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PostPosted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 7:16 pm 
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Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2003 4:03 pm
Posts: 727
I decided to build myself a cage since I didn't like the way the factory one looked and mostly because I just wanted to. I bought a bender, a tubing notcher and of course from oning the "Crack-Kart" I already bought a mig welder back in 02. I also want a windshied made with automotive safety glass, a bigger roof and a rear windsheild if you will for the rear to keep the mud off of me. I will make the front and rear windsheilds removable with Duz fasteners so both can be removed in mins if i want that fresh air feeling or quickly install when it cools down or starts to rain...should be cool.

I checked around to buy an aftermarket cage and they were from the cheapest at about $1000 for a raw steel "sport" one to $2500 for a crome moly "race" powder coated cage. Way to much for this working man and it looks simple enough. So first I needed a bender. When asking around online I got everything from the JD2 Model 3 at $295 plus stand and dies to computer guided benders that cost more than my house. I liked the JD2 Model 3 and a few of the like "clones" but those type manual benders you have to bolt to the floor and you need atleast 12 feet all around it well at least I do because of my longest one piece tube I plan to bend. If you add hydraulics then you can make it moveable but at a cost of about 500 bux on top of the bender, stand and die which is about right under $700 shipped to the house. $1200 is way too much for a project unless I turn out to be the next Jesse James.....

So I found a simple hydraulic bender that was cheap and bends....Yea! http://www.tjdieselperformance.com/serv ... der/Detail
Is it the greatest? Prolly not but for what I need it will do perfect and on top of that I was able to get it on sale on e-bay for $310 shipped to my door. How cool is that? Only downside I know of right now is it will only bend to 90 degrees where most other's will do 110 to 210 degree. I won't have any bends past 70 degrees so mine again will do fine. I did find out that I can only bend up to about 80 degrees.

Next I needed a tubing notcher. Again asking online I got everything from a $80 dollar Harbor Freight one all the way up to a $5000 digital belt sander type. The one thing I read more times than any was don't skimp and buy a cheap light guage one. They use a hole saw to cut the pipe and are attached to shaft. The cheaper ones have 1/2 to 5/8" shafts, bronze bushings and thin body's and they flex a lot. I ended up with a JD2 "Notch Master" after reading
fantastic things about them. http://www.jd2.com/shop/custom.aspx?recid=4 This thing is a monster. Weighs in about 30 pounds and super solid. Has sealed bearings, 1 inch shaft all on a solid steel frame. No chatter from this dawg!!! I found this also on e-bay and got it shipped to my house for $265. When I got it and went to put it together there were pieces that didn't fit. A call to the manufactor and they sent me new parts...wrong notcher, crap. I called back and they sent out another part....it was the same as the other one so the last shipment was the whole assembly. It's all good cause they took care of me, it's what a good company does and JD2 is just that.But you know who I'm talking to/about!

My Welder is a Clarke 135 amp 110 volt el-cheap-O. I paid about 450 bux way back but it welds good...well as good as I can and most parts interchange from the so called better brands. Clarke actually went out of bussiness this last year due to the economy...bummer.

The stock RZR cage is made from .063 or .065 (I forget which one!) 1 3/4" tubing. Most seem to build out of .095 to .120 which in my opinion is way over built on a car that only does 65 mph on it's best day. The stock cage will protect you if you crash but it will fold up. I have seen many. But many forget that it what it is suppost to do, absorb the energy of impact so your body does not. Like cars today with thier special frames and bumpers. Don't forget
the vehicle is expendable, not the people inside. If your dead you can't drive the car anyway so what does it matter. Since my welding "skilz" are not all that they could be I didn't want to try welding the .063 anyway and don't mind a bit stronger cage so I went with 1 3/4" x .083 ERW tubing. Plenty strong for my application and cheap. I'll be using 12 gauge steel for the flatwork pieces at the rear, upright brackets and front bumper mount.

