The fabrication thread.

[PerilousActs]

The wall thickness is really dependent upon what your sanctioning body dictates, but most people go by SCCA or similar style regulations.

For an s-chassis this equivilates (often) to DOM tubing of:
1.5 x 0.095
1.5 x 0.120
1.75 x 0.65

1.75 x 0.65 is a tad lighter than 1.5 x 0.120 and will be stronger due to its greater moment of inertia and increased weld area.

Not sure what most people do for the actual floor plates, but SCCA/NASA regulations require at least 0.08" thickness iirc and there is a minimum area for each plate used and often a max. I, personally, would tie it into at least two planes where possible.

[Pantaloons]

after hitting the wall last year. I wanted to make the car easier to fix when I do crash and make the rear end stronger



everything cut out

tig welding cages takes so much more time

the tubing under the tail light sit half an inch past the lights. hopefully saving the rear end under small love taps

mocking up the cell

its looks pretty good

[atutt]

After an almost 2 month wait...

My new tig arrives Monday..
Picked up one of these.
PowerTIG 250EX....

[PerilousActs]

Please let me know what you think of that. For one of the cheaper welders, it seems to be getting solid reviews.

[atutt]

That's why I picked it up. I had read good reviews on Everlast. Along with some bad.
But then again. I've read bad reviews on Miller and Lincolns too...

I also didn't want to pay double the price for a Dynasty 200dx when the 250EX will "supposedly" perform just as well..

[BlazedGlory]

I can't wait to hear what you think about that machine. I've been thinking about ordering one for a few months now.

[PerilousActs]

Yeah, I'm about halfway to a Lincoln Precision Tig 225. I know it would be a better machine, but it is more than I will probably need. If the everlast is a capable machine for the home shop, it's definitely within budget and allows me to use the excess funds on the car and for materials.

[fakts13]

haven't been by here to post for a while. sort of fab related, just made a run on a bunch of these:


for a bunch of these I picked up:




1st part i've ever made on a cnc, had to create the program and write the code manually. it wasn't too bad since it was a fairly simple part. made some modifications to the part before cutting them, like making these slip fit instead of butt joint, and making the o-ring lip on the outside thicker (had some of the ones from wiggins bend before).

[duffman1278]

Good lord that's baller!! Those clamps are crazy expensive. Good work

[fakts13]

thanks. i got some extra's if anyone is interested. all brand new. VERY cheap, pm me if interested.

[R33E8]

Originally Posted by atutt

After an almost 2 month wait...

My new tig arrives Monday..
Picked up one of these.
PowerTIG 250EX....

I had to use one of these quite recently.. My boss bought the LX version and we didn't have a good experience with it.. It slightly damaged in shipping.. When we opened it the front bezel was broken so we couldn't use the handle.. Everything was perfect for the first hour or so of practice welding.. After that first hour the machine had a problem in which it wouldn't start or hold an arc.. It cut off immediately after the HF start ended and wouldn't start an arc on lift-start..

Getting a hold of someone to talk to besides the sales lady was pretty hard but we did manage to.. After talking to them multiple times we couldn't get a solid solution.. We have since sent the unit back and now waiting for a refund.. Of course, this was probably caused during shipping, but the annoying CS situation convinced us to go elsewhere and buy a Thermal Arc 185...

[atutt]

Originally Posted by R33E8

I had to use one of these quite recently.. My boss bought the LX version and we didn't have a good experience with it.. It slightly damaged in shipping.. When we opened it the front bezel was broken so we couldn't use the handle.. Everything was perfect for the first hour or so of practice welding.. After that first hour the machine had a problem in which it wouldn't start or hold an arc.. It cut off immediately after the HF start ended and wouldn't start an arc on lift-start..

Getting a hold of someone to talk to besides the sales lady was pretty hard but we did manage to.. After talking to them multiple times we couldn't get a solid solution.. We have since sent the unit back and now waiting for a refund.. Of course, this was probably caused during shipping, but the annoying CS situation convinced us to go elsewhere and buy a Thermal Arc 185...

EVERY welder manufacturer has their problems.
Most of the issues caused within Everlast units are due to shipping damage. Most of the time it's caused AFTER being shipped over seas.

Because of the price of Everlast units. I do not expect them to be the Roll Royce of welders. And no one should.
Although it does raise questions about problematic "Rolls Royce" type welders.

[Jonnie Fraz]

Hey boys and girls...Just a little something I whipped up today to help my buddy out with his Beams swap...

