Bolt in cages or have one built?

[JimWirt]

Is there anything any good? My car needs a new cage. Or should I have some one fab one up for me?

[JimWirt]

Car is a 1980 sc.

[George3]

Just for clarification purposes, I'm assuming you mean a full roll cage from rear to front of the cabin... and not a roll bar which is just behind the front seats and does not extend forward to the windsheild. 

Assuming it's the latter, then most aftermarket roll bars are sufficient for DE use.  DAS, Techquipment, etc.  If the car is being used for racing, then a full roll cage is a must. 

I have a full cage in my car that is a hybrid bolted and welded cage.  It is incredible how this stiffened up the car when the full cage was installed.  The custom fully welded cage is the cadillac, while the bolt-in cages at least provide more roll over protection than just the rear mounted roll bar.

Depends what the intended use for the car is.  Either way, folks should stay away from harness bars, as they provide no roll over protection whatsoever.

[Larry Herman]

Jim, having seen your car, my advise is to have a professional build you a proper cage.  Anything else is just wasting your money.  Is it worth it to risk your safety for a few thousand dollars?

[Darren]

Larry Herman wrote:

Jim, having seen your car, my advise is to have a professional build you a proper cage. Anything else is just wasting your money. Is it worth it to risk your safety for a few thousand dollars?

Jim -- I'm with Larry on this one for sure. Not only will a welded in cage be way safer but it will also add a lot of rigidity that will make the car faster.

We had a bolt-in cage in the blue Acura initially. It would lift a rear wheel about 1/2" at Summit Point in T9. Then we had a professional cage installed and it would lift the wheel about 4" at the same place!

That rigidity is also what will potentially save your life.

I don't know if you saw this but a year or so back there was a Mustang that had an Autopower bolt-in rollbar installed that when it rolled it punched through the floor. I don't know how the driver/passenger were not hurt.

[dmano]

The best cage builder around our area is Lucky's Race Cars. Pete has been building our cages for over 30+ years. His work is perfect. The best welds I have ever seen. A true cage artist. 

[Ed Kovalevich]

I agree with Darren and Larry, welded. I can't say enough about the service and the quality of work I received from Precision Chassis. Doug is a great guy to work with.

http://www.precisionchassis.com/

 

[Lainey]

That is the nicest cage I've ever seen.... wow, looks neat