Big Black cage build

[cherokeecrawler]

Finally got my bender setup and was able to start my hybrid cage. First thing on the list was to make a solid base for my pillars to mount to. I used some 2 x 6 .188 wall rectangle tubing to replace my beat up rocker guards and factory rocker panels.

Here it is with all the factory rocker panel cut out.






Angled and capped the end






Fully welded the rockers to the thin lip left after cutting out the rocker panels. This took some finesse with the ol glue gun!

 

[cherokeecrawler]

Did 4 frame tie ins on the front and back of each. I will add atleat 1 more maybe 2 on each side once my B pillar is in place for the cage.






First piece for the cage turned out good enough for my liking on the first try thanks to the help from my boy andrew gilbert. I was a little worred about my first bends because they needed to be 3-D bends from my rocker up my A pillar and along my windshield.





you can see how the bend needed to be in this picture




Also finally added ends to my high clearance winch bumper i put on a while back. I think it really helped finish off the front end.







I should have my order of tubing come in tomorrow so hopefully will get a lot of work done this week once it gets in. I want to try and get my main structure in before july 4th. :grin:

 

[cherokeecrawler]

Also added a track bar frame brace because I have been having some problems with my long drop frame mount.

 

[97TJGUZZY]

How did I miss this, tools great!


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[jp fan]

Looking good, I like that bumper design

 

[Ghost]

Nice!

 

[cherokeecrawler]

Thanks guys. I was a little worried in the beginning since this was my first experience bending tube but bert helped me get started in the right direction and it has all has fallen into place pretty nice. I have most of the outer main structure finished and hope to button everything up on the outside tomorrow afternoon so i can get started on connecting the inner parts. I start a summer class on Wednesday but I still think that I shouldnt have a problem getting most of it done to go ride on the weekend of the 4th.

Here is my windshield spreader. It is a little bit different than my B and C spreaders but I have a plan in mind on how i have placed the bends.



Here it is with windshield and B spreader.




And here with windshield, B, and C spreader in.

 

[cherokeecrawler]

I ended my roof rail right past my C roof spreader just because I wanted a bend at the back and not a T joint so I slugged it with a piece of 1.5 x .250 DOM and brought a piece down that will be attached to my quarter armor. My quarter armor will also be braced to my bumper and by a piece of DOM connecting the two quarter gaurds running directly behind my back seat.

Here is the slug with holes drilled







More of the roof spreaders



Here is the rear piece before I bent again to come into the rub rail on my quarter gaurd.



and here it is with 2 more small bends in it. I will notch these tomorrow and get them into their final spot.

 

[97TJGUZZY]

Looks good, nice attention to detail.

 

[cherokeecrawler]

Thanks Brooks i appreciate it.

 

[Steve97tj]

Looks good man. Usually don't like exos but having it hug the body so nicely makes it look less huge.


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[cannonball]

Nice job chase. Looks good man.

Hopefully I helped you cheat your way through Victorova's Class enough so you can finish it earlier :cheers:

 

[cherokeecrawler]

Looks good man. Usually don't like exos but having it hug the body so nicely makes it look less huge.


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thanks man that was my goal on the outer parts of the cage so it wasn't big and bulky.

And yeah Mason I'm glad I got those tests, that will help get this thing finished up quicker for sure haha

Got my D pillars notched around the rub rail on my quarter guards today and also cut the holes for my B pillars and got those some what into place.

The rub rail is 1.25 so its not a full notch but I will also reinforce the bottom piece of the tube back to my quarter guard plate. I will also tie my bumper into the bottom of the quarter guard to give it some vertical support.





here is the passenger B pillar notched and in place. I have a hole cut in the floor to tie the bottom of the B pillar into a tie in that will be from my frame into the rocker tubing like my other tie ins that ive already put in at each end.



Where my B pillar goes through my roof I am doing two weld plates bolted together sandwiching the roof together and also sealed. Then my B pillar will be slid through and welded to the weld plates to seal the cab up again and to also tie the cage into the roof and not just have a tube going through a hole in the roof.



Here is both B pillars slid into place. They are just sitting in the holes so they are not in their final place. The passenger one looks a little crooked in this pic but it will be fixed.