All the pipe to build the cage, front and rear bumpers and plate material was around $200....for a $1000 dollar cage...not a bad profit if I say so myself. I'll still need to get the 4'x4' 12g aluminum for the roof and a couple 2'x4' pc of 1/8" for the front and rear windsheilds but those will be under $75 combined. Glass installed front and rear should be under 300 bux.

On to the pictures and updates as they happen,

Tom


Attachments:
File comment: My new convertable!
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File comment: The new tools!
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File comment: Plate work.
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File comment: First bend, ye-ha!
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File comment: See the carpenter in me?
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File comment: Tight copes with the notcher. Nice!
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 7:28 pm 
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Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2003 4:03 pm
Posts: 727
More pics,.


Attachments:
File comment: Rear bracket with hole for checking diff fluid.
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File comment: Upright plates that go behind the seats with bent built in gusset.
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File comment: Start of rear bumper.
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File comment: Notcher at work. This Makita lithion-ion cordless drill will cut 7-1 3/4" holes through this pipe. Man has batteries come along way.
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File comment: Top bumper piece added. With the copes and the bends this is actually pretty easy, it's making all the welds look the same that is tough.
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File comment: Cage pieces matched with all bends done.
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 7:28 pm 
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Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2003 4:03 pm
Posts: 727
More pictures,

3-11-10 update!


Attachments:
File comment: Sometimes the bends look perfect...
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File comment: Sometimes they wrinkle. I assume it from the thin wall .083 but I really don't know.
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File comment: Main hoops done!
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File comment: Second set of cage bungs.
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File comment: Base mount behind seats for upright.
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File comment: Making the copes fit tight is kinda fun, like doing stained mill work.
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 7:29 pm 
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Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2003 4:03 pm
Posts: 727
3-11-10 update. Most of the cage is done. Need to add 4 more bars. One to bottom and top of front windshield area, one between the uprights for the seat belts to wrap around and last but not least one between the rear bumper uprights to transfer the load from the main cage loops. I also plan to add some bracing to the rear "windshield" area also, they will probably be just short angled tube piece coped from roof to upright.

The welding is harder than I thought it would be. Starting and stopping sure makes it hard to do good looking welds. I'm actually having a harder time welding around these arks as well. Doing a straight gusset is so much easier then keeping the gun tip the same distance all the way around. There are going to be some grinder marks when it's finished.....just overlook them! :-)

Feel free to throw out any pointers you may feel relevant. I should be done with the cage by the weekend and starting on the front bumper and roof.

Tom


Attachments:
File comment: More copes.
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File comment: Another view.
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File comment: Top view with the two top cross pieces and the angled bar.
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File comment: Angled pieces under the main cage loops to transfer the load. Center section is not installed yet.
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File comment: View looking up from the rear bumper.
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 7:42 pm 
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Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2003 4:03 pm
Posts: 727
3-14-10 update.

I finished all the bars and they are all installed. The whole cage is only partially welded and has to be removed to finish it. I added a tab for the rear view mirror and still need to add a tab for the dome light and a couple for flags. I'll probably add the flag mounts either at the rear bumper on both sides or somewhere on the rear down tubes on the main cage.

Any suggestions of anything to add while it's still raw paint?

I'm debating whether to add grab handles where the windshield and roof come together. I have some 1" tube I could use. What do you think about that?

Tom


Attachments:
File comment: Driver side view.
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File comment: Passenger side view showing that the door and cage are parallel to one another.
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File comment: Straight on look.
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File comment: Look from the rear. Nothing is actually crooked it just the point I took the picture from distorted the picture. I had to go back out and look!
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File comment: Lower rear bumper.
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File comment: Back corner view. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 7:42 pm 
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Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2003 4:03 pm
Posts: 727
A few more updates 3-22-10,

I ground down some of my crappy welds and ended up touching them all up for uniformity. Cage looks great to me. I added handles at the front bends to help get in or something to grab to get out.

