Brendon's '67 Firebird thread by Tuske427

6 minute(s) of a 286 minute read

I got a little work done on the car- I was able to weld some of the cage in. Using my cardboard panel template I trimmed the main hoop down, and then cut each down tube in back to fit. They were not easy, lots of complex angles, trimming, more trimming, etc. After getting the down tubes tacked in place I had to cut away the rocker panels to allow the cage to move forward so I could complete the welding. Then put them back together, weld in the plates along the rocker panels and weld the cage to the car. I added a couple of small gussets at the bottom of the main hoop for additional strength. I also had enough time to cut the door bars and fit them- they required a tricky cut in front to go around the bend. I have them mostly welding in, but I'll have to cut the sheet metal away behind the doors to gain enough access to fully weld them in. Then I can add more gussets/ braces for support and triangulation of the bars for increased strength. Until the next weekend...

2-26-2012

This weekend I was able to get some additional time on the 'cage. The weekend started out with one of the wheels breaking on my dolly- meaning I've exceeded the weight capacity of them and need to lighten the car up. So I got a little side tracked and took the engine & trans back out as I don't have to have those in right now. (After the cage build I'll be needing to install my brakes- more weight- so I can determine the rear wheel offset, which, when delivered, will tell me just how much I need to push out my qtr panels and then I can install those.) The car is now easier to move in/ out of my garage again...

I was able to add the gussets to the down tubes from the main hoop, as well as to the suspension crossmember. I also added a few bars under the door bars and a few plates to tie the car body to the cage.

I don't have a main diagonal cross brace in yet. My plan is to make this one removable, so I need to order some of those fancy "cage connector" pieces. This way I can add this in for an open track day, and save a few pounds when not needed.

3-4-2012

Yes, and I was on hold for only 3 hours....

During the week I got a little credit card happy and ordered some fancy "cage connectors", as well as more KBS paint for my car. I was able to add in my diagonal brace and make it bolt in/ removable so I can access the back and save a a few pounds while not at the track. I also cleaned my hubs- only to realize I don't have a matched set. D'oh! One has factory casting #'s, the other doesn't and is an obviously aftermarket turd. So I'll have to step up and get some better hubs, but these will have to do for now. I still cleaned them up, painted them, even baked them on my grille "carbeque", and threw in new Timken bearings/ races and placed it on my car so I could sethte rotors on (driver side only) and now I'll be able to calculate the offset for the wheels. Next week. I hope.