Exo's, tubing, etc. tips and advice

chuckwhut

chuckwhut

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2005
Location
Concord, NC
Wanted to start this thread because i really like the idea of fabricating and applying rollcages and exoskeletons.

My favorites are the ones that look tough but keep it simple.

Wanted some folks with experience to post up some advice and PICS about how and where to mount, what vehicles are/aren't well suited for these mods, and other tips that a beginner like me might not even think to ask about, like maybe on bends, connections, what type of tube to use, etc.

Hopefully this thread would help alot of folks in general, from newbies like me on up to those that might want to scrap their first effort and start over.

thanks everybody...
chuck
:nopics:
 
an exo is good on most vehicles that I know of. Personally, I don't like exos, but thats just my taste. They are cool and look good, but I just don't like a lot of tube on the outside of the body.

Use 1.75" OD tube. Some use pipe, but I use tube. For differences and such, search the Tube Vs. Pipe thread in Tech.

There is much more to bending tubing and it being right than eyeballing it and just trying it. There is A LOT of math involved but after a while you get good at it and don't need the math as much (you end up memorizing how much tubing is used in different degree of bends and such), but it takes time to get to this. Proper coping is good too. Fit the tube close so you get good weld and not too much weld. This is where I screwed up on some of my tube work on my buggy, but have since learned from it and now know what to do so it doesn't happen again.

Write everything down cause you'll forget. and measure 4 or 5 times cause twice is not enough!!!

And, the cage doesn't necessarly need to "measure" correct as long as it looks right to the eye. The measurements may be dead nuts on but when you look at it you can see its "wrong" or tubes are off plane or whatever. Trust your eye but use the tape frequently.

Rob
 
rockcity said:
They are cool and look good, but I just don't like a lot of tube on the outside of the body.
Click to expand...

yeh, thats kinda what i meant by the ones that keep it simple. the work looks awesome to me, how long have you been fabbing stuff like that before you started working on the buggy?

anybody wanna show some pics of where/how they mount their cages?
 
I've been fabricating for years, I'd say for about 9 years. Not too bad, I'm only 27, so that puts me starting out at around age 18.

The buggy started out as a cage for my CJ5, then I wanted a little more room on the back of the 5, so I made a frame for it (2x4 tubing), then mounted everything and didn't really like the 5 on there, so I put my CJ10 body on there and started with that. Didn't like that and decided on a full buggy using the 2x4 frame I already made; this was about 1.5 years ago and have been slowly building it since as time and money allow. Being a married college student makes building a buggy tough!!!

I've already got a few new designs in my head for the next buggy I build, learning from this one. After this one I'm building a smaller one for my wife using all Toyota parts. Maybe a single seater, moon buggy style, maybe. I'm sure I'll keep the one I have now for a few years and then build another one for myself (after the wife's). This one is long (118" wheelbase) but I built it for me, my wife, and to have room for my dog and maybe a child in the future.


Rob
 
Back
Top