Building Roll Cages is a hard job. It takes a lot of practice to be good at it, and it also takes patience, math, and the right tools. This guy has them. In this video, JR Garage builds a cage in some little import hatchback that is going to get raced somewhere in Europe on a road course, I’m sure. But the principles and ideas are the same. In fact, there are some really cool tools he’s using that absolutely had me rewinding to get a better look. This guy is good and so is the cage when it’s done.
Watch, and learn some stuff.
Those rolled gussets are a great idea!
Very nice work and design EXCEPT where are his safety glasses!
And tack welding and plasma cutting with no eye protection!
A couple of possible issues with the cage…
Is Mig welding acceptable to pass tech inspection? Or should it be Tig welded?
The gussets are pretty but are they strong enough?
Safety issues aside, pretty nice job. Mig welding is fine and is what Nascar has been doing for years. Rolled gussets are nice and have been used in other forms of motor sports for a long time. The only welding related issue I see is on those gussets he trigger or spot welds them leaving an hourglass shape between spot welds. Those are stress risers and where cracks can start. Other than that it’s a nice job and he does have some neat tools that I will probably copy.
Building road racing cages is part of my job. I like his taco making bender. My beef is wheres the dash bar? Show building that-and fitting it behind the dash-and keeping some form of defrosting ducts.That can take longer than the rest of the cage.
NHRA won’t let you use those nice, closed gussets. I guess they’re afraid that, having spent umpteen tens of thousands of bucks building your race car, you’ll try to save weight or time and not weld behind them or something. Stupid, backward, antiquated.
Im in agreement with David Beard and sdwarf36 comments. MIG is fine, yeh, it looks like step welding. 41 series should be TIG’d but you could easily double the labor costs for a TIG welded cage as it takes soooo long.Good to see he hasn’t succumbed to the A-pillar gusset gala everyone subscribes to currently and has a similar style of just tucking it tight against the pillar and seam welding. Personally would of had the footings go all the way to the floor but reg’s vary around the world so I dunno. Love the taco marker, sure bets my cobbled together creations of rulers, masking tape and various broken pencils.
I like his little dimple maker… and the overall product works for a little tuna can road racer, It sure it a hell of a lot nicer than most out there and beats the hell out of the road race stuff you usually see in the USA at SCCA events.
But that thing wouldn’t come close to passing tech for Drag Racing… No knee bar like someone said, the door bar is too low, no seat back brace and the pads on the floor pan look a little cheese. I also think those braces do nothing… but look cool.
And the stitch welding… Ugg… He’ll be a terror in the fabricating ranks over there when he learns how to TIG weld.
Sam
You know what they say about opinions. Nice job and hats off,