Cage questions

[daniel_buck]

Thanks Kurt! I'm gonna give it a try myself, if I can't get it then I'll ping ya

[Lumpy Grits]

Also-May I suggest you disconnect the battery(both posts)before welding.:2:

LG

[daniel_buck]

I haven't been doing that, but I guess it can't hurt to disconnect them? Actually, since I'm poking around behind the dash, I should probably disconnect it anyway, with all those wires.

[RAT]

That battery thing is a wives tale but.... never hurts. Just in case you weld into a wire bundle by mistake.

[Lumpy Grits]

That battery thing is a wives tale but.... never hurts. Just in case you weld into a wire bundle by mistake.

Not really a wives tale at all.
Your run'n a pos(+) to neg(-)high amp circuit with that welder on a grounded surface that is linked to a bunch of expensive and load sensitive electronics. Some of those circuits are continually 'hot' like your clock and the radio etc.
The back feed from the welder can/may damage your alternator's rectifiers and diodes also.
FWIW: I always disco the battery terminals when welding on any vehicle.
LG

[Tumbleweed13]

Just a suggestion, or maybe a bit of inspiration. Check out the very 1st post in my thread. You can see the sub frame that I made, for my seat mounts.
http://www.myjeeprocks.com/forums/sh...alizing-My-Zuk

[daniel_buck]

Thanks Tumbleweed! I hadn't thought about making a square out of the tubing on either side of the tunnel, instead of bending a bar to go all the way over. I'm going to have a bar that goes from the base of the A pillar to the base of the B pillar, that with the bar that goes from the base of the B-B pillars would be similar to what you have, not going over the transmission tunnel. That would be easy

I'm going to hard mount the seats, instead of using adjustable rails. Kurt hard mounted the seats in my willys, and I like them. They feel very solid, no play like the seats on the factory rails.

[daniel_buck]

got the main part of the A pillars and dash and upper bar all in place and ratcheted tight, got all the angles square and ready to weld. I'll weld them up tomorrow morning, then start working on the seat mounts and the triangulation on the top of the cage above the seats.

I'm going to do the grab handles on the A pillar a bit different than usual, I think my idea will keep the handles a farther away away from any rocks in the event of a flop or a roll than the way the handles usually are done.

The bar connecting the A pillars just above the dash, I'm going to get as far down as possible, since I'll be lowering the seats, I want visibility. Going to have to cut a bit of the dash plastic to do that, but from what I can tell that will be very easy.

[daniel_buck]

The paint dried on the front half of the cage! I must say, I like the hammer finish in the can MUCH better than in the spray. It goes on thick without dripping, and dries fairly quickly. \

I still have the triangulation to do up top, I only did the center bar up top, the rest will come next. And some gussets, and the seat mounts and hip bars to do. And mounting to the frame. I have the frame tie-in brackets and bushings ready to go, just need some time to fit and weld them up. Not finished yet, but it's slowly getting there.

The weld in the middle of the A pillar is apart of the Synergy kit design, it's sleeved on the inside, it looks kinda crummy with the weld in the middle there, but since it's sleeved and plug welded I bet it's stronger than the rest of the tubing, haha

[4xfiend]

Looking good, Daniel. I love the slant back look compared to the family style cage.

[Trailabite]

I wish I would have slanted the back part of my cage, makes a good place to store a spare tire and not have it dragging the ground when climbing at a steep angle.

[Lumpy Grits]

The only change I would do, is it to have a second overhead bar in the drivers area.
Reason-tip over in sand will hold the weight better with less chance of 'sinking' in.
Dang NICE work and welding!
LG

[daniel_buck]

There will be a V shape over the seats. I was originally going to do an X shape, but I think a V will be overall better. So I used one of the overhead bars from the Synergy kit, and put it in the middle, and the V shapes will go from the center of the B hoop, to the corners of the A pillar. I'll be bending those so that they stick up a bit. From the top it'll kinda look like a chicken foot, haha

As for sinking in the sand, I've never wheeled on sand, and it doesn't really interest me much, so I'm not to worried about that.

It's alot of work, and I haven't even gotten into bending yet, haha! It's fun, sucks that I kind of have to do it in stages (have to drive it to work every day!), but oh well. I definitely have alot of respect for folks who make roll cages, it's not easy! I've been hobbling around over the cage with a big tarp over my back to try and keep the wind from blowing my shielding gas. It blew the gas a few times, and left me with ugly pores in the weld, sucks to have to grind that out and weld it again :-(

I was originally going to wait until my willys was up and running again, so I didn't have to drive the TJ while working on the cage. But the more I work on the willys, the more stuff I change on it, so it's taking a while... haha

[Tumbleweed13]

Looks great Daniel. Glad I could help with the seat mounts. Happy fab'n. :beer:

[daniel_buck]

Got the tie-ins ready to weld up to the frame for the A pillars.