I would love to do an Exo cage on my tin top 86' but, How would you get good cross-bracing and still not penitrate the body, block the rear door or cross the windshield ?

Dave

with any exocage you can't get the bracing you would normally pick up with cross bracing. you can add alot more gussets and make some big gains. but it still wont be as strong. but you can make a swing away tire carrier in the rear that ties it all together in the back and a brace across the lower windsheild that will stiffen it. i welded mine to a brush gaurd i made in the front and used a swing awat tire carrier in the rear. it has flex over and hit the body when i flopped it a couple of time but saved me a but load of body damage. i haven't popped a windsheid frame yet and it still looks pretty straight. it has been over three times. i think a exo cage is the way to go on a little zook. mike

this is the exo cage that my buddie jai bird and i built for his rig. it is a lot better design than mine. with the main bars running front to back, it hangs up a lot less in the trees. mike

I didn't see many gussets on those cages.
Do you have any pics of how you attached to the frame?

Dave
http://www.axlesnappers.com

the best set up we have come up with so far is to weld on a set of rock sliders to the frame. right where the factory body mounts come off. then build it from there. we never put any gussets in his or mine mainly because we are lazy and just havent got around to it. they both have been popped off of many rocks and trees and flopped and came through just fine. but the gussets would make a big differance in the cage strength. but we kind of figure that its fine for now. i watched another buddie of mine flip his zook end over end then in to a barrel roll and the stock bar saved his ass. and if you ever take a look at the stock bar, it a piece of crap. i mean i have run better muffler tubing. ours could be better but it works just fine right now. they both have paid for themselfs numerous times over. mike

Do you have any pics of the "rock slider" attachment?

I need more pictures of exo cages on a tin top please

Thanks

Originally posted by gunracer1
. i watched another buddie of mine flip his zook end over end then in to a barrel roll and the stock bar saved his ass. and if you ever take a look at the stock bar, it a piece of crap. i mean i have run better muffler tubing. mike

Same happened to me years ago. As I was rolling watching the windshield split, spider crack and bend in , I kept sinking lower and lower into my seat. Also keep your windows up , my left hand actually got pinched between earth and outside of the door looked nasty for a bit , but I can still do this:flipoff2: Stock bar probably saved my life.:p

this is a friend of mine......just finished it the night before this outing...............found out it was to cold to paint it, so it is half painted:p

it's held up really well...since this outing we rolled it pretty good and can hardly tell at all!

another....

Same guy built this one for this guy and wasn't done with it yet when it rolled 4 times, at about 50+mph......held up pretty well for not being braced as well as they wanted yet!

another....

what size tube do you guys use for your cages?

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=209925
Use the SEARCH
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=186531
EXO tied into body

Seen em, got more of Tin Top Samurais?

You could post a pic of what you have so far so that people can draw all over your rig and work with what you already have.:D



Here's an old pic you might like.
http://www.members.shaw.ca/fawked/zukes/superzuke.jpg

May Long.:D

Not a chance. :D

I miss that rig.

heres mine but its probably not what you are talking about with a hardtop but what the hey

http://www.suzuki-4wd-club.rockcrawler.com/at03/images/adventure0019.jpg

http://www.suzuki-4wd-club.rockcrawler.com/at03/images/adventure0020.jpg

this is tim/redzook's exo made by overkill engineering

http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/PHP_Modules/phpBB2/files/rockpile4.jpg

I will say it now, I hate exo cages, do not like, think they look like crap, hate building them, and did I mention that I hate exo cages.

The girlfriend wanted a new cage for her trail truck, and guess what I got to build.

The only way you will get beter x-bracing without punching the body with the tube is to bolt and plate to extend the tube on the inside. alittle silicone should seel up the bolts..

i did an exo cage on my 413.its been over 3 times since i fitted it.one roll was 3 full rolls down a hillside and onto the drivers side,so it works.

http://www.difflock.com/cgi-bin/discus/board-auth.cgi?lm=1084211311&file=/4855/29329.html

http://www.difflock.com/cgi-bin/discus/board-auth.cgi?lm=1085180912&file=/4855/29552.html

I plan on tying to the stock bar, then adding a diagonal to it. It is all .120 dom 1.5. Crossbraced across the front, under the windshield, and across the back above the tailgate. There is only a couple of feet more tube that if it was incab, but much more work and not as sexy as a good in cab IMHO. To get what I want, the girlfriend got what she wanted.
Even without the diagonal you can bolt through the side of the body, strength is all about shortening the span between the frame and the top.

I will say it now, I hate exo cages, do not like, think they look like crap, hate building them, and did I mention that I hate exo cages.

The girlfriend wanted a new cage for her trail truck, and guess what I got to build.

Nice looking rig!! :D

I believe you could do a search for Dave Riplingers Tin Top.
Here is an image from Sky's site: http://www.sky-manufacturing.com/images/suzuki/DavevsTim.jpg

Removable Cage is what Dave runs I believe. Pretty trick setup.

this is a friend of mine......just finished it the night before this outing...............found out it was to cold to paint it, so it is half painted:p

it's held up really well...since this outing we rolled it pretty good and can hardly tell at all!

I rember from the moab issue of petersons they said jasons exo cage was fugly. LMAO :flipoff2:

Im not a huge fan of exo's but I love my hardtop. Im in the process right now of my exo/frame. Im building one around my dovetailed hardtop and I did what was said before, just made some boat-side rock sliders and attached the cage to that. Its really straight forward I thought, just fallow the body lines. I started with the tube rear frame and up and over the roof. I'm running a bar through the body from the bottom of one side to the top of the other right behind the driverseat.