Topic: Hug your cage builder
Just a friendly reminder of why you really wanna build a GOOD cage. This was a HPDE at Hallet. Everyone was ok
Southern Discomfort '10 Magnum PU- 5th place
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The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Bench Racing → Hug your cage builder
Just a friendly reminder of why you really wanna build a GOOD cage. This was a HPDE at Hallet. Everyone was ok
Pictures do not work.
Pictures do not work.
dido
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All I could find that still worked was this one. Yes, the bolt-in leg punched right through the floor. I always weld in cage style reinforcing plates underneath a bolt-in bar or cage.
Short version:
Guy spends enough to field a whole track's worth of Lemons cars on go-fast crap but installs a crappy "tuner" roll bar without even a proper diagonal in the main hoop. Insufficient reinforcing under the main hoop legs resulted in dramatic roof crush. Injuries were minor.
I built this guys cage... A handshake will do fine.
Pictures do not work.
Weird, they still work for me.
Trying to port over to Imageshack.us.
Injuries were minor.
That's incredible. Did his torso go forward from the impact, and then the roof collapse onto his back or what?
It looks like the Hallett team needs to go to Nelson Ledges and learn how to build a tire wall. It did nothing other than launch the car.
As for the roll bar, I don't even see a reinforcing pad under the leg.
It appears to be one of these perhaps?
http://www.mustang50magazine.com/featur … index.html
from a few pics, it looks like it's only a '4 point' type cage, unless my eyes deceive me (and they're evil little orbs that are constantly making me think ugly chicks are hot!, I've learned not to trust them -that- much...).
It looks like the Hallett team needs to go to Nelson Ledges and learn how to build a tire wall. It did nothing other than launch the car.
that's 'the bitch' at hallet.
the way the corner is setup, lots of hot foots have overdriven that corner, and the way the landscape is, the tirewall is downhill from the track.
several of the local guys have put a car into that wall, one of them even managed to land a viper on top of it.
Yep, this is why we require appropriately sized spreader plates!
Yep, this is why we require appropriately sized spreader plates!
Amen, brother
Don't know how you can even weld the tubes to the floorpan without the plates...two thicknesses of sheet at best... and a thick wall tube? must be a TIG expert with an evil streak...
Looks like the cage was a roll "loop"... it is had forward and rear legs designed properly and welded properly it wouldn't have done that.
Minimum 8-point cage is needed for sure...
Don't know how you can even weld the tubes to the floorpan without the plates...two thicknesses of sheet at best... and a thick wall tube? must be a TIG expert with an evil streak...
I saw more than one car at the 2007 CMP race with the tubes welded directly to the uni-body floor pan...no spreader plates at all on ANY of the tubes. I thought that was insane, but letting them run that way wasn't my call.
from one of my local boards...guy who is our direct link to the powers that be at Hallett
Car actually had a electrical / mechanical failure; drive-by-wire throttle stuck full open coming up and over turn 7. Also, in the first "crash sequence" pic you can see a shadow under the front wheels - that is the front splitter acting as a ski (broke off as he hit the grass and got stuck under the front wheels) so there is very little braking happening at that point.
While cage came through the floor it also pulled them back & down via the harnesses (breaking the seat reclining mechanisms) so they were lying half in the back seat. It sure looks like that saved them some very serious injuries, or worse - very lucky.
My experience has been that Russell is a great driver who knows the track very well, and he might have avoided even more serious damage by not hitting the wall sideways . . . tough to know.
Glad to hear he and his passenger are okay, that's for sure.
jimeditorial wrote:Don't know how you can even weld the tubes to the floorpan without the plates...two thicknesses of sheet at best... and a thick wall tube? must be a TIG expert with an evil streak...
I saw more than one car at the 2007 CMP race with the tubes welded directly to the uni-body floor pan...no spreader plates at all on ANY of the tubes. I thought that was insane, but letting them run that way wasn't my call.
I guess wire-feed MIG let's 'em get away with murder....in the late 70's when I built my first stuff, we arc welded the cages.....you'd blow through the pan in a second without a plate.
VKZ24 wrote:jimeditorial wrote:Don't know how you can even weld the tubes to the floorpan without the plates...two thicknesses of sheet at best... and a thick wall tube? must be a TIG expert with an evil streak...
I saw more than one car at the 2007 CMP race with the tubes welded directly to the uni-body floor pan...no spreader plates at all on ANY of the tubes. I thought that was insane, but letting them run that way wasn't my call.
I guess wire-feed MIG let's 'em get away with murder....in the late 70's when I built my first stuff, we arc welded the cages.....you'd blow through the pan in a second without a plate.
If you look at the base. It has plates. They are just small and since hey were the only point of contact it was not braced properly for that type of impact. Bad prep on the teams part. My assumption at least.
according to the build sheet, it was a 4point Autopower bolt in.
...in the late 70's when I built my first stuff, we arc welded the cages..
Having done a little SMAW myself, I can't imagine having to get into some of the tight areas using that method when building a cage. It was like I needed to be an octopus even with the MIG to get all the joints 360 welded!
We were at CMP in 2007?
We were at CMP in 2007?
Oops! I meant to say 2008.
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