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............................................. Roll Bars for Cage
In November I went back to Missouri to visit my mom. Just outside Oklahoma City lives Sam Woodard who came to B'ville with Hooley this past summer. He has a shop were he specializes in building "gasser" type cars, but also buys and sells other Hot Rods and Street Rods. Anyway he has a tube bender and has bent NHRA approved cages. I thought this was a good opportunity to get the top roll bars bent for my cage, so I called him and made plans to stop and spend the day with him and Joe.
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Since I couldn't take the lakester to him I had to make some patterns. I put my mockup helmet in the car and took some measurements and made the drawing above full scale. I had decided to give up a little aero and move the helmet up a couple inches to make sure there would be room in the car. I want a little clearance around the helmet, but I don't want much lateral movement, so I made this pretty tight. If my final helmet is a little larger I can move my head down a little in the car now that I added extra height.
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I made a 2nd full size pattern off of the first, so I wouldn't have to cut up the first one.
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Using the pattern I cut the roll bar that will be perpendicular to the cage (see arrow). I positioned it on the cage approximately where it will end up.
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Next using the vertical pattern I had just made as a template I put a second piece of particle board and projected the curve from the first one onto this one. They aren't identical due to the angle the first one is at, but coming off of the first at 90 degrees let me plot the second pretty easy. After I had it drawn on the particle board I cut it out and positioned it as shown here for a check.
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Finally I made a pattern for two bars that will come from the cage behind my head forward to meet the middle vertical roll bar.
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Then I jumped into 1FATGMC (my truck) and drove the 900 miles to Sam's and we bent some tubing. Well he and Joe did most of the bending and I watched. I found out that the radius on his dies were a little different than what I laid the patterns out at and it was also almost impossible for us to get the double curve in the bar like I had on the pattern with his bender. So we compromised a hair and I'll give up another couple square inches to "mother aero drag". Above is the middle vertical bar.
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Here is the bar that will be slanted back.
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And here are the two for the back of helmet. Thanks Sam and Joe!! We cut all
of these with the legs long so I can cut them for a final fit in the car. After Sam's I went and spent the night
at Hooley's were we discussed plans for the Stude for 2007 and then on to John's (WZJUNK) where I almost wrecked
his newly finished 32 roadster street rod that he insisted I drive. Then on to Mom's in Branson, MO and finally
back home again. Next I need to stop at Sam's and bend a cage for my pickup as I want to run down the salt for
"time only" when I get the turbo motor built, but first the lakester!!
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