S4FHC TTR roll cage close fit

[miked]

Hi,

Has anybody had any problems with front cage vertical parts touching the door cards when the doors are closed. This is on a car that is being built up. I have had the doors on but looking at the gap (equal both sides) the door cards are going to touch and squeeze. I pulled the bottom bracket parts inwards (to the chassis) with the bolts before I drilled down through the chassis down fixings. I am considering playing with the top piece that goes over the top of the windscreen screen to see if I can pull the vertical legs inwards towards the top. Any thoughts?

Mike

[batfish]

Hi Mike

The TTR rollcage on my S3 FHC used to dig into the door card on the drivers door but there was plenty of room on the passenger side. I was unable to make it fit better.

regards

Andy

[miked]

Hi Andy,

I have not got the doors back on yet (with the cards, to try) but it looks like I may be the same. One thing that is making me think is the position I bolted the front hoop floor angle bracket down to. I sat it were is seemed to naturally go just in front of the small bubbles in the body f/glass (for the gearbox cross member). Seeing as the gear tunnel is tapered, moving back may pull the sides in if the side bar will move rearwards a little.
I am going to take the bolts out and slack it all off and see if it moves. Maybe I am just too far forward splaying it.

Thanks for your Info'.

Mike

[Old English White]

Hi,
I have a TTR roll cage in my S3 FHC.
The vertical parts of the front cage, if they're close, dosen't touch the door card, as I still been able to put some tape around the tube, where the foot is touching getting in & out...
The problem is, when fixing this loop, not to cut the ceiling with a spanner...
My advice: keep all the tools in the car, and after a few spins arround, check again every bolt.
Christian.

[miked]

Final position:

I cut out the front the fibre glass hump (for the cross member) in the floor on the passenger side (RH drive car) and moved the bottom front roll hoop bracket back by about 1 inch. I also chopped the roll bar on the floor section about 6 inch in from the angle bracket and removed about 3/8 inch of tube. I fitted a serious steel inner tube joint and built it up and tacked it in the car. Then removed and welded up. Moving it back caused a slight rotation so the cut helped in two ways. Without this it would not have gone in and allowed the car door to shut with the door card fitted. It was also forced onto the dash crash pad. Now it clears.
I was considering not fitting the front part but decided I wanted it even with some surgery. I am happy with the joint, it is stronger that tube itself with a thick walled steel inner tube.

My conclusion is that these cars are all shapes and I think the passenger side is far different from the driver side near the crash pad and dash (on my car). So somebody saying they did it in several hours is OK for that car, but not for all. I also fitted plenty of alloys shims as I have seen a few of these were no shims are fitted and they have been dogged up bending and stressing the chassis and fibre glass tunnel.

One good thing to do is use/fit a ratchet binder from side to side and pull these legs together whilst tightening the bolts for the peice that crosses the top of the screen. This helps pull in the rear fixing clamps and also helps you centre the whole front part on the rear hoop before nipping up the clamps.



Mike