32 replies to this topic

[mike.]

Ok so i'll be picking up my roll cage tommorow hopefully. Whats entailed to fit it? Its just a rear one by the way.

heres what i guess the process is:

1. Get the cage in and level so i can mark the holes.
2. Take the cage out and drill the holes.
3. Then get the cage back in and bolt it in.

It sounds simple, it should be simple but i reckon its going to be a right b****rd to get right.

So i need to clear up a couple of things:

I'v been told i need to do the arches first because if you do the bins first the arch mountings won't line up. Correct?
I guess the holes i drill just go straight through the floor pan, sill etc, all the way through until i can see my driveway through then? Then the bolts must be about 4" long or something and go up right through the floor, into the car and you just tighten the nuts up on them?
Then the same with the arches?
Aren't i going to need either like a foot long drill bit or a small enough drill to fit into the rear bin?

All of the above is just me assuming thats what you do, so i just want to make sure i know how to do it before i start drilling holes everywhere

Anything else i should know about while i'm fitting it?

Thanks in advance

Edited by minimadmike, 21 September 2007 - 10:01 PM.

[timbo]

use something to deter rust, such as copper grease after you have drilled the holes otherwise it will est away at the bare metal. also try to use anodisd or stainless bolts and nuts.

[mike.]

Thanks, i'll probably put hammerite around the holes after drilling them, and underseal around the bolts from the outside.

[minidan]

lol whats all this about a foot long drill bit?

when put my cage in i just drilled through the floor with a totally normal drill bit. i only haqd to go through a few 'mm' worth of floor.

mind you my memory is so bad i cant remember if i put the cage in then took it out again to drill...

i think i may have left it in and used a drill bit the same size as the holes in the cage feet. (so drilling through them).

hope that helps.

[mike.]

Yeah but what i can't get my head around is how the hell a drill is going to be able to get into the rear bins? Theres not enough room is there? Thats why i was thinking if you can't get the drill into the bins, then i'll have to hold the drill above the rear bin. But then i thought but how the hell will the bit be long enough to reach the floor?

I don't know, maybe theres plenty of room that i just don't realise.

[minidan]

yea thats a good point.

*thinks........ how the hell did i drill the holes :s erm

[Grimmy@JHE]

am i stating the obvious by saying drill from the other side? i dont know if you can though. centre punch and a hammer thoruhg the floor?

[Turbo Nick]

don't forget to weld in the reinforcing plates for the roll cage feet aswell, i'd put em inside and out to be safe.

[paulrockliffe]

don't forget to weld in the reinforcing plates for the roll cage feet aswell, i'd put em inside and out to be safe.

Mike, the cage I'm selling you doesn't have any reinforcing plates with it, I didn't fit it myself, so assumed it was safe enough as it is. Would appreciate some people shedding some light on whether these plates are necessary and whether you have them?

Where the bolts go through the floor it is very close to the sills, so the bolts are about an inch and a half long. The reason I said to do the arches first was because there's bound to be some slight diferences between your shell and the shellt hat the cage was designed to fit and it's the arch position thatyou can see, so that's the one you want to be the neatest. If you bolt it to the arches I'd do as suggested above and drill through the holes in the feet, you'll definitely get the holes in the right place that way. If you take the cage out, a) it's a pain in the arse and b) because it's difficult to see exactly wheat you're doing in the bin, you might drill in slightly the wrong place! I think either way you could do a good job, just it makes sense to do the arches first.

I think you could probably punch and drill from the otherside, but I think you'll have more trouble getting a foot long punch than a footlong drill bit! And there's more opportunity for mistake that way, especially as you're drilling throguh two skins.

Anyway, I'll talk you through it when you pick it up and I'm sure someone that's actualy fitted one will be along shortly to talk about their experiences of foot long drill bits or otherwise.........

[Pie]

Right what i did was got the cage in, mine went in easy BUT thats because i dont have a rear seat squab or rear bins. You WILL need a rachet strap to get the cage in.

Then position it whjere you want the cage. Then drill the holes on one side of the arch. Bolt it in and then do the standing leg (which will probably be a pain seeing as you have rear bins). Then do the other side. As long as you dont have a diagonal then the cage should flex a little bit and therefore you can get it stright.

As for the spreader plates it is advisable otherwise the cage is just fitted to the shell which could rot and/or snap out of position, which really defeats the object of the cage.

The bolts i had wth my caeg were about 1.5-2 inches long and had a washer at each end spreading the load out more.

This isnt neccerseirly (sp) the right way of fitting a cage, its how i did mine.

Hope this helps in someway.

[steveobennet]

or if you don't have a ratchet strap some strong rope (that you trust won't break) and a bar. tie the rope round two legs, put bar in between rope, and spin. to drill the hole for the bins, i took rough measurment of where the holes went, and pilot drilled on the outside, then used a bigger drill bit when it all matched up.

also unless you have an assistant i'd remove the rear quarter glass so you can bolt it down yourself. also use high tensile bolts.

[mike.]

Right yeah i might try using the method above of drilling pilo holes from the outside.

But what about these plates? I thought the whole idea of a bolt in cage was that it didn't need any welding. I haven't got a welder and don't have a clue about welding either so i won't be able to weld them in. Also the plates won't be coming with the cage i don't think because they'd be welded into the previous car.

Where do the plates go?

[Jordie]

I got my cage in dead easy.

Seats out, centre console out, handbrake off. Rear windows in open position (unless u have fixed ones)

Opened both doors fully, slide the cage in.

Then pushed the front feet part towards the bins, while tilting the roof bar towards the windscreen. The back legs should be in mid air at this point.

Then lift the front legs onto the edge of the rear bins. And then begins the big shuffle, you have to push the cage towards the back of the car and down into the bins together. Once its in, you need to pull the front legs forward so it comes into position. jobs a good en.

[mike.]

I think that psrts the easy part though joride. Its drilling the holes thats going to be hard

[mini93]

get a dremmle with small drill bit then drill the rear bins, then from the outside drill with correct size bit, if they have the be oversized a bit shouldnt matter too much as plates should go on the outside