I installed a dome light on the cage because I hate when I can't see when it's late. I always had that problem in the Drak. I also added another el-cheap-O light under the dash to illuminate the foot area. Ever drop something by your feet and only have a dome light above? You bend over to get it and your body blocks the light......I hate that. The lights were $5.99 each at Wal-mart. I actually bought them somewhere else but they have the same ones there. They have a push button switch on the side so I can turn the top or bottom one off individually if i need to go into stealth mode. I temporarily taped a toggle switch under the dash to control the lights till I get some matching factory switches.

I installed my new Crow 4 point harnesses with sternum strap. They seem to be pretty comfy right now. I miss the Teamtech harnesses I had in the Drak and Pilot but I was too cheap to spend 600 bux on another 2 of them for my 63mph car. These cost me $210 shipped to my door.

I started on the front windshield today. I used 1/8" aluminum and I got it all cut up to match the body. I took it to a local fab shop to have them brake/bend the sides at a 90 degree angle and the top at a 13 degree angle to help stiffen the panel up for the glass. I got it to the fab shop late so they said I will have it back tomorrow. I'd love to have a brake but one to bend this heavy of aluminum would cost over a grand. I will go get the rest of the aluminum for the rear windshield and roof tomorrow.

My Dzus fasteners will be here by Friday as will my end caps for the rear bumper ends. I also ordered my side mirrors which also should be here by the end of the week. I got some new 5" round flat glass black mirrors from a restore truck shop. They are for a 1930 to 1950 something Chevy pickup truck. I'm too cheap to pay 150 or more for a set of "billet" ones...Like I give a rat's ass!

I'll post more as it happens......

Tom


Attachments:
File comment: Side view.
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File comment: New harnesses....yea!
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File comment: Windshield panel.
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File comment: Tom sayeth, "Let there be light!" and there was!
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File comment: Light under dash and stealth "hidden" switch. Man am I sneaky!!!
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File comment: Cool front shot.
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 4:46 pm 
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Joined: Mon Dec 15, 2003 2:40 pm
Posts: 22512
Location: Chicago
Its looking good any updates?

Can you measure the angle at when the tubing starts to wrinkle be nice to know for those considering that exact same bender, not desirable but I don't see it being a issue do you?

Where are you placing your seam on the tubing when you bend, inside, outside on one side or the other, does it matter? I assume if the tubing was welded right the strength should be the same all the way around, see anything happen at the seam at the bends?

What is the over all height of your cage I need 64" max to clear the back door on the POS bus, I can probably put a ratchet strap and collapse the rear suspension 2-3" in the rear to lower but their is no way its going to fit with the factory cage installed.

MORE!


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 11:11 pm 
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Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2003 4:03 pm
Posts: 727
hoser wrote:
Its looking good any updates?

Can you measure the angle at when the tubing starts to wrinkle be nice to know for those considering that exact same bender, not desirable but I don't see it being a issue do you?

On this small of a vehicle I don't see it being a problem. When I finish and have some scrap I will see at what angle it kinks but I know the uprights were about 17 degree and they have a slight bubble in those bends.

Where are you placing your seam on the tubing when you bend, inside, outside on one side or the other, does it matter? I assume if the tubing was welded right the strength should be the same all the way around, see anything happen at the seam at the bends?

I try to use the welded seam line as a reference on my copes and bends to keep the whole tube or copes straight with one another. I have bent on all 4 "sides" if you will and it does not matter. The seams are just as strong as the rest of the tube as far as I can see/tell.

What is the over all height of your cage I need 64" max to clear the back door on the POS bus, I can probably put a ratchet strap and collapse the rear suspension 2-3" in the rear to lower but their is no way its going to fit with the factory cage installed.

I have the whole car jacked up so I can't measure it right now but I will have it down by Saturday. I'll get that measurement for you then.

MORE!


I have to say it has really been a fun project so far. Getting the upright bars right was the hardest part but still wasn't that bad. The bend, angle on the bottom and cope on top sure was a head scratcher though. Wasted one bar on it but I should be able to use it for the front bumper.

