Cage options for truck.

After speaking with Lonnie Grim about my options on the cage, it has been made clear that I will either have to run my rear directional bars above head to the frame rail or have a funny car cage in the truck to spec 8.50. At this time neither sounds like what I want to do, but a decision must be made. Until that time comes, anyone have any creative ideas on stiffening my stock frame so I can get some time on the motor and just enjoy driving it? Also does anyone have any images of roll cages in full size trucks they want to share so I can get some ideas on how to make it as seamless as possible. Truck will have to be 8.50 legal for its intended purpose (Drag Week).

If it will see any actual street use you really don't want to mess with a Funny Car cage. In a crash on the street without a helmet that F/C cage can really fuuk up your brain-box. Plus the doorway on the average regular cab truck gets kinda small with a door bar in the way, adding a F/C cage to that will make it so much worse on the street.

As for stiffening the stock frame if any part of that year truck's frame isn't already boxed from the factory then fully boxing/plating everything end to end is a good direction to go to help stiffen everything up.

Don't forget that any vehicle with a true frame (like most trucks) must have the cage attached directly to the frame and/or a frame crossmember (and/or an outrigger) and not mounted to 6x6 plates on the floor. This also means that after a proper cage install on a truck you won't be able to remove either the truck cab or bed anymore, (unless of course you get a little creative and gut the cab shell & bed & mount both like you would on a full chassis build).

And regarding the rear bars that will need to go through the top of the rear window a lot of people go way overboard and unnecessarily run them way too long/way too far back in the bed adding a lot more weight than is really necessary. On a fully boxed factory full size truck frame with ladder bars (or a 4-link) two 1.625" rear cage bars really don't need to land any farther back on the frame than an area anywhere between just in front of the rear end housing centerline, to the the rear shock centerline. Any farther back is usually a waste of tubing in this situation. And having the two rear bars "straight" (without downward bends) is more desirable & stronger. Putting unsupported downward bends in the rear bars so it has that "Pro Stock Truck" look just gives the rear bars someplace to bend/flex under load. The "down-bends" in the rear bars on a real Pro Stock Truck aren't a problem because the bars are heavily supported/braced just below the bends (hidden by the Dzused aluminum bed cover/panels). The "ideal" strongest mounting angle for the two rear bars is 45* (the NHRA/IHRA minimum is 30* from vertical).

Maybe install the cage minus rear down bars, seatbelts bar, or funny car cage. Run braces from main hoop below the rear window to the rear frame. When you decide what to do you can either run thinner smaller bars down from the top of the hoop, or install the funny car cage. Seatbelts bar would need to come out to install funny car cage so it would have to stay out until you decide

Anyone found a supplier for a 2" x .120 DOM full cab cage for a 70's F ?

check with this company he built my cage and shipped it to me mine is a 1 5/8'' tube I sure if you want 2'' they can build it

https://www.appliedracing.com/roll-bars-cages-and-components/roll-cage-kit---12-point-c-m.html

69F100 wrote:check with this company he built my cage and shipped it to me mine is a 1 5/8'' tube I sure if you want 2'' they can build it

https://www.appliedracing.com/roll-bars-cages-and-components/roll-cage-kit---12-point-c-m.html

I'll see what they can offer, I just need the main cage. thanks.

Kobelco wrote:.....supplier for a 2" x .120 DOM full cab cage........

Just wondering why you want to use 2" OD tubing for the roll cage when 1 5/8" OD is the NHRA norm. It might not seem like it at first glance but that bigger 2" OD tubing will chew up a lot of space inside the truck cab real damn quick.

Off road Baja type.

Kobelco wrote:Off road Baja type.

That's probably going to be tough to find in a pre-bent cage kit from most of the drag racing chassis suppliers since they most likely only have bending die sizes and archived past bending car/truck body measurements for the tubing sizes they use most for NHRA/IHRA/SFI drag racing rules (1.750, 1.625, 1.500, etc, etc). 2" OD tubing is not a size normally associated/required in drag racing.

Now that's not to say that you couldn't talk one of them into bending up a special cage job in 2" OD. The limiting factor would be if they even had a bending die that big if it's not a size they normally use.

So prebent is probably out your in the realm of custom cages for 2 inch

litshoot wrote:So prebent is probably out your in the realm of custom cages for 2 inch

Meh, you never really know what any of the chassis shops/chassis stores can make or sell until you call and ask.

I talked to applied he stated no die for 2" however refered me to All Out Performance in Rockmart Ga. I have not contacted them they do mega trucks so maybe.

Another option if you have decent fab skills is to buy a JD Squared bender & 2" die set and bend it up yourself.

Kobelco wrote:I talked to applied he stated no die for 2"   however refered me to All Out Performance in Rockmart Ga. I have not contacted them they do mega trucks so maybe.

just be careful because a lot of off road cages are not nhra approve, make sure they know what your doing to make it legal for track.