[fogged306]

If he's certified, he should know how much heat that metal will take before you burn through.. And I'm not talking about just the shock tower area, all those welds weren't hot enough. Sorry man, but theres no way his certification is current.. Or he just doesnt give a shit. Those welds are just laying on top of the metal as opposed to becoming part of it. Welds like that can easily crack under stress.

And did you guys notch the pipe where you joined the brace in from the side? It looks like you've got a pretty big gap there you're trying to fill in with weld.. Not trying to knock your shit, just saying if you're gonna spend the money and time on a cage, you want to do it right. Big difference in rigidity between one done correct and one that's not.

[EscortSportage]

Some of the metal floor might have had some rust underneath so it burns quicker, he did three passes on the beams to the plates. The cage is stiff we still need to touch up a few spots but the car feels 1000 times stiffer

[MustangMatt96GT]

Originally Posted by e3sean i cant see the pics but just a heads up for you and maybe some suggestions. 1) lightly tack the entire cage in place with the 6"x6" 1/8" steel plates sitting under the poles. 2) remove the steel plates and mark where the bars are resting on the floor. 3) take the cage out of the car use a hole saw and cut out the area where the cage will sit. 4)tack the cage very good back in place where the cage will sit. 5)remove the plates and drop the cage as low as possible through the floor 6) weld the tops of the bars where you wont be able to get to when the cage is in place 7) lift the cage back into position and finish welding everything. 8)now weld the bottom where you cut the hole to the plates. you might not want to go this far for what you are doing but if you ever decide to sell the car or want to get it certed the tops of the bars need to be welded or you have to have ugly ass gussets in each corner. and trust me even if you think you will never let your car go now that might change in the future. i know from personal expierence on that one.

Yep guess who is cutting mine back out? Me haha I wish I had done this the first time, but this was my first cage build, so it was a learning experience.

This is VERY GOOD ADVISE!

Originally Posted by fogged306 If he's certified, he should know how much heat that metal will take before you burn through.. And I'm not talking about just the shock tower area, all those welds weren't hot enough. Sorry man, but theres no way his certification is current.. Or he just doesnt give a shit. Those welds are just laying on top of the metal as opposed to becoming part of it. Welds like that can easily crack under stress. And did you guys notch the pipe where you joined the brace in from the side? It looks like you've got a pretty big gap there you're trying to fill in with weld.. Not trying to knock your shit, just saying if you're gonna spend the money and time on a cage, you want to do it right. Big difference in rigidity between one done correct and one that's not.

I agree. I wouldn't want those welds saving my life.

[jat]

should of did it on outriggers, are you tying the cage into the upper control arms?

[e3sean]

Originally Posted by EscortSportage

i dont know guys in this picture it looks like he got a pretty decent heat dispersment on the plate. and the beads look pretty decent in most areas. i dont think i like the shock tower braces. im sure they will function but i think for cleanlyness sake and for putting panels back in i would have built a clean set of removeable ones.

[fogged306]

Originally Posted by EscortSportage

I was referring to this pic. Those look like 60/10 rod welds with hardly any penetration, lol.

[MIGHTYJO3YOUNG]

Like the shoes in the first pic! Cage looks good though! Nice work! Really getting it done quick!