On a side note though of a soon to do future project is to make a gas tank shield. The gas tank being exposed on the bottom and the tire side looks like a problem just waiting to happen. I think I'll make a simple 12 gauge "L" shape with a solid bottom to cover the 3 exposed sides.

Tom


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 11:49 pm 
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Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2005 7:19 pm
Posts: 2245
Location: Chandler, AZ
are you going to cut the ends off your rear bumper? if so you can buy 1 3/4" automotive freeze plugs and weld them on, makes for a nice clean finish.

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detai ... &ppt=C0142


OR

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl= ... s%3Disch:1


Attachments:
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 12, 2010 10:05 am 
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Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2003 4:03 pm
Posts: 727
I was actually planing on using 1 3/4 actual steel tube end caps like these,

http://www.aa-mfg.com/pdshop/shop/item.aspx?itemid=835

or for a fancier look,

http://www.aa-mfg.com/pdshop/shop/item.aspx?itemid=665

I have a harder time welding flat stuff vs an edge so that is why I was leaning towards the end caps.

I'll end up grinding a lot of the welds so I guess it wouldn't matter if I did the end caps too! :shock:

Thanks for the links.

Tom


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PostPosted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 11:16 pm 
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Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2003 4:03 pm
Posts: 727
hoser wrote:
What is the over all height of your cage I need 64" max to clear the back door on the POS bus, I can probably put a ratchet strap and collapse the rear suspension 2-3" in the rear to lower but their is no way its going to fit with the factory cage installed.


I took the RZR off the jacks today. The cage measures 68". Stock was 70", I took 2" out of the back and added 2" to the front to flatten the roof out some and it kept the roof parallel to the doors. I like that look. With me sitting in the seat I have 5.5" from the top of my head to the bottom of the cage. I didn't want to go less than that because a helmet will eat up another 2" putting me close to the cage in a flip or a good bump in the road. We all know how our necks stretch in a crash. Hoser being that your only a couple inches shorter than me I think you will never be able to shorten the cage 4 inches below mine without some sort of seat height reduction somehow.

Tom


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PostPosted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 2:00 am 
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Joined: Sun Jul 16, 2006 8:46 am
Posts: 5257
Location: Seguin, TX (near San Antonio)
fill the tubes with sand and tape up the ends with duct tape to keep the wrinkles out...


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PostPosted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 11:15 am 
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Posts: 727
Does that work? I'd prolly end up needing a lift after filling a 12 foot tube with sand though. Actually sounds like a good idea but messy. I think I'll try some .095 next time because that is what the manufacture recommended as the minimum size for bending with a max of .120.

I will try your idea one day when I have some sand. I wonder if this could be a good excuse to move to Arizona or California? Think she would buy it?

Tom


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PostPosted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 4:27 pm 
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Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2003 4:03 pm
Posts: 727
lutrev wrote:
Sand does work, and sometimes placing cardboard in the shoe will help, at least it does when bending electrical conduit.


I have been spraying the shoe, die and pipe with WD-40 to keep it from sticking but just read somewhere about using actual grease. Ever heard that before?

Tom


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PostPosted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 10:55 pm 
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Joined: Sun Jul 16, 2006 8:46 am
Posts: 5257
Location: Seguin, TX (near San Antonio)
sorry to ruin the AZ move, but the kids will love the new play set!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWT3N3m4bE4


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PostPosted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 3:48 pm 
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Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2003 4:03 pm
Posts: 727
Few more updates today.....3-23-10

Got my front windshield panel bent up today. Did the sides 90 degrees and top bend was 13 degrees. It fits snug and is super ridged now. Just have to figure out exactly how to make the glass and make a windshield wiper work. I plan to go street legal too. I also need to order some weatherstripping for the bottom of the aluminum panel to fill the gap between the it and the hood. I also plan to add trim around the edges. I found it all at McMaster-Carr. Another wait on shipping.......

