Custom Cage

#1

Anybody know a who can do a custom cage for my spec e30 in the Northern Virginia/Winchester/Summit Point Area? I called one shop, Piper Motorsport in NVA and was quoted $2400. I recall last summer some guys got there e30 done for less than 2k. Not trying to skimp on safety if it’s 2k ok, but if I can get one for 1500 or 1700, why spend more

#2

2400 for a MIGged or TIGed cage?

#3

When I turned my E24 635 into a race car (2003) I was able to get a very extensive custom cage build for around $900 including some seat mounts, aluminum door skins and some other stuff. The trick is to find a drag race shop or circle track shop. The wine and cheese crowd always have to pay more when you go to a wine and cheese shop. I purchased the tubing and all other material and he bent the tubes and welded it in. It did end up being more work than he first though. His labor cost was around $500. If I try to get him to do another cage I may have to up the offer to get him to do it. Now I am sure that steel prices have gone up so that will account for some cost increase.

The deal is that most of the local drag race or circle dirt track guys can’t afford much so are not charged as much.

YMMV

Michael O.
GTS1/KP/ITS

#4

I had my cage installed about 2 months ago and it was $1900 and that
included an integral seat mounting and removing the sunroof cassette.
You can see photos in the "Preparing to Participate" board. $2400 sounds
high unless it is TIG’d as Traqrat mentioned.

Steven

#5

Just talked to a dirt track cage builder, and he quoted me $750-$1000. Then he showed me the NASCAR style cage he just finished. I think I found my guy. Thanks ilateapex. Like you said, don’t go to the wine and cheese party!

#6

Good new on the cage. Now a word of caution. The dirt track guy will not know the rules for NASA. Make sure you give him a detailed sketch and maybe some pictures with examples. Also, make sure you get the tubing size right and all the required tubes. You will most likely get a "halo" bar as opposed to the typical install. That is fine and legal. Good luck and let us know here if you need any help.

Michael O.

BMW E30 325i
GTS1/KP/ITS

#7

Yeah, good points, he asked for the rules, I’m going to give him that an d a one page summary of what I want. Thanks

#8

Don’t forget to reinforce the front wheel wells from the A-pillar bar…

E30 footwells have a nasty habit of collapsing on your feet. I’ve seen it happen in three separate cars.


(click to enlarge)

Story behind the above pic + others (incl. NASA flag girls)

#9

sharkd wrote:

[quote]Don’t forget to reinforce the front wheel wells from the A-pillar bar…

E30 footwells have a nasty habit of collapsing on your feet. I’ve seen it happen in three separate cars.


(click to enlarge)

Story behind the above pic + others (incl. NASA flag girls)[/quote] Yeah, I thought that was Jon’s car…

#10

just remember that the quality of the cage is dependent on the quality and completeness of the welds, and that there are only a few visible signs that you and I can use to confirm those aspects. Make sure you know what his qualifications are.
cheers,
bruce

bmwbadboy wrote:

#11

Any status/pics of the cage? I am also building a spec e30 and looking for a shop in the NOVA area to install a cage.

#12

trentmw wrote:

I am going to haul my car down to Dave Ellingsworth. He’s done quite a few of the cages. I have known him from 944Cup but he also supported Dave Pallister and Brain. You might want to check with him.

InteriaWorks is the name of his shop.

#13

bmwbadboy wrote:

It is worth your while to, at the least, visit the one cage gallery we have up http://www.roadracetech.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=338, or call our shop to discuss what we can offer you. We are currently building 3 spec e30s, one of which for our use. Actually the one for "our" use I will be using to get my comp license and race this season.

Ask your cage builder if they are familiar with NASA rules. Do they know how many door bars are required (each side) this year? What date is the right side interior impact net mandatory? Get more technical than that, do they use fill rod in their TIG welds? Do they know the minimum size for foot plates or that there is a maximum size. Watching someone work a cage who knows their business tends to open your eyes a bit.

Again, please feel free to give us a call with your questions (703.661.4222) and keep an eye out for addtional content on our website.

Cheers,

Matt Olson
Partner, RRT | roadracetech.com

#14

mOlson wrote:

[quote]
It is worth your while to, at the least, visit the one cage gallery we have up http://www.roadracetech.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=338, or call our shop to discuss what we can offer you. We are currently building 3 spec e30s, one of which for our use. Actually the one for "our" use I will be using to get my comp license and race this season.

Matt Olson
Partner, RRT | roadracetech.com[/quote]

Matt:

First off, I 2nd the recommendation to stay away from Drag shops. The one by me put a cage in for a guy I know and it was crap. Wasn’t anywhere near the roofline. He ended up cutting it out and starting over.

In any case, I looked at your pics. Quick question. I saw on another pic someone’s cage going through the rear panel of the tub and out to the shock tower. I see that yours all gather on a plate above the wheel well. Is the protrusion allowed? If so, is there a stiffness advantage? I am familiar with the PCA rules where the cage must be contained with no protrusions. Since I had a pro do my 911 cage and I bought my 944 with an awesome cage in it, I haven’t read the rules too closely.

BTW - dropped you an email via the "Contact Us" page. Look forward to speaking to you.

#15

http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a280/bmwbadboy/My%20Spec%20E30/Cage%20Install/

#16

Thanks for e-mailing us. Wayne, our customer service manager, will get the e-mail on Tues when we are back in business and he will get you in touch with Barry, our cage builder. As to the extra bracing, there is no advantage to running tubes to the shock towers unless you are running true coilovers. The shock towers are not taking the suspension load which is also why there is no point in rear shock "tower" bracing. Look at the pic "techfest 008" on the second page of the gallery and you can see where we triangulated additional stiffness to the rear chassis. This is closer to the spring perch which is where the bracing is most effecitve. BTW, this is a GS class Grand Am car so don’t be getting spec cage ideas from it!! Just answering your bracing question.

Cheers,

Matt

#17

mOlson wrote:

[quote] BTW, this is a GS class Grand Am car so don’t be getting spec cage ideas from it!! Just answering your bracing question.

Cheers,

Matt[/quote]

Thanks. My 911C2 had a Grand-Am Spec cage built in it and it was pretty. I am sure that I won’t be expecting the same for Spec e30 though.

#18

You can’t go wrong with RRT doing your cage. The cage I had done was basically a copy of what they had done for someone else with a few changes.

#19

Does the dash have to come out for the cage? I didn’t do that for my 911C2 , just cut through the air vents to allow the tubing to pass through. Same way on my 944. I heard some people talking about pulling the dash and re-installing, not really in my plans if I don’t have to.

#20

yes because you will want to do a proper dash bar.