Custom, non certifiable cage for my street car??

[jdpolzin]

Ok guys, within the next year I will be needing to do something for a little piece of mind for the GN. I dont race the car but it will be doing some Autocrossing and an occasional weekend at the track but mostly just a street car. My main problem is the crossbar that goes across the back seat. I know I can make a removable bar across there but is there any way to get a certifiable cage with that cross bar running on the floor board just in front of the lower seat cushion? I really dont need the cage to be certifiable but I'd like to make it if I can. Any ideas? -----Jeremy

[pacecarta]

contact NHRA and get a copy of the rules book


the crossbar height is critical because its the mounting point for the safety harness

unless you're really short , for NHRA the crossbar can be no lower than 4" below the drivers shoulders and not above the drivers shoulders

the removable is also not legal but i see many are allowed to race with them with a roll bar (10.0 -11.50) since roll bars are subject to local track tech inspection that dont allways catch all the the things they should and allow a car to run that day , but with a "cage" (8.50-9.99) you wont get certified and without certification the track tech will not allow faster than 9.99 and will have to determine if the setup you have is even legal as a roll bar for 10.0-11.50 , otherwise youll get teched for no faster than 11.50

[jdpolzin]

Ok, dumb question but...... With just a simple roll bar, do you have that crossbar? I know my car will eventually get into the 9's but I dont race the car often at all. Enough to make a 9 second pass and be told to not run the car again. Then by the next time I come back, they would have forgotten all about me! The car is mainly a street car and my biggest concern is to have room for the kids in the back and being able to fit them back there comfortably during long trips.

[ijames]

Yes you have that cross bar with just a roll bar. Like Paul said, it is the mounting point for the seat belt harness which you also need for faster than 11.50's.

[pacecarta]

yes you need the cross bar , you need it for the 5 point belts , and the bar only needs to be 1 1/4 "

the belts also need to be SFI 3" web and kept in date , you get two years from manufacture date stamped on the belts and most techs ive seen do check for the dates both on belts and on the helmet (must be snell 2000 or newer now)
most belt makers will recertify the belts once (you send them in and they completely reweb them and redate ) , some do it free depending on the belts you buy ..otherwise its on you to pay for the recert.and as of this year they need to attach to the crossbar as seperate belts , you can use one attaching tab or use wrap on shoulder belts (needs a retainer strap to prevent sliding)

[jdpolzin]

OK good information! I'm starting think to myself, where is the point in time when building your car that you consider it to be a race car and not just a street car??? I like the idea of having a roll bar or a cage in the car. But, I dont want to have that cross bar in there. I suppose my only choice is to get a cage with a removable one and remove the race belts when I go on trips! What a pain in the rear! Thats why I was thinking of doing something that is non certifiable just to make the car a little safer than it is now. Has anybody done anything like that?

[pacecarta]

like i said most with removable rear cross bar seem to make it past tech (just slide foam around bar and they might never catch it )
you would need to use clevis ends on the bar
if you decided to do the removable rear bar removing it really isnt that bad
the shoulder belts come out out with it (no need to remove them from bar) and if you do swingouts the door bars could be removed as well by just unbolting the lower bolt

but still without the full certified cage and all the safety equip and a comp licence youll get booted if you run a 9 anything

[jdpolzin]

OK thanks for your info! I'm really trying to get ideas here. I have been debating whether or not to even get a cage becuase it is a street car but I also want to be safety cautious. The car is going to have some power, not sure how much yet but I am hoping for 9 second capable street car. Thats the main goal!

[tsm3089]

When i had my 6 point bar installed it had a swing out rear bar. On the passenger side there was a pin. The local track never said a thing about it. It was removed when the bar was converted to a cage. I still have the bar if you are interested. Walt

[turbodave231]

If a rear cross bar is the deal breaker for you, I'd suggest a removable bar. This won't pass an NHRA chassis inspection, but it will most likely pass most track tech inspections. I'd follow the letter of the law on everything else for the roll bar/cage.

If anyone gives you a hard time later, you can always redo the rear cross bar or avoid that track.

I think you would be better protected with a good cage/bar/5 point harnesses with this compromise rather than go without a cage/bar/harnesses at all.

[jdpolzin]

OK thanks for the info! Looks like I will be going with swingouts on the rear bar and the two front bars for the driver and passenger seats. As long as I can throw the kids in the back seat and the old lady in the passenger seat and go on the Power Tour comfortably, I'm good to go! Any pics of some good street car cages? I'm sure there are some good links on here.

[turbodave231]

A 5 point roll bar is all that is required for 10.00.......and you don't need a door bar on the pasenger side. A swing out bar done correctly on the driver side and a removeable rear bar might be the ticket for you.

I'd opt for chromoly steel. If done right it can always be updated to a full cage later if you decide to go faster than 10.00 on a regular basis.

Good Luck.....keep us posted on your project.

[jdpolzin]

OK thanks for the info Dave! I am thinking about getting the frame notch and the bar done at the same time. I need to get the darn thing running before I can drive it over to the chassis guy though! I will definately keep you posted! Thanks! ------Jeremy

[jdpolzin]

Hey guys, I'm looking for a few good pics of some roll bars or cages in street cars. I'd like to be able to use my car to haul the kids and the old lady around in the future so I'd like to see some nice set ups with removable bars etc. Anybody have any nice cage/bar pics??? Thanks! -----Jeremy