) and make the stays fit but I have a concern that the hoop will be too wide i.e. it is designed to be a tight fit against the body behind the B pillar.

Hence me reason for asking if anyone had a cage from the RollCentre jig.

[heightswitch]

As a hand built car the reality is that all vixens are slightly different. Most of the hoops will fit but my experience of pattern cages is that they always require an amount of tweaking to line them up.

you need to either have the cage bespoke fitted to your car or buy one and tweak it to fit.

this is the beauty of owning a hand built car like a Vixen.

an M hoop is near as damn it the same dims as a vixen hoop, The fits are all slightly different though.

Your previous posts also suggest you are just bolting the cage into the car. you should always cut the floor sections out to allow steel to steel fixing then glass back up afterward. To have a fibreglass sandwich between the legs of a cage will render it pretty useless!

N

Edited by heightswitch on Monday 26th April 15:59

[mosstrooper]

Thanks Heigthswitch.

Not sure where I suggested I would be bolting to the glassfibre - that certainly is not my intention.

Anyway, the RollCentre have Vixen jigs and have made a few cages over the years. I am just trying to find out if anyone has one of theirs and whether it will ft with the headlining in place.

I haven't even tried to fit the hoop made by P&P because the stay feet are in completely the wrong position.

[mosstrooper]

Update - this is a picture of the one which P&P made before. The one they made for me doesnt have the diagonal and the seat-belt bar is higher to accomodate the spare.

[heightswitch]

mosstrooper said:

Update - this is a picture of the one which P&P made before. The one they made for me doesnt have the diagonal and the seat-belt bar is higher to accomodate the spare.

If the rear legs are removable like your blue cage, why don't you just have a set of rear legs made up or tweak the existing legs to fit.

I have seen cages mounted on top of suspension pick ups like yours pictured but in my experience this is always the first thing ripped off in an accident. The best mounting point is inside the top diff cradle, Or if a std vixen then a plate mounted between the diff cradle top tubes and the 2 diagonal tubes is good.

If all the rest of your cage fits then making up 2 new rear legs is a pretty simple task.


Either way the cage hoop usually goes in through the back screen and tilts back on itself. when fitting you can fit new chassis triangular plates to set the cage with as much or as little room as you want to the roof.

headlining is never a problem.

Bye the way. if you are going to run a single spring set up rear. The front point is best location for it.


N

Edited by heightswitch on Monday 26th April 17:00

[mosstrooper]

Yes, the rear stays are removeable but the tubes into which they fit are not.

It will be easier to start with a new hoop.

It's going back.

Thanks for the advice about the springs.

[VixeM]

Hi Mosstrooper,

I've sent you PM.

Cheers

[Seabass]

I've got a RollCentre cage installed in the garage. It's still a bare shell but your welcome to take a nose as I'm not too far from you...

James

[mosstrooper]

Thanks James for the offer. The P&P hoop fits perfectly so they are now making me a new one with differently positioned stays. Turns out the 'wrong' one which was originally made for me was designed for a Vixen S4 (early 'M') chassis. Following postings on this forum, it has been re-sold locally and due to be picked up today. So, everyone's a winner.

See you.

[Astacus]

The chassis looks in fine fettle. What did you use to coat it, if you don't mind me asking?

Edited by Astacus on Wednesday 28th April 20:13

[mosstrooper]

Thanks.
Aqua-Steel followed by Amercoat Tractol Enamel.

[Seabass]

Good to hear. I presume it's gone to Stephen?

Edited by Seabass on Friday 30th April 14:01

[mosstrooper]

Quite correct James. Haven't heard if it fits yet but he reckoned it would.
Now I sit back and wait for mine (again).....

Drop in if you are passing.


Regards C

[Astacus]

mosstrooper said:

Thanks.
Aqua-Steel followed by Amercoat Tractol Enamel.

Noted for later!

[VixeM]

Yes It fits, just!

Thanks
Stephen

[stainless_steve]

I've contacted Protection and Performance for a price for my 2500 M.They don't sound certain about the models to me though,yet say...
These cages are all made to order and non refundable. Please make sure before ordering that the cage is the correct model you require.

I'm not sure i want to spend £650 + vat to find its not going to fit !

Tried mr Venn but he sold his last one afew months ago.

[heightswitch]

stainless_steve said:

I've contacted Protection and Performance for a price for my 2500 M.They don't sound certain about the models to me though,yet say...
These cages are all made to order and non refundable. Please make sure before ordering that the cage is the correct model you require.

I'm not sure i want to spend £650 + vat to find its not going to fit !

Tried mr Venn but he sold his last one afew months ago.

Pretty sure you won't have a problem with any M derivative. Only proviso is the diff mounting arrangement compared to 3000m with a 4 HU and the TR6 diff variety as fitted to the 2500. This may have an affect regards the rear back stay location but I doubt it? Someone with greater M knowledge than me will advise you better as to any chassis differences. I am assuming you will be installing 4HU anyhow so my reasoning is that the basis of the chassis will be same.

N.

[TVR_owner]

Take it there, leave it with them for a week to build and fit. Its what I did with my M and its fine.