I picked up all the aluminum for the roof (.060") and the back windshield (.125") and should get them installed this weekend. Just waiting on the Dzus fasteners.

I got the 1 3/4" end caps for the rear bumper and the flag tabs. Welded them up and grind ed them up. I did 2 flag mounts down at the rear bumper since my flags are 8' tall. Puts them about 11 feet up in the air. I didn't want to fight trying to put them up high. I can always add more up there if need be.

I got a few sunny day shots since it was about 70 here in Missouri. Buzzed up and down the street quite a few times and gave the kids some rides. Even got a bit of utility out of it helping the guy across the street.

See my pictures,

Tom

P.S. I'm planning on going to St. Joes for a little R&R this Saturday. This will be my first real outing in the RZR so I'm really looking forward to it.


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File comment: Front panel bent up.
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File comment: Side view.
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File comment: End caps and flag install.
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File comment: Sunshine shot.
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File comment: 11 feet of flag I think will be enough.
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File comment: What a nice day it was.
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 3:48 pm 
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Posts: 727
Yet another update...

My mirrors showed up. They are from a restoration company that specializes in old Chevy/GMC trucks. The mirrors are from 1936 to 1972 Chevy/GMC trucks to be exact. They were $9.25 each and had a 20 dollar minimum order so he charged me 10 bux a piece and 8 bux to ship. Seem to be really solid where the stud comes out the back and can be tightened up more. I made some mounts out of 1 1/4" angle and cut them up so they looked nicer and coped them with the tube notcher. What a handy tool that turned out to be. I'd like to have some sort of a guard to protect the mirrors but haven't had anything jump out at me yet. Any thoughts let them fly. Drilled a couple holes and "ta-da" saved myself from having to spend 120 to 225 dollars for a pair of billet painted black ones. These were the cheapest "nice" one I have found on the net, http://www.eliminator1racing.com/produc ... goryId=131 i found cheaper but supposedly from reviews they moved around while riding...that would suck.

Who's the dummy now?

LOL

See them below!

Tom


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File comment: Front view.
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File comment: They were available in smooth or ribbed. I got ribbed for MY pleasure!!! LMAO
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File comment: Flat glass. I'm not sure why anyone would want curved glass for the ONLY mirror on any vehicles side.
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File comment: Insto bracket! Cost almost nuttin to build yet super solid.
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File comment: 3 times a charm. I guess I better get a turbo or a Weber motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )) so someone will actually be in my rear view mirrors. I used the hell out of the ones on the Drakart!!! :)
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 3:48 pm 
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Posts: 727
Update 3-30-10

I got a bit more done on the car today. I welded all the Dzus brackets to the cage. I used a piece of cardboard and made a template for the rear panel and transferred it to the 1/8" aluminum for the back panel. I got the rear panel done. Dirlled the holes for the Dzus fasteners and installed it.

DHJunkie was kind enough to bend up the piece I needed for the rear lights and sent it to me. Worked perfect. I cut it to fit the cage, then cut out the lights and installed them. A few custom brackets and then installed it. Still need to hook up the lights though.

For the roof I needed a way to roll the front edge to match the roll cage. Had to put on my thinking cap. I came up with an idea and it worked. I got a piece of 8" Sona tube, thick card board type tube commonly used for deck piers and a piece of "L" shaped aluminum. I drilled holes in the aluminum, transferred them to the sona tube, and bolted the pieces together. I slipped an edge of the aluminum .060 sheet for the roof under the aluminum "L" and bolted it down tight. I then kneel ed on the sheet and rolled the sheet up. Note....not the easiest thing to do. A 40" wide sheet of .060 5052 aluminum is a lot stronger than you think it would have been. Took about 10 mins to roll it the way I needed it. I would have liked the leading edge to roll a bit tighter but using make shift fabbing tools some things have to give. Dzus'ed down and it looks great. Next time I do this i will use .040 aluminum and use a piece of 6" pvc sch 40 sewer pipe...I just didn't have any laying around.

