Fitting a roll cage
Discussion
We're going to be installing a roll cage into our little project car, and I have a question:
Where the floor plates need to be bolted through the sills, what is the best way to avoid compressing the inner & outer sills together?
I guess it wouldn't be so much of a problem if we had the original half sized outer sills, but we've got the complete enclosed oversills.
Your advice would be much appreciated as ever!
Also, how easy / difficult is it to re-skin a door??
Where the floor plates need to be bolted through the sills, what is the best way to avoid compressing the inner & outer sills together?
I guess it wouldn't be so much of a problem if we had the original half sized outer sills, but we've got the complete enclosed oversills.
Your advice would be much appreciated as ever!
Also, how easy / difficult is it to re-skin a door??
Prepare to lose your switches! 
You need a ratchet strap to pull the 2 legs together to get them in the door bins. It will all become clear. DO NOT SMASH THE PLASTIC BITS OFF YOUR SWITCHES!!!!!!!!! Also, I managed to ding my door pillars, mask everything up with tape. Mine's a bolt through and has heavy plates outside the car as well. The front part was a doddle. It's the back which damages things.
You need a ratchet strap to pull the 2 legs together to get them in the door bins. It will all become clear. DO NOT SMASH THE PLASTIC BITS OFF YOUR SWITCHES!!!!!!!!! Also, I managed to ding my door pillars, mask everything up with tape. Mine's a bolt through and has heavy plates outside the car as well. The front part was a doddle. It's the back which damages things.Hmm, a bit more work than anticipated, oh well, just have to add it to the to do list! I don't think that where the cage mounts, it is on the single skinned part of the sill - seems a bit too close to the edge of the car.
No worries with hitting any switches - it is just a bare shell at the moment, we'll just have to make sure we look after our precious new paintwork (once it's been sprayed).
Can the door pockets be removed, or are they structural?
No worries with hitting any switches - it is just a bare shell at the moment, we'll just have to make sure we look after our precious new paintwork (once it's been sprayed).
Can the door pockets be removed, or are they structural?
MiniDiva said:
Hmm, .....I don't think that where the cage mounts, it is on the single skinned part of the sill...
It should be single skin!!
MiniDiva said:
..I guess it wouldn't be so much of a problem if we had the original half sized outer sills, but we've got the complete enclosed oversills.
This is the root of your problem, the original sills aren't 1/2 sized, they're the correct size.
Oversills are a bodge and guaranteed to cause rampant rust between the 2 layers of metal.
MiniDiva said:
...- it is just a bare shell at the moment,we'll just have to make sure we look after our precious new paintwork (once it's been sprayed). ...
I think you'd be nuts to do all this work and not sort out what is an important structural part of the car.
MiniDiva said:
Can the door pockets be removed, or are they structural?
They're stuctural...but some people have removed them, I wouldn't!
Hey Dino, no probs!
The full size sills have replaced the original ones completely - don't worry all the rust has been removed and fill size sills are firmly in place & nicely filled with cavity wax.. We most certainly haven't covered up any old rotten sills, so the structure is sound.
We'll sort it! Cheers
The full size sills have replaced the original ones completely - don't worry all the rust has been removed and fill size sills are firmly in place & nicely filled with cavity wax.. We most certainly haven't covered up any old rotten sills, so the structure is sound.
We'll sort it! Cheers
If you haven't got a ratchet strap. tie a rope around the two legs in a loop, get a bit of timber and start to wind........it'll pull in the legs and if the timbers the right length you can lock it against the top part of the cage.
Watch the interior light and the rear internal paintwork.
Tony H
Watch the interior light and the rear internal paintwork.
Tony H
No a very ice job and every time I do it I end up swearing about it!
You do need to weld the plates on the outside and the bolts must bre really torqued up tight if the cage is to do its job should the need arise. It's arisen with me, I must admit, and the subsequent damage really was minimised by having a cage.
I agree that the door bins are structural, although with a full cage the strength they provide is probably redundant so they could be removed. If you are going to use the car for motor sport, beware that the regs could require them to be fitted.
What sort of cage is it? It can be a good idea to weld additional plates onto the top of the front cage and weld to the tops of the 'A' posts near the top of the screen aperture. I did this on my last rally Mini and it cetainly strengthens it all up. Then, another good place to weld a plate is from the 'B' post verticals to pick up on the seat belt acchorages on the door frame. That really does stiffen up the entire shell and carry and crash loads into the structure in the best possible way.
Good luck with the installation - at least you're doing it on a bare shell, which certainly halps a lot.
You do need to weld the plates on the outside and the bolts must bre really torqued up tight if the cage is to do its job should the need arise. It's arisen with me, I must admit, and the subsequent damage really was minimised by having a cage.
I agree that the door bins are structural, although with a full cage the strength they provide is probably redundant so they could be removed. If you are going to use the car for motor sport, beware that the regs could require them to be fitted.
What sort of cage is it? It can be a good idea to weld additional plates onto the top of the front cage and weld to the tops of the 'A' posts near the top of the screen aperture. I did this on my last rally Mini and it cetainly strengthens it all up. Then, another good place to weld a plate is from the 'B' post verticals to pick up on the seat belt acchorages on the door frame. That really does stiffen up the entire shell and carry and crash loads into the structure in the best possible way.
Good luck with the installation - at least you're doing it on a bare shell, which certainly halps a lot.
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