So,... Here I wuz thinkin' Adam was doin' a great job on this roll cage to keep us all safe when we're racin' around a race track with 80+ other lunatics in sketchy cars...

He got the bars all matched up real good & had it all tacked in nice & purdy last night....

Then I swung by at lunch today and the whole thing just fell right through the floor!

We may need to re-think havin' "Pig Pen" do our cage work...

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Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Confused...

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines

Cut holes in the floor to drop the cage and make sure the top is welded good. When done raise it up, weld it, and patch the floor. It's also common to cut the roof off the car and weld it back on.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

Yeah,... Adam didn't wanna ruin the cool patina on the roof, so he dropped it through the floor to finish weld everything.

He just texted me saying it was all back up in place and welded in now.

Next comes the harness bar, door bars and dash bar.

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Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Oooo, aaaahhh.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines

Tie the cage to the uni-body structure near the A and B pillars and anywhere else you can. It will lend much rigidity to the chassis. Don't weld the ends of the hoops directly to the floor pan. Weld in a plate on the floor to spread the load there.
Waving my 2c charge.

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“Buy the ticket, take the ride.”
― Hunter S. Thompson

The Lemons rules are pretty stringent on the safety stuff, which is good.

Adam has been in regular contact throughout the process with the head Lemons tech guru (Lemon Head ), Mr. Pagel. Base plates are under each bar, etc.

We were just talking about the floor... Adam is going to check/verify with Pagel if we can use an aluminum floor. Lou (and all of us ) wants to be as light as possible and most of the floor is gone anyway. The previous owner cut it out due to rust.

And I just cut out part of the transmission hump in preparation for a larger tunnel to accommodate potential upgrades (think T5 ) at some point.

Now is the time to decide on floor material.

Is it “cheaty” by Lemons standards..? Yeah, so..?

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Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Nice!! Note that a T5 on a 63-66 A-body needs most of the upper X-member cut out, and at least 2" of the very top of the X goes away. Rebuild with rectangular box tubing. I can give more direction later...

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines

Adam and I plan to talk to you about that at the race.

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Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Note that even with a fairly close ratio trans, we'll often just use 2 gears. Maybe 3 gears on some courses...

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines

So,... truth in lending... I want to open up the tunnel for any future upgrades...

But my initial reason is to make room for a generic after market three speed shifter to go on the current transmission. Joe was a little disappointed we didn’t give the current Lemony drivetrain a chance first, so I figured I’d give it a try.

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Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

That 4 speed I gave you should be a bolt in tunnel wise and drive shaft wise. Just need the side for the linkages. It is definitely tougher than any T-5 ever built! Do yo need the OD from the T 5 or what is it's purpose? Weight savings maybe?? Have fun!

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2 Mopars come with Spark plug tubes. One is a world class, racing machine. The other is a 426 CI. boat anchor!

12.70 @ 104.6

You will hate the 3-speed on a road course. Trust me. I went from an A833OD in my '66 Dart to a 2.66-1st gear A833 and it was like seeing the Sun for the first time. You don't even have a synchronized 1st gear in that thing. I took my '67 Valiant with its A903 3-speed out on the track just for fun and it was pretty miserable with 3.21 gears.

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Joshua

I doubt the current 3 speed will be in there long, but it’s a good way to check out the current drivetrain and is very Lemony for perhaps the first race anyway.

Joe upgraded the rear end to a 3.55 sure grip (still 7 1/4).

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Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Looking good. Nice work.

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“Buy the ticket, take the ride.”
― Hunter S. Thompson