Izzy's Custom Cages

An interesting project showed up at our doorstep about 2 or 3 weeks ago. A 75 Lola Formula Ford showed up to have its main hoop and braces updated. (pic links coming soon)

The original hoop had seen its share of updates over the years in an attempt to keep it legal with changing rules. A taller hoop section was added to the original hoop. Actually, “scabbed” might be a better word for it. The added bar was somehow bent with a point on the outside radius and the welds were so porous that there was water in the bottoms of the original main hoop bar. The front downbars were modified and apparently used some long gone locking pin system and was very sloppy. The rear braces' attachment point was never moved up and was pushing the 6” rule (hoop braces must attach within 6” of the top of the hoop). The headrest support bar looked as if some angry competitor had taken a bite out of it. Actually, it looked as if something had been welded to it at some point and whatever it was either was torn off or fell off.

If the above wasn't enough, the downbars were so close together that there wasn't enough room for a full piece of rollbar padding on both sides of the drivers helmet.

The first step in changing out the hoop was to get accurate measurements to go by. The chassis was leveled and then the hoop checked for it's angle. The top of the hoop was a perfect fit for the owner (2” clearance between the top of the helmet and the top of the bar), so measurements were taken from both the body and to a stationary point above the car. It was then determined that we would use a 6” sleeve/insert for the hoop to attach the new hoop to the chassis which gave us our cut-off points for the old hoop.

The measurements from the chassis were used in laying out the design for the new hoop. We wanted a 6” radius  (12” diameter) bend which then transitioned to 2 opposing 16 degree bends. When installing the hoop, we would have to bring the two halves together as we installed it over the sleeves, then release them slowly while forcing the hoop down over the sleeves to meet the original chassis points. Not necessarily hard to do, but took some time to perform.

Once the hoop was installed it was time for the downbars. Some downbars from another Formula Ford were provided to be modified or as a pattern. The bars fit at the hoop perfectly, but were a little long so a little rework was necessary down by the forward hinges.

All that's left is painting to match the previous chassis paint and a biopsy of that pointed hoop. That should be fun to see! Anyone want to bet on the outcome??? Bent with a Pipe Bender? Two halves welded together? Nothing but JB Weld??? Place your bets!

Izzy's Custom Cages