Mustang Roll Cage Installation - Project Repeat Offender Part 2

The halo bar is next, and it comes pre-bent from S&W. Just a little trimming and it fit just as well as the main hoop.

We inadvertently ordered the 10-point with exposed dash bars, but we had planned to put them through the dash, so to expedite the installation, we had Real Speed make us a through-the-dash set, as well as a behind-the-dash crossbar. Marasco started by welding in the crossbar behind the dash, and then installing the downbars. While some companies make their downbars as one continual piece from the halo to the floor, Marasco prefers to weld the crossbar directly to the chassis for added strength, and then add the upper and lower bars.

Marasco then measured for an approximate length on the upper bar. It will need a slight bend, as it will comes straight out of the dash and then arch backwards toward the halo bar.

Real Speed's mandrel tubing bender makes quick work out of custom bends.

A tubing notcher also makes assembly easier, although S&W notches many of the bars for you.

Marasco uses metal plates to protect the headliner from the heat of the welder. This particular joint can be finished in a few different ways. Some shops like to cut holes in the floor and drop the downbars through them to weld the top of the joint. You can also remove the front window to do this, but because of the way we constructed our downbars and crossbar, we opted to add gussets to each corner to provide the additional strength needed at the joint.

Here's our front rollcage assembly. The gussets are next and run from the downbar to the halo bar.

The rear downbars will be going through the factory speaker holes, so we needed to remove the high-end Jensen speakers from 1985.

When laying out the rear downbars, keep in mind that the spare tirewell is offset, so the bars will not rest exactly in the same spot from side to side.

The rear downbars come pre-bent from S&W, and they fit the Fox-body roofline quite nicely.

The side bars are next, and we mocked them up to see how they would fall against our factory '85 armrests. Straight from point A to point B, the bars just graze the armrest and offer no restriction when closing the doors, so we decided to install them without any additional bends.

Whether installing the swing-out side bars or not, the first step is to weld them in. You'll need to take into account where the driver will be seated, as the bar must pass between the driver's shoulder and elbow while seated in position. For the swing-outs, measure where the brackets will go, and cut the tube at each end. Do this one end at a time.

Here, Marasco is mocking up the bracket and marks where the hole is to be drilled on the side bar for the sleeve. The bar is then removed, and Marasco uses Real Speed's Bridgeport machine to accurately drill for the sleeve.

After checking final fitment of the pieces, the sleeve and bracket can be welded in. Here, you can see the locking pin that we'll use to release the swing-out bar.

We're planning on using these Corbeau GTSII seats that we have left over from another project. It's another obvious throwback to our street roots, but who wants to be stuck in a plastic shell on a 30-mile cruise?

The rear kick-out bars are the last pieces to go in. These provide the cage with lateral stability, and also add support to the rear crossbar and side bars.

Here are the new S&W subframe connectors that we'll be using. We didn't get a chance to install them just yet, but we'll probably bring them to the office shop so we can install them with the car on our drive-on lift-not that we expect the chassis to do any more twisting at this point.

Lastly, we have to notch the dashboard to make room for the front downbars. The '79-'86 cars would seem to make this easier, as the dashboard is flat on top, unlike later Mustangs