Roll Cage Install

Since I am putting in a regular amount of time each year at the track and road racing events I figured it was time to get a roll cage installed. I reached out to S&W racecars. They are experts in racing Roll Cages. They have a new website dedicated to the Mustang market. You can find this Mustang roll cage there on that site. I am very happy with the install as well as how the car feels with the extra stiffness of the roll cage.
	I took the Mustang to VRN Welding for the instal. Vince has a shop and a racer himself. He and his crew did an amazing job of welding this roll bar in.
	The first step of this massive project is of course is to pull the interior. The back seat is very easy to pull.
	Then the heavy part, the front seats.
	Here is a shot of the bottom of the seat.
	Then to pull up the carpet.
	You need to pull up the doorsill plates.
	Then you can pull the interior panels.
	Then long holes need to be cut into the rear deck. This is to accommodate the long tubes.
	Here is the drivers side.
	And this is the passengers side.
	Here are the rear bars as they came from S&W. Notches cut.
	Here they are getting test fitted
	The floor is prepped for the bottom of the main hoop
	the Main hoop is test fit.
	Primer and paint. Flat black of course.
	Then the welding can begin.
	The rear mounting point is prepped. you have to remove all material that is not metal.
	The guys at VRN took the extra time to shape the base plated to conform to the shape of the Mustang body. This offer extra strength.
	Then the mounting plate is welded. The tube is used for grounding. It is later removed.
	The rear bars are slid into place.
	Then they can be welded in place.  The part of the body is much stronger than welding the rear bars to the wheel tubs. Plus it will offer more rigidity.
	Here is the rear drivers side welded in place.
	After welding you need to primer the bare metal.
	Then you can touch up the black on the bars.
	Same process with the front hoop.
	The bars are welded to the hoop before the hoop was welded to the floor.
	Vince at VRN again went the extra mile to come up with a convenient away to install a removable pin for the hoop’s center bar.
	Most bar kits have pins on the inside but then they leave a huge notch that is very inconvenient. So Vince drilled and sleeved the main hoop and the fabricated a bracket for the center bar.
	Vince also put a small extra bend into the main hoop so that it follows the contour of the car. So from the side you can not see the roll cage.
	Notice top right we placed some clear 3M tape so the seat belt would not rub off the paint.
	Here you can see the two top bars going all the way back.
	Here is the rear mounting point passengers side.
	Here is the rear mounting point drivers side.
	We had to cut holes in the carpet and the gripper trunk mat.
	I love the gripper trunk mat.
	The rear bars are ultra clean but would not be safe for an adult in the back seat without roll bar padding.
	With the rear window tint you can hardly see the black roll bars against the factory charcoal interior. Overall I am very happy with the install and then feel of the car with the extra rigidity.