03-Oct-02 Work on the Roll Cage Continues Part 2 Life behind bars << Previous Interior Article All Interior Articles Next Interior Article >> Here's a finished plate prior to drilling. The finished hoop will be reinforced with triangular gussets between the mount and tubing for extra strength. The front mounting plates are much simpler. The bottoms of the sleeves will need to be cut at an angle to fit tight against the plates. The body-mounting bolt will be directly behind the tubing. The cage is being built to fit as tightly in the car as possible. Here you can see how close it will be to the roof of the car. The two extra bends (kinks) that were put in the top of the main hoops would normally detract from the looks of the cage but not in this case because the cage will be almost completely concealed! The only parts of the roll cage that you will see when you look in the car will be the braces on each side of the seats that extend at an angle from just below the top door hinge to the floor and on each side of the windshield from the top of the dashboard to the headliner. The headliner and interior panels will hide the rest. Foam cushions will be placed in strategic areas to keep the cage from squeaking or rubbing on the body. Any exposed cage will be powder coated satin black. The duct tape you see at the top is holding the bar in place so that when I shut the door it doesn't come crashing down… again. Fortunately nothing was destroyed in its path but it was definitely a LOUD wake-up call! The dashboard will be notched to fit around the bars and the tops of the bars will disappear into the headliner. Soon I'll drill the mounting plates, trim the sleeves and start tack welding the bars in place. I'll also get to use the tubing notcher! That's something I've been anxious to try. << Previous Interior Article All Interior Articles Next Interior Article >>