I was wondering if a cage install has to be done by some professional/certified shop in order for it to comply with all the legal stuff? (if there are any that is)
I can weld pretty good so I was thinking of doing it myself if I decide to put one in....

Also, I would be installing this mostly for safety, not because I "need" it to do participate in certain races. Which configuration would be most suitable for me? I will probably use the car mostly for road racing.

Thanks!

 

Have a pro do it. Tell him your intentions with the car, what clubs you'll be running with, what classes you maybe, might, someday be racing in and he'll build the cage to conform to the proper rules. It would really suck to decide you want to go racing in some form and have to rip out a cage and put a new one in. For example, many of the 6-point "cages" used on drag cars wouldn't even be legal for SCCA Solo I (time trials--not W2W racing) where a simple Autopower 4-Point would be....

And doing a cage right is really an art form. When the the end result, the "prettyness" of that art, is how well it will protect your safety, it's not the best thing for a novice to try. There are so many subtle little things that directly affect how well the cage will function you just aren't going to get there without a lot of experience.

I can weld too, sorta. Well enough I'll do it on my suspension parts, but when it's time to replace my 4-point Autopower with a real cage, I'll take it to a real cage builder, rulebook in hand.

 

Jon,
I want to use this car for road racing. It also has t-tops which is one of my main reasons.
Which cage will you be going with?

 

I haven't decided yet--I won't be W2W racing for another year or so at least. There are a couple pretty good cage builders in my area, so when the time comes I'll get some recommendations and drop the car off. It'll look something like this.

What class are you planning to race in? What sanctioning body? They all have different rules but cages can usually be made to satisfy multiple rule requirements.

NASA has their rule books online for you to peruse http://www.nasaproracing.com/proracing/ . It's not quite as easy to find an SCCA rulebook but any cage builder I'd let anywhere near my car should know those rules like the back of his hand.

Are you planning to keep the car streetable? The best cages for roadracing aren't all that safe on the street when you aren't 5/6-pointed in and wearing a helmet. I even feel the 4-Point bar I have in my car is a calculated risk on the street. NASCAR door bars and a gutted door don't exactly make for a good daily driver, etc. The 4-point is as far as I want to go while the car is street driven. Once I decide to go racing for real, I'll take that out and sell it like the two previous owners did and have a proper cage built.

 

Here is the minimum cage that CMC rules require, with the exception of the "NASCAR" style door bars ...

http://www.vilipend.net/~frrax/album38

Jon gives sage advice. Find a series that is in your area and build to those specs.

Also, cage building is really an art form, stemming from years of experience. Knowing the tricks on how to build the cage so one can weld 360* around the tubing is something that comes with experience.

Finally, a homebuilt cage will generally yield more scrutiny than a cage built by a reputable builder. Something to think about ...