Working on my cage

[LivinUpXJ]

well i finally started my cage, its not finished, i made my 2 cross bars going from the b to c pillars today and my front harness bar, but thats not in the pics yet, havent welded it in since i dont have my seat as a reference point. The a pillar bars are probably going to get made monday. Im a little worried my main hoop will be weak with those miter cuts i made, but my teachers tell me its plenty strong and better than nothing, i did it because i wanted to save the overhead console. Any ideas to help that part out? Also anyone have pics on how they connected the bars up front on a 97+, im still wondering how im gonna do it. Thanks and this is my first cage so be nice, JF wasnt so, they seem to bitch more then actually help.

I also made some rock sliders while i had some extra time, they are ok i guess, my mounting plates came out little weird but i cant plasma to save my life, but hey they will be under the jeep right? ha

 

[Sponge Bob]

you need cross bars in the hoop behind the seats

 

[LivinUpXJ]

the front seats? yea i know, i stated that in the post if you read it, i already made them just not in yet

 

[2xtreme]

I don't like the look of the "B" pillar "mod" either. In order to make up for that as much as possible I would do a full "X" with a shoulder bar in the middle to at least help support as much as possible. Also tie the "B" pillar into the upper seat belt mount.

What material are you useing?

Your rear 45 (from the rear frame to the "C" pillar) should be mounted further back on the frame if at all possible. It should also be mounted at the corner instead of the middle. Your bars that go between your "C" pillar and "D" pillar should be higher in the corner. Make sure when you do the same thing above the drivers and passengers seats that those bars are as far away from your heads as possible (you really need to remove your headliner to do this properly and then put the headliner back up afterwards

Good luck and enjoy the process.

Michael

 

[Ramsey]

Is that b pillar butt welded, and just to clear the overhead console?

 

[LivinUpXJ]

I don't like the look of the "B" pillar "mod" either. In order to make up for that as much as possible I would do a full "X" with a shoulder bar in the middle to at least help support as much as possible. Also tie the "B" pillar into the upper seat belt mount.

What material are you useing?

Your rear 45 (from the rear frame to the "C" pillar) should be mounted further back on the frame if at all possible. It should also be mounted at the corner instead of the middle. Your bars that go between your "C" pillar and "D" pillar should be higher in the corner. Make sure when you do the same thing above the drivers and passengers seats that those bars are as far away from your heads as possible (you really need to remove your headliner to do this properly and then put the headliner back up afterwards

Good luck and enjoy the process.

Michael

Yea i was thinking of doing a X in that main hoop tied in with my harness bar, giving that part a little more support. As far as the rear, you said the tubes coming down from the c pillar should come back more? are they an a unsafe location? could you give me some reasoning on these please, thanks for the info. The bars along the front will be higher up, i didnt realize i put those so low, will they be fine if i leave them and have the ones up front higher? Im using 1 3/4 X .120 DOM

 

[LivinUpXJ]

Is that b pillar butt welded, and just to clear the overhead console?

yes well i beveled the edges so i could a get a good weld in there, and it wasnt lazyness since cuting and fitting that bar was more time taken then actually pulling the console out. More support will be added to that hoop. I dont see why it wouldnt be safe once complete.

 

[Ramsey]

While it might have been more work, that doesnt make it better. You like that overhead console that much?

 

[LivinUpXJ]

ha oh i know its not better, and yes i like that console very much! Maybe when im further into this you'll get a better picture of how it might turn out, but i agree it is a spot im still lookin at with much concern

 

[hellbilly04]

loose the consol, redo your B-pillar & save your life, my .02.

 

[Twicepardoned]

I don't think that the B pillar is dangerous BUT I figure if you even plan on using one at least build one that's stronger or keep designing on it.

I don't think there is a safety concern though... I am not sure why people get the impression that this is life or death. If your Jeep fell off a dangerous cliff you'd probably die from your body jerking around whether or not you have a good cage. My point is that the cage you have built will undoubtedly add strength but how much and will it save your life AND the vehicles streetable integrity.

