Mild steel is a little heavier but easier to work with than chromemoly,& most any good chassis builder will tell you he would rather be in a mild steel car in a crash because the welds are less likely to break than moly.My car came w/ a 10 point but I added 2 bars off the front hoop going through the floor & welding to the frame behind the front wheels.My feet just felt naked w/ no support there & I knew that hitting a wall & driving the lower control arm & front wheel in the floor would`nt be to pleasing when my legs got crushed.Before I added the 2 bars the car was around 2500 lbs because it`s totally gutted,I don`t think adding 10lbs of weight is going to hurt very much.
Half way through my build, i started wondering about the safety. I also own '63 Galaxie and figured if I'd ever get into a wreck, I'd probably be the one driving home (until I saw the utube crash-test vid of an Impala going head-on with a newer Impala) Who would'a thought my 3 1/2 tons would loose to a recycled beer-can of a car!...anyway...I'm building mine to be a mind-f**k street car...psych out the opposition even before we line up. I was thinking of doing a double-hoop with two trunk-tubes and two door-tubes(6-point). I figured I'd run a couple's test-n-tune nights at the local strip, just to see what it'll do. After off-roading for ten years, I know better than to mess with my (or anyone else's) life. I definitely don't want to do a NASCAR type cage, but i do know about the light weight=speed factor. Would down-tubes to the front frame-horns (from the dash-knee-brace) across the shock towers, stiffen up the front-end? and for a casual week-end brawler would this be over kill as well? Is the double-tube main hoop too much weight (I considered the placement behind the door windows to be the best position) for weight and safety. I have watched the utube vids of the Mavericks who have rolled, and the roof never seems to cave with a single rollbar hoop. Just looking for thoughts from racers with way-more experience than i have. Thanks!
yep new cars are 1000000 times safer they have crumple zones that take the force out of the impact. I'd say it's all how I makes you feel, the front frame bars will stiffen it up but my comet i had didn't have them and had a 12 point cage it just pulled the front wheels and went didn't even attempt to twist. It did have a ladder bar coil over set up in the rear though. I'm building mine with a 12 point cage also but I'm doing cal tracs and leafs on a 9 inch. Should be fine. It's all what makes you the driver feels comfortable and safe.. mine doesn't need to have a 12 point cage it's only going to go low 10s. But that's just what will make me feel safe.