My buddy wanted to use all pie cuts for the bends, so here we are. Twenty-six sections in all. I could have TIGed the whole thing, but I am not very fast at at and it would have taken me forever.

[uperformance]

starting on my cage for this season, got the front section done and up.






tacked together, then dropped through the floors to do the tops.
before i raised it back up. and welded it to the baseplates.

[Big_E-Dog]

hey when you tack weld the panels together like that, do you use ny type of sealer or glue afterwards like oem manufacturers use if so whats it called and where can i get some??

[Jonnie Fraz]

Originally Posted by uperformance

starting on my cage for this season, got the front section done and up.

Just a quick question...Why the x-brace to the back by the tails? seems like if you took a hit you would destroy the chassis, since they are braced to the rear strut towers. The cage looks nice.

Originally Posted by Big_E-Dog

hey when you tack weld the panels together like that, do you use ny type of sealer or glue afterwards like oem manufacturers use if so whats it called and where can i get some??

I don't use any seam sealer after stitch welding the chassis. If you wanted it you can find it at your local body shop supply.

[xdumbxguyx]

You can get seam sealer from auto paint stores.
i perfer 3m seam sealer its about 15 bucks a cartrige.

[uperformance]

the rear x on the outside is under the tails, is the first part of my solid bash bumper/support, it is one solid bar with two bends from one side to the other. it is directly above the rails, i know going directly to them would have been better, but i figure unibody car, baseplates, and if i position them over the rails, same concept, 75% efficiency, its just there incase i go backwards into a wall, its extra bracing in my mind. but alot of people seem to be asking me that stuff, im not sure to be honest what the motivation was, but this is my first cage.
heres a pic of my car last season.

the rails are boxed, and have a removable second bumper support that i need to build but i need my aero.

[conrad_s13.5]

FUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

i hate seeing pics like this

[Sleepy_Steve]

It'll buff.

[onehundredoctane]

Silly driftors.

[atutt]

[IMG][/IMG]

Came in Monday afternoon... Gonna get to use it this weekend. Making an aluminum over flow tank for a friends S14...

[fakts13]

are there any pedal options available for that welder? not a fan of how bulky the one that comes with it is (at least the one shown on the manufacturer's website)

[Dark Spec]

let me know how u like it, im looking into the 256 tig/plasma

[Slide~or~die]

hey guys, quick question, how much do stainless steel elbows used on turbo manifolds cost $/each???


Thanks.

[Jonnie Fraz]

Welcome - Ace Stainless Supply

[mr2thomas]

Oh wow, Thanks for the link!
Ace is very local to me! Ill go there from now on for SS.

[repda916]

Need some help,
Just picked up a new s13 from a member on here but everyone that sees it tell me the cage is a "death cage".

not knowing much about cages what could one do to help make the cage better?

the bottom mounting plates for sure need some help but im not sure. arnt cages supposed to be up a little more going thru the dash and not before.

also some of the welds look horrible, would grinding them all down and re welding them effect the metals in anyway?

[STR8E180]

that cage doesnt look to bad

anyways here is a quad throttle inlet manifold for SR20 VCT engine using RB26 throttle bodies

[Sleepy_Steve]

Originally Posted by repda916

Need some help,
Just picked up a new s13 from a member on here but everyone that sees it tell me the cage is a "death cage".

not knowing much about cages what could one do to help make the cage better?

the bottom mounting plates for sure need some help but im not sure. arnt cages supposed to be up a little more going thru the dash and not before.

also some of the welds look horrible, would grinding them all down and re welding them effect the metals in anyway?

The things people will find issue with in that cage are:

(and this is not in any particular order)

Lack of rear down bars going directly to their respective rear strut tower mounting points (may not pass tech everywhere)
Rear X brace off the main hoop anchoring at the cross bar between the rear strut towers instead of at the rear strut towers themselves.
Door's X bars are set in far enough to not interfere with interior panels, but that may hinder side impact protection.
Front down tubes that normally follow the length of the A pillar to within a few inches of the firewall go straight down about 6-12'' too soon making me wonder what kind of foot protection you have available to you.
Each half of the harness bar is in a different plane. Which may be an issue with some groups, but not terribly likely given that the main hoops diagonal is still of just one single piece.
Lack of roll cage padding where driver can come into contact with cage. (Though thats about the simplest fix there is)


Those are probably the biggest issues apart from what you already mentioned about the questionable quality of the welds and the mounting plates.


Grinding down the welds and having them re-done where they're looking especially bad may be a good idea. Its probably not going to hurt anything if the welds never penetrated to begin with. -- Do you know the specs on the tubing used?