Update by Tim Suddard to the
Tornado Typhoon project car
Jan 16, 2015
The main hoop gets test fitted. Note our newly recovered seat is in place so we can make sure our head fits under the roll bar. When we race, we will fit a race seat.
A hoop is fitted under the dash. We will mount the cowl and the steering column to it for additional rigidity.
We are quite pleased with the look and feel of our final cage. Notice the feet we added to the frame rail to properly support the cage.
As you could see from our last update, our Tornado now has a roll cage. This was done for a variety of reasons.
First, we thought even for street use, some roll over protection would add greatly to the safety of this car. Even in a vintage car rally, we felt some added safety would be needed.
Second, installing this five-point, vintage style cage added greatly to the car’s structural rigidity. Before the cage was installed, we were worried we couldn’t get all our gaps to stay where they should be. After cage installation, the torsional rigidity was great.
Third, we do plan on racing this car at high profile vintage events (assuming we get accepted) like Monterey and Goodwood. We feel we have a shot, considering how cool this thing is turning out and how rare it is.
We think this car is starting to look pretty awesome with its cage and what will be a shortened windscreen.
After we designed the cage, we went to local cage builder Joey Stokes. He and his son built the cage and made it bolt in and out so we could still remove the body from the frame.
We will also attach the cowl and the steering column to the hoop under the dashboard for further safety and structural rigidity.
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Yeah; that car did need a cage if any track use was planned and even if not. Fiberglass cars don't offer much protection and that frame was only intended for something to mount the suspension & engine to and keep the body off the road. LOL! I know this as I was the one that pickup up that pile of parts from the seller.
Don't get me wrong, it is a neat car and well worth building and putting on the road. I would look forward to seeing if you ever take it to Carlisle's Kit Car show.
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