rithsleeper

This is in a 1989 DE car/200 miles a year street car (with all interior).... So I got the bar set in the right place and welding in the plates that it bolts to. The rear two plates are welding nicely like this...



However the front plates are on a curved piece of the frame and its too big of a gap for me to bridge it and welding upside down never works well for me to begin with, it always just hisses and drips off and I can't get a good crackle going for some reason, let alone the tight work space and limited visibility. This isn't a race car, it is my secondary car I just do Nasa DE/Instruction with and wanted a 5 pt harness and stiffer chassis. The B pillars I hear are pretty stout and if things were to go wrong it would be downward force mostly. What are my options or should a good weld down the front and back be enough? Or could I cut a sliver of metal out to cram in there and at least get to the inside side? the back I can't get an angle on it....

Here is the view underneath. I know I have a solid weld down the edges back and front.

froggy47

Crepitus

I agree I wouldnt try to fill that with wire. I would take a strap of 1/8 or 3/32 and put it flat against the frame with the edge of the strap against the bottom of the bracket.

fatbillybob

I would rethink that entire design. The rear cage foot is very important. Often in rear hits the frame bends there and lifts the cage foot. If you loose that foot with only support of a 4pt you will loose the integrity of your harness system if the 4pt moves. That would negate all the advantages a proper racing seat would provide. I.E. you could get hurt and we don't want that. Since you are already welding consider welding in the 4 pt instead of bolting it. If you bolt it weld a plate threaded and or with nuts welded behind to bolt the cage foot into. I just got this image off a google search. This is not a great plate but you get the idea. Your plate is not strong at all even if you plate and weld the gap because your tie in area is living out in free space cantilevered and your bolting is not spread out over the entire cage foot. I could rip your plate at the bolt holes with just a pry bar.

Aardwolf

What you started on is thin metal it needs to be cut out then go down to the actual frame and work to that.

rithsleeper

Do you guys have any pictures of a properly installed one? If I'm only on thin metal, how far is the real stuff? It didn't look like its was very thin when I was looking at my puddle while welding... I feel like this would be an easy thing in a race car but keeping is street is really making if difficult...

Aardwolf

There is a gap under that of a few inches to the thick metal that goes to the bumper. That thin metal isn't for mounting a cage. If you take off the rear fender liner you can see in there some or just cut that metal out.