This weekend I was able to start the mock up the cage in my car. Since this car will see the street I don't want the cage too close to my head, nor do I want to always wear a helmet while I drive. I know this won't pass NHRA tech because of that, and that's OK. The purpose is to provide more rigidity and a bit of safety than Pontiac provided in 1967.
My plan is to build a "6 point" style cage. I'm making my own so I can fit it where I want and how I want. I'm going to have this fit up as close as possible to the body so I can attach it to the body in various locations for additional strength.
I made some rough estimates as to where I'll be sitting and how much room I need (hence why I put the wheel and pedals back in) and determined that the main hoop can be exactly where the ashtrays used to reside on the rear seat armrests. This is cool as I can reuse the original vinyl from them. Of course, the arm rests had to be trimmed down to clear the inner wheel tubs.
I made two versions of the rear down tubes and decided on the "version 2" as it is a less severe bend and should be a little stronger for that. I'll also add gussets in critical areas as well as plates on the rockers for strength.
It seems like I don't have much to show for a full weekend's worth of work, however, one benefit to this is it's a lot easier (and cheaper) to cut and grind plastic than it is DOM steel. Plus, I can see it, and change it if I don't like it. Next weekend I'll work on the bars that run along the doors. They'll fit nicely underneath the "deluxe" armrests on the '67 Firebird.
