I Like it Solid and Stiff...
So more progress on the chassis and cage was made! I finally got 95% of the interior all stitch welded up. What. a. pain. in. the. ass. that. was. The Chassis prep was a freaking nightmare. Not only did I wire wheel the paint and primer off to bare metal, I cleaned the surface with acetone/brake cleaner (tried both as recommended by friends who built quiet a few cages) and still had some contaminated welds. I would never do this again unless the chassis was acid dipped or media blasted. If you're planning on doing this, think long and hard, its by far the most tedious thing I've done thus far.
Pointer: To remove the seam sealer the wire brush wheel works great for the surface. A metal strap works great as a secondary pass at the tougher to reach areas. Third time around a metal pick and/or a seal puller worked great to get the remain gunk out of tight nooks and crannies.
Mounting Plates
The rear strut mounting points were quiet a PITA. This was actually my second attempts as I originally started out welding one side of the plate then beginning to wrap it around - this resulted in a crooked plate. I cut it off and welded it from the center then bent it outwards. Some heat would have helped, I was lazy so I just used a dead blow hammer to massage a curve into it. Once it had shape, and after I was out of breath with a burning for arm, I got smart and whipped out my giant C-clamp. made life a hella lot easier! Tack ends, repeat, fully weld.
Next were the A-Pillar mounts and the main hoop mounts. The A-Pillar boxes were cut from 4 pieces then welded together. I used a contour gauge to get the appropriate shape and cut out a cardboard mock up to test fit. once confirmed I transfered them to the metal plate and cut them to shape (super PITA, REALLY wished the plasma cnc was up and running for this). The Main hoop plates are on the small size with the scrap I had laying around. I'm unhappy with them so I bought larger plate and will be remaking them a bit larger but I include the picture for reference.
And Then I F^#$^d up...
Rookie mistake. I finished my main hoop, then I put in my seat to see what my clearance was like. Only to realize I made my harness bar way too high. So here's the hoop I have to replace lol. Oh well, it's the price you pay for the learning curve!
