roll cage setup?

[NOT A TA]

The days of a car being worth less and harder to sell these days has changed. A cage that is done correctly and is user friendly can add value. A purpose built car these days has become a much more valued buy if the buyer knows what he is up against, a well built cage already installed save a lot of time and decisions.

II MUCH surely proved that a cage doesn't hurt the value or discourage buyers, it just has to be right and the group of buyers are a lot smarter these days. If someone feeds you the line that it makes the car worth less these days they are just using it as an excuse to get you to come down on the price with an age old buying tool.

Times have changed

Times have changed to the extent that roll bars are more widely accepted in cars that also see seat use. However, I'm going to disagree that a fully caging an average car doesn't hurt the value or narrow the market of potential purchasers of the car in most cases. There's a huge market of muscle car people who have no use or desire for a full cage. A cage usually makes it more dangerous for the (unhelmeted) driver and navigator during street driving and eliminates the possibility of rear passengers entirely.

I had to sell my fully caged 67 Nova last year. I had a very difficult time selling it and ended up trading it for another car (of lesser value in both of our opinions) which would appeal to a wider market in order to make the Nova move. I did consider cutting the cage (or forward section of it) out of the car so guys who wanted a driver/cruise night/occasional strip car would be more interested.

Johns 67 was for sale for 2 years. Were potential buyers put off by the full cage? As a last resort to make the car move he decided to take a chance on sending it to auction. It was a very risky financial move on Johns part which luckily worked out well for him.

A roll bar instead of a full cage allows a much wider potential market should the car be sold. This is probably the best option for most people who desire rollover protection for occasional road track days, dragstrip use etc.

In my opinion, no bar or cage installation widens the market group. The more modifications we make of any kind the more we push the car into a niche market with fewer and fewer potential buyers.

Fully caging my Firebird was a big decision as I know if I need to sell the car it will be very difficult and I will probably get less money for it than if I'd left it with no bar or just a roll bar. Here's why.

Unless the purchaser is 5'5"-5'7" and 130-150 lbs they will have to spend at least $2,000.00 to reconfigure the drivers area to be able to physicly get in the car and pass tech in the classes the car is built to run in. They would have to buy a new drivers seat, modify it to fit within the confines of the cage structure , and then modify the cage to accept the new seat and position the driver correctly. I have no expectation of recovering the cost of the cage at the time of sale and fully expect that if I sold the car it would reduce the selling price compared with a similar car without a full cage.

[High Plains Mopars]

everyone around my neck of the woods doesnt build road race cars,only drag cars.

im located in colorado springs colorado and i was planning on a 12 point roll cage.

You ridding right? The home of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb and all you can find are drag builders? We have the Colorado Hill Climb Assoc right here, http://www.chcaracing.com/. Have you talked to any of the participants in the hillclimb ranks to find out where they get their cages done? Within an hours drive of Colorado Springs there are only two drag strips. By contrast, there are five road courses. Hurricane, Kleeman, C-Fab, Bueachamp, GT Racing can all do this type of work. Speak to the guys over at Revolutions Motorsports. They are a NASA certified inspection shop and can provide recommendations as well, and these are all just in the Colorado Springs area.

Move in to Denver or Pueblo and there are even more. Hanksville Hot Rods, Best Race Works, Mac Autoworks are just up the road and also do a lot of sports and touring car builds and those are just a few off the top of my head because I'm unfamiliar with the Denver area scene. Talk to any of the guys in Rocky Mtn Vintage Racing Assoc. http://rmvr.com/ about references for cage work These guys are all running trans am style race cars of differing vintages and can provide lots of info on resources.

Get on the net; http://www.nasarockymountain.com/ or http://www.coloradoscca.org/ and sign on. You don't have to be a member of their organizations to participate on their web forums, but you can get a lot of good information and references. CHCA runs events in conjunction with the SCCA and FIA so they have developed a very stringnet set of rules governing car builds, http://www.chcaracing.com/

But, can you do it yourself, sure. Like others have said, check out other cars, ask questions, read rules, check out specs, do lots of reading. Then run those questions by inspectors, on here, or other places to confirm what your doing. Look at requirements for NASA's AI or AIX, http://www.nasaproracing.com/. Heck, even references to oval track racing can provide good ideas and resources on basic cage construction. Check here for a plethora of books on car construction, set, design, and engineering. http://www.ssapubl.com/default.aspx?...ookieSupport=1

Have fun, and welcome to car builder addicts anonymous!