Decide to embark on a minor project today, fitting a roll cage.

Here we go........

Firt off was to remove the rear seats which were done back in September when the car was off the road due to engine failure. These were stripped out pretty easily using spanners and socket set. This leaves the back of the car completely stripped out and i decided to remove the parcel shelf and boot trim at the same time.

I bought the roll cage from a jap imports car sales up in Newcastle and after seeing the roll cage in the old car, i knew it would go in mine.

Got all of the bits ready and in the car ready to go.



Quick look at the photos to see which way round the main strut goes then i was away.


After getting the main mid strut and front legs in i could see i was going to struggle with the back legs and they would be a tight fit going in. This wouldnt deter me though as i could see things were starting to take shape.

Now came the awkward bit, the 2 back legs which go straight onto the chassis by the rear suspension mounts.
They were a squeeze to get in due to the cage being a solid bar and i worked out i had to pull the whole front section forward half an inch.
This wasnt going to be easy so i decided to give the ratchet straps a go. Got some interesting angles here thats for sure.

The mid strut had to be pulled together so it would sit on the floor properly so i got one strap round this.



The front now needed to be pulled forwards so decided to bring the gatepost into the equation. By pulling the cage forwards i was able to slot the back legs in and the gatepost was the most solid thing i could pull against.




Once the car started to pull forward against the handbrake i knew i wasnt going to be far off getting the back legs in so i gave it a go and hey presto, fitted like a glove.
All that remained now was to drill through the chassis and bolt the cage to the securing plates under the car, trim the carpet around the uprights and put the interior sill trim back.

Here it is all finished and looking good.




Took me a full day to complete but was definately worth it and strengthens up the car a treat. Would say its a job anyone can undertake providing they have the time and resources.

Luckily i have another car so if i had struggled to finish it i could still get from A to B.
Tools are the second aspect of getting the job done, if you dont have the right tools to do the job your going to take twice as long to complete it. All i used to install the cage was a basic spanner set, socket set and a hammer. I did use a few screwdrivers and stanley knife in the latter parts to trim the carpet and put the trim back but you dont need any of those pesky torx bits or any special spring compressors etc to do this job.

You might notice from the pictures that the frost never actually lifted from the car so i suppose this is a summer job but if your passionate enough about doing work on your car you will do it any time of the year.

Enjoy the pics and if you ever need help fitting a roll cage give me a shout.