The Dzus fasteners are so freaking cool. So easy to install and they look so trick. Make even me look like a pro. Weld on bracket, rivit spring retainer on, install Dzus locating pin, lay material on top, tap with hammer, drill 3/8 hole, use Dzus flaring tool, put panel back on and insert fastener and turn 90 degrees....done!

I think I'm going to offer to build some cages, sheet work or what ever cause I am totally digging this fab work. If I can make a few bux and get some cool tools i think it's a no brainer. Time consuming but actually easy to do. As I do more it really starts to get easier and I'm already picking up speed while doing it.

Trying to spend time with the wife and kids is all that slows me up I'm just trying to not travel down the road my father did, Mechanical Engineer/Tool & Die maker that had a complete machine shop in the basement, seeing the family a couple mins a day.

Check out the pictures,

Tom


Attachments:
File comment: Cutting of the light box to match the cage.
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File comment: Back panel with trim installed.
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File comment: Side view of light box.
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File comment: With sealed trailer lights installed.
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File comment: Dzus brackets welded on throughout.
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File comment: Back panel inside view of Dzus fasteners.
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DSCF1069.JPG [ 549.12 KiB | Viewed 6122 times ]
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 3:49 pm 
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Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2003 4:03 pm
Posts: 727
More pictures,

Last point to make for now anyway! Last weekend I went to St. Joes taking the RZR-S for the first trip. It was super muddy out from all the rain we had and you can see in the pictures. The rear tires throw mud all over me. I had as much mud on me as did the machine. Who ever thought out the fender flair, tire width and all the holes under the dash was an idiot. I still need to seal up under the dash area but this roof and back panel should save my clothes washer a ton of work.

Tom


Attachments:
File comment: Home made roller!!!
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File comment: End view.
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File comment: The results....almost perfect.
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File comment: Nearly complete. I just need to take it all back apart and cut out for the rear piece of glass, have it made and installed.
DSCF1074.JPG
DSCF1074.JPG [ 545.28 KiB | Viewed 6109 times ]
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 4:05 pm 
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Joined: Mon Dec 15, 2003 2:40 pm
Posts: 22512
Location: Chicago
Turbotexas wrote:
sorry to ruin the AZ move, but the kids will love the new play set!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWT3N3m4bE4


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO1FOxsc ... re=related

How much is the roller?


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PostPosted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 12:46 am 
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Joined: Sun Jul 16, 2006 8:46 am
Posts: 5257
Location: Seguin, TX (near San Antonio)
hoser wrote:
Turbotexas wrote:
sorry to ruin the AZ move, but the kids will love the new play set!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWT3N3m4bE4


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO1FOxsc ... re=related

How much is the roller?


I saw one the other day? but don't remember but wasn't much... I wasn't sure what it was for until I saw the video...


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PostPosted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 10:38 pm 
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Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2003 4:03 pm
Posts: 727
Updated again!


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PostPosted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 6:41 am 
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Joined: Mon Dec 15, 2003 2:40 pm
Posts: 22512
Location: Chicago
Looks really good.

You making a box for the back?

The back looks a lot more accessible than before.

How much you want for your old cage, if I have a spare I might be willing to cut on mine and make it lower like others have so it will fit in the back of the bus.


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PostPosted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 7:56 am 
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Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2005 10:13 am
Posts: 3760
Location: PERTH WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Great work Tom,well designed,fabricated.10/10
I'm always left amazed!Especially bein' SO Modest! :-)
YOU sure you a CarPenTer? For Wood? :shock:
Should be a Car-PenTer for metal? :-)...Baz


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PostPosted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 9:52 am 
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Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 10:02 am
Posts: 2865
Location: East Peoria IL
litespeed - i will be at St. Joe this weekend also. Are you camping or just parking in the pit area. i think i will be camping on sie 117. i drive a Full size Ford E350 maroon van, and i hope to have my pilot and 77 fl250 with me. Anyway i will be looking for a RZR with a nice custom rollcage.


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