Race Ready is a series of monthly updates on building a race worthy baja. I am not giving these updates from first hand experience because at the moment I can't afford to have my baja chopped up in the back yard. I am how ever giving first hand from friend and what I have read. So please if you cut your prized baja in half and can't get it back together I'm not to blame. This is why I suggest starting out with a junkyard VW pan.
Race Ready
Now that you have a good pan you should be ready for a cage. If you want a full cage that extends from the front bumper to the back bumper the best way is probable to have someone who knows what they are doing make if for you, unless you want to do it your self. Im not going to discuss that here. I have planned on buying a class11 cage, which is a 6pt cage. Then making some modifications to it. Such modifications consist of welding a bar across the back two middle posts just below shoulder level height for wrap on style harnesses to mount to. Also weld a bar across the door from the front to the middle posts. This will provide extra protection on the side of the car as well as provide a place for the harnesses to mount on to. There are two kinds of harnesses that I know of. Bolt on and wrap around style. The Bold on style bolts on to a mounting bracket that is drilled in the pan of the car or part of the cage. Wrap around style requires no drilling. They just wrap around part of the cage. I think there is another called clamp on but they are just like bolt on. Any way after doing all that I plan on having a new front bumper made. I am going to get one that extends out further away from the car so I can mount lights on it and still be able to open my 1pc front end. Next on my list is getting a new back bumper. If you know how the rear bumper mounts on your car you might want to look into having it welded to the cage. That is one of the reasons I am going to go through the trouble of having a new one made. Prowlers has a 6 point engine cage available for $129. With this you will more than likly have to weld it to the roll cage. One word here "strength". There are some you can buy that mount to the firewall. Competition bumpers I think I have seen them advertised as, but I doubt the firewall is a good place to mount a bumper. No I know it isn't!
