New Jersey BMW CCA

I have an E30 which I’ve been driving in club events and has an Auto Power bolt in cage. I'm considering club racing and they require the cages to be welded. Can this cage be modified to accommodate these weld in rules? Has anyone had to do this type of modification? If so any advise or suggested shop to do the work is appreciated. I'm in north jersey, Bergen County.

Thanks for any help, Rob

Rob,

Best way to answer this is by reviewing the BMWCCA Club Racing regulations. Bear in mind 2010 rules have just, or are soon to be, published.

HTH,

Bob

Check this out, a pretty serious roll. if you notice, all the bolt in roll cages have a nice "little" plate on the floor, this one punched right through. R

Sorry, can't give you a picture, maybe someone has this??? It was a series of shots of a Mustang flipping and the bolt in roll bar punching right through the floor and flattening the roof.

^I believe these are the links you're looking for.

http://jalopnik.com/5390934/mustang-cov ... -tire-wall

http://www.roadraceautox.com/showthread.php?t=26027

http://www.corner-carvers.com/forums/sh ... 586&page=4

Thank you, these are the shots. very scary, I had a bolt in roll bar for years, Jeff C. has mine, my full cage now has nice big plates welded to prevent a punch through like this. If you look at the shots, a very easy accident to happen. I first thought it was the esses at Summit, not. R

I know the temptation for all of us is to somehow use the existing equipment but my suggestion would be to sell the Autopower cage and start afresh with a reputable builder for a compliant and safe cage.

agree. with nafi. remove/sell the autopower and go for a properly designed, safe, weld in cage. don't mess with safety. i too have been running a 4-pt bolt in autopower with sparco race seats for the last 2 years at DEs. I'm going club racing and just dropped off the car to get a proper cage welded in. What class are you planning to race your E30?

Here's another vote along with Nafi and Kish. When vetting cage builders, consider their experience caging E30s. Pay particular attention to how they propose to tie the front and rear cage hoops into the car's unibody.

Vic

+1
My E30 is going in this offseason for a full cage as well. I agree you should find a shop with experience on E30s.

Thanks for all the input and agree about the bolt in cage punching thru the floor. They are only as strong as what they are connected to and when putting it in I kinda chuckled, but better than nothing at the time.

For the people doing cages this year, can you send me the shop information and locations?

PM sent.

Here is a possible source for cage building here in NJ.
"MTK's Welding & Race Car Fabrication" located in Roselle, ask for Mark (908) 241-1510.

At his shop he had an E30 M3 he was prepping to put a cage in. I was not able to see any completed E30 job but did see other complete cages in other brands of vehicles and all looked good. It would be nice to see some of his completed E30 work, I'll keep my eyes open.

Doug

Kurt @Pro-Start did mine, nice thing, I did the strip work along with Bob Conway, dropped it off Monday, picked it up Friday, no messing around. R

Just Outside Clinton NJ, not the beach, send me a pm if interested and I will call em..
Pro Start Race Cars
Rt. 173 East;Asbury NJ;;08802;
WORK:908-479-4098
FAX:908-479-1495
KURTE@ENTER.NET
TITLE:Kurt Fleischmann

I sent you a PM, thanks for the help.

I didn't have a chance to help Bob with the electrical stripping, but will never forget his measured approach. "Turn the car on and start cutting wires - if they spark, put a piece of tape on the end...done." Remarkably, the only thing that didn't work was the stop lights!

Bob