944 Roll Cage

[legion]

Part of my crazy idea of selling the 951 and buying a base-model 944 (or maybe another S--or maybe an S2) with a blown engine is to buy a welding machine and weld in a roll cage. I'm capable of doing the welding, but incapable of doing any sort of pipe bending/notching. Therefore, I need to get some sort of pre-bent/pre-notched kit for the 944. Does anyone make such a thing?

[Dantilla]

Step one is to read the SCCA's rulebook. It has a thorough explanation of proper cage construction and requirements. it would be a shame to put a lot of effot into a cage that will not pass a tech inspection. Even if you don't plan on racing, the car would be worth quite a bit more to the race crowd if it already has a proper cage. Practice first. During the tech inspection to get a logbook, the welds will get a close inspection.

A race shop close to me has been welding cages in 944s. The guy doing the fabrication has done enough trial and error to have nice pieces for a 944 cage. Next time I see him, I could ask if he would sell a "kit". He has been pretty busy, and only does cage fabrication on weekends, so I don't know if he is willing to bend the pieces, and not weld them into a waiting car.

[944 boy]

I've been wanting to do my own cage, however it is difficult and to do it right costs a bit of money. This time around I am going to have someone do it for me. The bender they use is the same one i was looking at made by JD squared. He does mainly Drag car chassis, but is an amazing fabricator all around. Autopower also has a weld in kit to add to the bolt in main hoop they sell.

[speedracing944]

Kelly Moss racing made a 944 cage which still allowed you to use the back seats. Pretty cool.

Speedy

[legion]

Hmmm....SCCA does not allow welded-in roll cages. How odd. I would have thought the opposite to be true.

http://www.scca.com/documents/Solo%20Rules/2007SoloRules.pdf

Roll bars and roll cages may be added (See Appendix C). It is
strongly recommended that roll cages be constructed according to
Section 18 of the GCR, though they must be bolted (not welded)
into the automobile and be contained within the driver/passenger
compartment. Roll bars may be welded in. A roll cage has more
than four attachment points to the body or frame, or has bracing
both fore and aft of the main hoop.

[legion]

And that conflicts with this text:

I. Roll bars must comply with Section 13.2.G in Stock category.
Roll cages must comply with the following:
1. The roll cage need not be removable. It shall be bolted or
welded to the car.

[Dantilla]

My SCCA approved cage is welded in.

Your quote for bolt-in cages is from the Solo (autocross) rules. The GCR's or General Competition Rules is the authority for road racing. I'm required to have a current copy when racing.

Some Solo classes differ from others. I think the bolt-in requirement is for Showroom Stock, where they want to minimize chassis stiffening. When you go to actual racing, safety is paramount. welded cages are preferred.

Since no 944 is still legal for Showroom Stock, you may as well throw out the Solo rules, and build a cage for the race track.

I don't like the Autopower cages. They don't fit nearly as tight to the body as mine. Harder to enter/exit the car, and less space between the helmet and headache bars. I'm a firm believer in doing it once, and doing it right. Far cheaper than skimping up front, and needing to make changes down the road.

[legion]

Thank you for clarifying, Dantilla.

[JRMock]

Safety Devices, (distributed by Stable Energies in NJ) has several roll cage kits available for the 944. They are a combination of bolt in, weld in.

http://stable-energies.com/prodinfo.asp?number=SD-P944

Several cars in the NASA 944Cup, and PCA races have these.

JM

[legion]

Now for the welders...

I can use a DC GTAW machine for that kind of work. I don't need AC, correct?

[legion]

Anyone?