You gotta be careful with some of that stuff, it may not meet CAMs regs. For example none of the Border or similar (i knew the brand, can't remember) roll cages you can get for the zed meet CAMs regs.
yeah couldn't remember if you were going a cage straight away, probably should've scanned back through the thread! Good point Andy about legalities, must admit it didn't occur to me at all. Also Pete, updates? More specifically photos, I like pictures... cheers, Tim
Mostly just boring stuff, need a vice to move my tie rod arms from my steering rack to the de-powered one I got from Chrispy so I have been learning to weld and making a bench to bolt the vice to... Also, got an engine thanks to some help from Sandeep and Tektrader, Sandeeps old one which is still in decent condition. Not sure if I'll be putting it in as it is or modifying it a bit first. have plenty of time to figure that out though. No pictures, sorry.
I would be putting it in as is. Then figuring the rest out later. From Memory, Sandeeps engine was in pretty good nick compression wise. Just POUND IT. NA engines are a dime a dozen. With the rack, undo the old inner tie rods while the rack is in the car. Push back the retainers and get a big shifter onto them. Its hard NOT to stuff the rack tube in a vice as the rack ends are usually on VERY HARD. And you tend to have to tighten the vice up way beyond what you should in order to stop it rotating getting the tie rods off. Been there and DONE THAT.
Definitely the sensible option, and for once I'll probably actually do the sensible thing. I can always pull it out later and do silly things to it. The engine is in pretty good nick though the valve springs may be slightly suspect which seems to be standard for NAs that have seen a bit of track use. The availibility of NA engines seems to be a very hit and miss thing, they are obviously not fetching much money in private sales but they can sometimes be few and far between too so if you do need one right now you can sometimes be out of luck unless you want to pay silly prices from a wrecker or importer. Thanks for the tip on the rack too, I'll put it back in and have a go in the engine bay. Shame I need another shifter, I really don't like shifters. Oh well.
Do you know who your going to use to fab up the cage? Once you get it done can you flick me the details, pricing etc. cheers man
Not sure yet but I'll let you know when I get it sorted, I think there are a few fabricators near me who do a lot of CAMS stuff though. Do you have a 2 or 4 seater?
4 seater. I've been recommended a few up here, and it's likely going to set me back about $3k I dare imagine based on a few quotes.
I'm expecting to pay about the same, maybe a little more depending on how complex it ends up being. A good basic safe CAMS compliant cage should be quite cheap but I'd like to stiffen the body up as much as I can while I'm at it, integrating all the strut towers and such into it rather than using strut braces.
Yeah, this is where finding a good designer/fabricator comes in, most support from the least amount of metal.
I am not raining on your parade but weight is against you heavy car little power should get more bang for your buck with suzuki gti
A good place to try is Fabraications, they do a lot of work and I've heard they are priced reasonably well. Meridian would be another place to try. Like all things with building a car, keep in mind the regulations as some categories may not allow the cage to continue through the firwall to the front struts.
I am not raining on your parade but weight is against you heavy car little power should get more bang for your buck with a clubman. Where does it stop then? There will always be better, but he's got a afinity with the zed, so go for it.
Pete When you are ready, I have some 7.5" front and 9" rear wheels wheels with r-spec rubber at the "right" price ... (3 fronts and 3 rears) RB
You're still here? I had not seen you on for a while, I'm glad you're still about. Regarding the wheels and tyres, I won't have the car in driving state for quite a while I think, what's the lifespan on these tyres?
hey peter , do you 100% have to use a roll cage to pass ? i as well say that they are heavy as , this is why i took it out of my zed many years ago . i would say there is an additional 50 60 kgs ? . and you can really feel that. say 300hp plus the weight of your fuel plus you ( 60 70 kgs ?) i just think that the weight will be to much . you should be OK on the cornering but the straights will get you ,, are there any alternatives ? i can build you an AN engine if you like , to turn up the power to compensate , that may work.. i know your going to rip the shat out of it to lighten it up , but i still think the cage is whats going to be the killer .. p.s great work man , looking good
No, for most of the things I will be doing I will not need a cage to be able to enter. It's more a safety issue as I'll be taking a lot of stuff out and driving it pretty hard. I'm also hoping the extra stiffness from the cage will let me get rid of a bit more metal around the car too but I know in the end it's going to add some extra weight.