Driver B pillar notch

 

[OffroaderJohn]

You did a good job on this. looks great!

 

[DialD]

Just put two and two together to realize this was you haha. It looks really good. Can't wait to see it in person!

 

[jp fan]

Great job on this

 

[cherokeecrawler]

Thanks guys I appreciate it! Im glad that it has turned out the way that it has because i've had this in plans for a while now and everything has gone well and haven't really had any major issues. I got a good bit done this week and weekend. I started a summer class Wednesday but still made some good progress and am still planning to have it done this weekend to go riding on the 4th at gulches.

I got all of my B and C pillars into place and tacked in and also all of the plates made that will bolt to my roof where the cage comes through so that it can be sealed and wont just be tubing going through the roof. The plates are silicone sealed to the roof and bolted down and the B and C pillar tubes will also be welded to these plates at the end for a full seal.





Here is where my C pillars will go through the floor. It turned out to good also because the frame rail is right there at the edge of the holes so it will be easily tied straight to the frame. This will make it a true 6 point cage with 6 points tied to the frame rails and 2 points to my quarter gaurds. I was also able to keep all the bends inside the jeep around 6-8 degrees so I believe the cage will be plenty strong enough for what I need it for.



I cut through my factory quarter panel to get to the back side of my JCR quarter guards. This was done so that i can tie the two quarter guards together and give them support off of the C pillars and back seat harness bar. I will eventually have tube fenders that will be welded along the bottom side of the quarter guards also.



Outside pic of the bolt plate



All pillars tacked in



Here are the inner nut strips I made for the inside of each plate. The plates took 32 holes and alot of cutting but it was well worth it. I dont think I will ever have to worry about any leaks and it will add a lot of strength the to the entire unibody. #unibodyprobs :shaking:



Got the majority of my roof done other than one piece. I dont have enough tube to do a D pillar spreader across my hatch or a cowl spreader across the bottom of my windshield but those will be added after I can get another order of tubing. Only thing left is one more roof bar then it needs to be lifted off the jeep about 6-8" so that all of the bottoms of the joints can be welded and also so the outer cage can be painted. Once this is done it will be permanently tied to the frame and harness bars will be welded in.

 

[cherokeecrawler]

 

[cherokeecrawler]

Got the main part of the cage finished up this week. Got a few more inner harness braces and a couple frame gussets and rocker tie ins to do but other than that it is welded painted and attached to the jeep. Im going down to gulches to do some riding for the 4th then I will finish up the last few details. I still haven't gotten harnesses yet so thats why im not too worried about having those braces in on the inside yet. Not trying to go out and roll it down a hill for the first ride but I know it will survive a little flop over if it has to before I get those welded in.

Here is my buddy travis helping me out welding in my cage.


I need to get another order of tubing also so that I can do my D pillar spreader over my hatch and a cowl spreader over my windshield wipers before I do too much riding also.


All of the roof plates were siliconed, tightened down and welded to the pillars to tie them in to the roof well and keep the water out since I cut holes in my roof.







Slug on the driver side that I had to finish up before it was painted and welded to the jeep



I forgot to get pictures of my frame tie ins but I will tomorrow. I used pieces of 3" channel welded off of my frame in 4 places for the B and C pillars going through the floor. The holes in the floor were then patched with a plate that I cut a hole in then cut in half and covered up the hole in the floor around where the pillars go through. I will post some pics when I get them fully done.

 

[cherokeecrawler]

Got the cage finished up enough to take wheelin last weekend at gulches so thought i would post a few finished pics and some from the weekend. It really helped with the overall stiffness of the jeep. I only have front stiffeners and with the cage tied in at 8 points at the unibody really made a difference. It actually feels like i have a somewhat solid frame under and around me haha:cheers:

Rocker knocker

o

Palmetto

Had some spare chromo stubs and 760x ujoints laying around so i made me some redneck chromo since im too broke to buy real ones haha. Fully welded the joint in the stock inner 1/4 of the cap at a time keeping the heat concentrated on the cast ears, repacked the joint once it cooled then put the stub on with full circle clips since its machined for them.

Worked on the inide of my cage a little yesterday also. Might need to whip out the feeler gauge on this notch. My harbor freight notcher took a **** on me and these were hand notches with a belt sander and flap disk.