Quote:
Originally Posted by Rocket Punch
Nicely done.
How much man hours will it require to fabricate the cage (excluding gutting the car)? How much does this cage weight and how will it change the bias of the car?
Just wondering.
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Thank you for the comment.
I've really lost track of hours into this cage but realistically it probably has about 100-110 hours into it. A vast majority of that was setting and determining the parameters of the bends that needed to go into the E36 to meet MY safety requirements and the rules set forth by BMWCCA for inspection(visual 360 welds, inspection holes, etc). BMWCCA seems a little more lax in the clearance department than typical SFI and FIA specs but then again this isn't technically part of the chassis. Only place it's physically tied into the chassis is at the base plates at the eight main points.
All in all, if I did it again it would go faster by far, but I'd still have the car for about 10 work days maybe as I wouldn't be pulling the 12-16hour days like I am here on Jesse's car to meet MO's date. I'd say I could do it all again in about half the hours maybe. That's if the car is completely stripped as well. I'll strip a car out to put a cage in, but I don't enjoy doing it personally and will most definitely charge to do so.
As far as chassis bias goes, there's definitely some weight over the ass of the car now but it's still tail light happy as all hell. Gonna need a little weight back there still. Factoring in chassis stiffness....not going to affect it too much as again, it's not tied into the car anywhere except the base plates.....governed by the rules of BMWCCA for IP. If it was a Mod car, that cage would be such an integral part of the chassis that I'd be able to cut and removed probably 50-100lbs of unibody and still have 200% more structural rigidity. If Jesse ever wins the lotto I'll be sure to nudge him towards that
Without a doubt though I'd imagine Jesse may tweak the suspension softness just a bit though as even this cage will affect how the car handles a bit.
Overall as much as I have into this right now it was still a pretty easy cage. Just alot of time and plotting out stuff. Measure 20 times, bend once.