pyropete125

I am building a cage for my 924S and for where I want to put the rear mainstays I want to put a bend in it.

I have not read a clear answer on it in the PCA rulebook. I will be putting a fuel cell in later this year and will re-do the back stays when I put the cell in. I just want to get the car together and drive it a bit at a few track days and auto-x sooner than later this season. I am making this cage based on my 24 hours of lemons 924S car we have been racing for 4 years.

I have been told yes and no by local cage builders for the bends.

I also have been told that the bottom plate furthest edge cannot be behind the back edge of the rear wheel.

https://plus.google.com/photos/11772...72574991177521

there is a picture of the proposed rear bar. To make the rear bars the same and clear the stock fuel fill cover this is the way I need to make it.

I am open to ideas.

Thanks all,
Pete

pyropete125

I was able to keep them straight

https://plus.google.com/photos/11772...72574991177521

GPA951s

Just saw this thread, thought I would congratulate you on a nice cage. I just finished my cage and I put bends in it because I made it farther back, I also installed interior Nerf bars to protect the quarters and rear, Thus making it safer if i ever got blasted in the rear protecting the tank. Nice to see someone else who does their own work.

pyropete125

Nice work. I think i enjoy building the car as much as driving it.

I was told i needed to keep them straight. Are you worried that if you take a good shot in the quarter it will compromise the integrity of the cage? Do you come from a dirt track background?

What class/series are you planning on running? I originally planned on doing lemons/chump with that car but i feelnits a bit too nice for that. I have been doing pca track days with it. Too much would need to be changed to make it a sp1/sp2 car.

I have another 87 NA 944 that a PO put M030 brakes and suspension on that i think i want to build to pca sp1/2 or possibly nasa spec 944, but the brakes will be a problem. I also a a turbo driveline, s2 engine no dme, and a complete 968 engine with dme so my options are wide open.

I need to work on me as a driver more so. I did a 3 day skippy school in october so i am hoping i can get my license with pca or nasa soon. I drove that car at my level in the sp1/2 class id be about 5 seconds off pace at limerock. I just need more seat time.

Any pictures of the rest of the car?

GPA951s

Well I don't see anything in the rule book about the rear bars having a bend. All it says is that they must be at at least 30 degrees so that would be my argument there. Having put the bars far enough Back to protect the tank the angle was too much to get around the front side. I really planned my welds out so I wouldn't get in trouble. As it is it took me about 18 hours to fully weld it in with various yoga positions lol. I tig welded everything. I come from an asphalt modified background I was a crew chief for 10 years we won several championship s so allot if what I build comes from that. The nerf bars are 1 1\4 thin tube that is used on the modifiers it will fold away before the cage does. Its mainly there for rubbing or if I have an off track adventure and meet a tire wall that I won't have to skin the quarter. I figure if it ever gets so far into the cage to bend it then the car needs to go on the frame machine or I grab my spare chassis. I'm in the same boat as you I am planning on racing stock f. Then move to sp3. I also don't have my licence so I will be doing some De's this summer. I happen to have a monster turbo with a standalone that I'm going to run the De's just for fun while I build the stock motor.I have always had turbos I have a 89 turbo s and an 86 retired and the racecar is a 88 turbo s. I wanted the posi and the mo30 brakes so I found a really nice basket case for cheap and started stripping it around x mas . the cage is done and fully welded and painted I also added gussets everywhere I could they a 50 cents a piece from troyer eng I Rochester (those were the modified chassis we ran) I made some 1\4 inch plate gussets where the rear hoops are. I will get you some pics Monday they are on my computer at work. I really put allot of thought into the cage I looked at other peoples stuff and improved on that.. One of the things I did was run the "knee" bar through the hole in the chassis above the steering column. My dash still fits good and you can't see the bar . plus if the belts ever stretch if I go head on into a wall my kneecaps won't break. I was watching a video on YouTube of Dan Martinson's geartie sp3 car and it looks like his knees actually touch the bar, IMHO that looks downright dangerous. Plus the bar is so low it really does nothing if the car ever got hit on the a pillar. So right now I am upholstering my dash and center console to match the paint scheme of the car. Then pull the motor paint engine bay any install my go fast street motor and build the exhaust. I used to be a professional stainless steel welder so I'm going to fab an oval 2x12 side exit. To me that is allot of fun. Are you planning on going to Watkins glen this year? That is my home track. I'm going to volunteer to be a tech for the clash. Plus our de is like 2 days before that event. Sorry obout the book I just wrote but I do enjoy talking g about Porsches and fabrication! -Glen

pyropete125

I would like to go to watkins soon (this year) but we may be buying a new house soon so that may cut into my racing funds.

The s2 motor I have is only engine stand now. I just put new rod bearings in, baffled the pan and added a teflon crank scraper. I have a microsquirt system for it too. It is a fun car to track with the 8v na 2.5, so im excited to see what it is like with the s2. Im not sure how it will be with a NA lsd, but if it is way off gearing, the turbo transaxle I have is the oil cooled lsd 5R.

I have done I think 17 lemons races now, and 16 of them in a different 924S, so I'm comfortable on track and in traffic, but I need to unlearn my bad habbits driving. Having a coach for the DEs last year helped me immensely (once my ego healed) and the 3 day school was a real eye opener too.

GPA951s

So the car is not complete but here are a couple of pics, as you can see I did a kind of double upright, so I have the main hoop and I put another bar next to it but further down. I made a double offset bend so I could keep the curve of the "B" pillar and but still kind of hide the bar behind the door pillar, then it kinda comes out allowing the NASCAR

style bars to have less bends and be connected to the chassis sooner. The Dash bar does not interfere with the dash at all and is nicely tucked away. I had to re-located the hood hinges by 1/2" and build new pockets to allow for the bars on the A pillars. I welded everything I could outside of the car the snapped the sub-assemblies in (after paint) and fully welded them in then painted again.. I just thought it would be cool to have a contrasting color cage. ..I also have 87 16v no motor in the woods that I would like to do a lemons race with but I I cant ssem to get any interest here.. Oh well... So here are the pics of the car so far. (note the gusset on the rear stay)

Viperbob1

You have a hefty cage. Only thing I dont like is the straight bar going to rear of car. If hit hard in back, this puts force straight into the cage. I would rather have something to absorb or deflect the energy instead of transferring straight into roll cage.

GPA951s

I gave that some thought, Even thought the bar is straight is still is at an upward angle, and the tube used absorbs the impact and will fold. If you look at a Nascar modified, I used the same 1 1/4 thin wall tube. Ovre the course of 10 years being a crew cheif I must have made and replaced the rear nerf bars 15 times. Always the bar would get bent and fold before it got into the cage. My Thinking was that the bar would bend on a low- medium impact, and any hit harder than that where it would get into the cage, I wanted to protect the Fuel tank and not burn to death. I was thinking that if I ever go hit hard enough to do that the rear clip / Cage would have to be rebuilt anyhow. There is a video that I saw of a 944 that had his Tranny lock up and got blasted in the rear spilling all his fuel and a fellow racer helped pull him out of his burning car. The bars on this modified ARE bolted right to the chassis and cage.