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Roll cage

11K views 30 replies 6 participants last post by  Tuske427 
#1 ·
Anyone on here installed a roll cage in a old chevy coupe? I'm going to put a 10 point in my 40 and been trying to find something close that the main hoop width and halo bar will work. I can tweak some of the bars but I can't do 90 degree bends. Jegs is about 3 hrs away so I was thinking of getting it from them if shipping is crazy. I've researched but I can't find any info where they give width or any of the other measurements I need. Wish there was a shop around that could bend me up a hoop and halo, the rest I can do.
 
#2 ·
did you want to make an investment in a speedway bender? the dies are what cost a bunch. i did a halo on my chevy with it. I used the same size pipe as the sides though. I didn't want to spend for the smaller die set. I wish I did.
 

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#4 ·
When I compared kit prices and bender price I decided it was better to invest in the bender. Not to mention none of the kits were really gonna fit my cab shape anyway. But that's me. You do what you think is best for your situation.
 
#5 ·
I never did get one because tubing was so high. I could buy the cage for less than the tubing cost. I have a good source for it now, they sell me stuff at cost, may have to see what 1 5/8's is a ft now. Got a pic of your bender? I got access to a Harbor Freight one that you have to mount or bolt to the floor. Don't know if it would bend it.
 
#6 ·
I have a Harbor Freight one I bought at a swap meet and it kinks everything over 45 degrees. A POS that is pretty worthless. Fortunately I still have access to borrowing a Greenlee 555 from my old workplace, so I just go see the tool guy when I need to bend up a cage or rollbar.
 
#9 ·
Trick is to keep it greased and use pvc pipe as your template for angle and radius. I pie cut the radius and used duct tape to keep it together. The only problem is the u-bolt on the die takes a beating. I'm due to replace mine. Not sure if they sell just that alone. Maybe you can find out before you order it.
 
#10 ·
Can't upload a pic now since I had computer trouble, but they have one, 16 ton, for $169.95 and a 12 ton for even cheaper. A 20% coupon would bring the 16 down quite a bit. The guy on Utube uses a 1 1/4 die for 1 5/8's tubing, he drills a hole in the die and uses a clamp deal to hold the tubing so it won't crimp. He also mounts the bender to a engine stand.
 
#13 ·
I have a 12 ton. It won't bend what you need without kinking the pipe. Just my opinion. Been there done that. You need matching dies for both sides to bend without kink.
 
#14 ·
Can't get a 1 5/8 where I get my steel at, or at least none of his suppliers has it. I can get 1 3/4 for $2 a ft. mmhotrod, check out the dude on utube that made the jeep bumpers. He made 90 degree bends by putting a clamp deal on his. I'm not smart enough to post a link. Google it and it's 1 of the first that comes up.
 
#15 ·
The Speedway bender rolls the die on the pipe as it bends. It rolls out the bend in increments along the pipe. The HF bender pushes the bend in one area. All I'm gonna say is a roll cage is safety equipment. Don't comprimise safety equipment.
I've spoken my 3 cents. It's your decision. Your car. By the way I did find the video and to bend a thin wall tube for a bumper HF is fine. .125 tubing for a cage I'm not so convinced.
 
#16 ·
I enlarged your pic of your bender and I see what you mean. I may give it a shot, I found where they put rollers on each side and the clamp deal where it wouldn't crimp it. If I screw it up, I'll find someone to bend up the main hoop and halo.
 
#17 ·
As I mentioned, I have the HF tubing bender, and it simply is a piece of crap. Without a back shoe it kinks and makes the tubing oval shaped too. That one that Mario posted above at Speedway is more like the Greenlee with it's back shoe, and will hold the tubing shape, and not kink.
When I took my tubing to work and used the 555 bender the bends came out superb!
 
#31 ·
I have the Eastwood rollbar bender, and I have had nothing but trouble with it. I wouldn't recommend it at all. It kinked my 1.5" (x .083") DOM tubing when working on my Firebird, and the die broke in half when trying to bend 1.75" (x.120") DOM tubing. Eastwood service was good- they sent a replacement, and I tried again and then the jack didn't have enough oopmh to bend the tubing. So now it sits in my garage wasting space... If I don't end up using it on my '55 somewhere I'll be listing it on CL for sure.
 
#21 ·
I think I can still modify one to make some of the slight bends I'll need to make. If I can find someone around close to do the halo and main hoop. I could write down all the measurements and lay them out with cheap electrical conduct and take the tubing to be bent. I can have a friend machine the shoe or die to fit the 1 3/4 tubing and make rollers for it to roll on at the sides so it won't make indentions in the tubing. A friend has one of these, so if it doesn't work all I'll be out is a $8 or $10 piece of tubing. I doubt I'll ever build another cage so I don't want to spend $400 on something that everybody around wants to borrow. Main thing right now is finding someone that can bend what I need.
 
#22 ·
The Harbor Fright does have rollers. Both of the rollers are adjustable to different positions, so not sure what rollers you'd make? But they don't roll, and they do make nice dents in the tubing. Even heavy wall tubing I used for my firewall to frame braces, and ladder bars, still kinked, and dented from the rollers.
I guess it might be worth trying if you get tubing that cheap. But at the cost of steel, once I kinked or dented it, what's left of the tube wasn't usable anymore, so my losses were greater than $8-$10.
If the darn thing wasn't so heavy I'd palletize it all and send it to you for the cost of shipping! It's a POS, and it sits in a corner taking up space in my storage shed.
 
#24 ·
I'm not going to try any bends that sharp. My down tubes, from front of halo to floor, rear bars, won't need much. I may get some 90's bent in the front bars going out to the frame. I'll leave them until I get headers, all I'd need is to make them long so I can trim them to fit. I know I've done several that I needed to bend the side bars out just a hair and had no way to do it.
 
#25 ·
vht, a friend of mine built a roll cage from steel pipe cattle gates purchased at the local farm supply store. It was 1/8th inch wall thickness. What he did was cut out the straight tubes from the middle and then cut the main hoop of the gate in the middle and spliced it together with a snug fitting tube on the inside and then rosset welded it as well as a full circumference weld. Then he used the remaining straight bars for the down tubes and made a 6 point cage. It passes tech for his 11 second 62 Nova II. I know your looking for a 10 point and this might not be cost effective because of needing 2 gates to get all the bends you need. The other downside is that your limited to 90 degree bends. For his 6 point it worked great and the bends were nice and concentric.
 
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