 

[2xtreme]

Yea i was thinking of doing a X in that main hoop tied in with my harness bar, giving that part a little more support. As far as the rear, you said the tubes coming down from the c pillar should come back more? are they an a unsafe location? could you give me some reasoning on these please, thanks for the info. The bars along the front will be higher up, i didnt realize i put those so low, will they be fine if i leave them and have the ones up front higher? Im using 1 3/4 X .120 DOM

1. X in "B" pillar. That is a good idea, make sure it goes all the way down to the bottom of the "B" pillar (tied into the frame or rockers) and into the same part of the "bend" as the "A" pillar will be come in. Then add the harness bars. This will at least provide as much support in the current "B" pillar as possible, optimally you would cut the center overhead concul arount the cage, not the other way around

2. The rear 45deg bars should be as sloped as possible to provide as much support as possible (similar to the angle of the front windshield at the front). With the location of your "C" pillar your rear 45deg bar will still not be sloped as much as preferable even with it as far back on the floor as possible (it is difficult to get this to work well in a 4dr XJ.

3. Really where your "A" pillar ties into the "B" Pillar should be followed all the way back (and down your rear 45deg bars) optimally.

Michael

 

[LivinUpXJ]

ok thanks good info, i got a lot done today but didnt take any pictures, ill get some up tomorrow, Im gonna be puting a X tied in with the harness bar for the B pillar and then having a X above from the B to C pillars. But Im still not sure about the very front by the windshield. Does anyone have pics of a inside cage in a 97+? Just trying to figure out the best way to tie the A pillars together.

 

[LivinUpXJ]

still not done, im gonna be adding some bars to make a X pattern in the main hoop tied in with the harness bar, and also some bars connecting the b and c pillar hoops together striaght back. possibly another bar up front across the dash...

 

[Skullver]

after all that you STILL covered up the head unit display

 

[_MURDERED OUT_]

I see your using 1 3/4" 120 wall DOM tube. Ive read of people using sched 40 1 1/4" pipe which is about 3/16" wall and is actually 1 5/8" OD. And my buddy built his cage on his ranger buggy thing out of 1 5/8 pipe and its been flipped numerous times with no problems yet. I guess im just asking what ya'll think about sched 40 pipe cuz thats what im thinkin about using to build my semi-exo with....

 

[waxer]

bopping your head on that gusset you added to the console bypass is going to feel oh so nice.

I know you think you won't hit it, but during a roll, you move in all sorts of places that you normally don't during normal driving.

You do the same during bumpy wheeling.

My advice is to take the console out and redo the b-hoop. You already made the display on the console useless with your a-hoop.

 

[LivinUpXJ]

its not over my head at all, and im puting in new seats with harness, dont see how i could hit it. and the display is in perfect sight from where i sit in the drivers seat, so def not useless

 

[Monkey55]

its not over my head at all, and im puting in new seats with harness, dont see how i could hit it. and the display is in perfect sight from where i sit in the drivers seat, so def not useless

You body WILL hit things you thought they wouldn't when you roll. Your arms might fly all over the place and your head will feel like a pinball.

People are telling you because it's a safety concern, not because they don't like it. We don't want to see you get hurt, especially when it could have been avoided.

So PLEASE, listen with open ears. If there is a slight chance of getting hurt, why not change it now??

Roll-Overs are not fun.. Imagine being upside down with all your weight on your shoulder harness and your knees to your chest. Now imagine one arm stuck between the seat and center console. Now imagine dirt in your eyes and your ears ringing from the hits. Now, imagine looking down, while upside down, at the blood on the interior roof. At that point, you're going wish you had the BEST protection.

That scenario is a bit extreme, but it can happen. Ask me how I know.

Anywho, we are just looking out for you.

E

 

[LivinUpXJ]

when did i say i didnt care about protection? we are talking about my cage and its design. i never said anything abou how i didnt care what he was talking about? your a little quick to be throwing the safety speech out, i understand everything you said and agree but really dont think anything i said justified that little story and all that, not bein unthankful but just wasnt needed, kinda makes me look like i dont care what people think