Roll Cage... Is this right?

[lmpymilk]

About 9 months ago I paid a small shop that specialize in jeep fabrication build me a roll cage for my cj7. I have heard many good things about this guy and his shop and never one bad thing. Well when the rain started falling I put my hardtop on the jeep but it just wouldn’t fit right, It seems that the top cross bar was to far forward and pushes against the windshield frame witch causes the hard top not to fit right. My brother and I took the cage out and this….

[lmpymilk]

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[lmpymilk]

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[lmpymilk]

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[lmpymilk]

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[lmpymilk]

And this is what I saw looking down. Am I wrong in thinking if this thing rolled over I could be dead?
Would I be out of line to demand they re-do the job? or should I try to get the money back and stay away from the dude.
What really gets me is he had it for almost 2 months and I said "no problem as long as you do a good job"

[metal tech]

If you had the hardtop on the jeep when he built the cage, it's his error in not ensuring the cage fit properly. Evidently he's not had any customers roll their jeeps, there are enough flaws I wouldn't want those "welds" being the only thing between me and getting crushed. The NHRA has strick guidelines about the size of floor plates when a cage isn't attached directly to the frame, a 6" x 6" x1/8th pad top & bottom. As for the missing "welds", if they were in a tight spot that's why they didn't do them. You could take your jeep & cage back and see if he'll make good. The other option if you don't have a welder is find another shop, and ask to see some of their work prior to letting them start the job.

Al

[lmpymilk]

I did not have the top on the jeep when he built it. The shop is 185 miles from my house and I took it to him because of reputation. I did ask if the hard top would go on it... he said yes.

[rangerod]

Roll Cage

lmpymilk

I hate to disagree with metal tech but this is the way I look at it as far as going back for repairs on this item. If this shop did not do a proper job in the first place what will guarantee he will do a proper job the second time around. There way too many defects on your roll cage to trust this individuals work, in my opinion. This is your life you are taking into this "welders" hand is it worth it? Then you can look at the weld he put on the joint & it might look good but that does not mean it is solid. I would try to get my money back if possible if not cut your losses now. I know its not easy thing to do but its your life on the line. Go with metal techs second option, go look for someone else.

metal tech are you FIGMO yet

[metal tech]

just 4? days left in country, ahhh. I only mentioned going back since someone might have had a bad day by the looks of those welds.

[rangerod]

Roll Cage

metal tech

I gotcha I think you have more faith in people than I do I guess You know how it goes first impressions & such I don't mean to say you are in any way wrong just looking at it from different view thats all Well you have a safe trip back & hope your BOP is what you wanted Have A Good One

[Mike Sherman]

It looks like he fit the rollcage together in position on the Jeep and did not take it back out to finish the welding after tacking it up. His painting capabilities are questionable also. Taking it back to him is the best thing to do, I like to see people take responsibility for their work. You could also take it to another shop and have them finish the welds, it would probably be faster. I don't think that type of roll cage was ever designed to save your life in a roll over though. Most factory roll cages, and ones copied from them are not designed to hold up on a rollover. I think the factory ones even have a disclaimer to that effect on them.

[Swift]

Even with my limited welding experience, I would be ashamed to know that I took someones money for that kind of work! He should have at least been able to close those welds, prime and put some decent paint down. In his defense, if he would have had the top there during the fab work, that problem would have been caught early. If it were me, I'd mod the cage so the top would fit and put some nice welds down.

Your call.......good luck!

Chris

[lmpymilk]

In my first post I mentioned the top rail hits the windows frame. The top rail of the roll bar is what I’m talking about. The bar that goes from the drivers side to the passenger side.
My point is that even without the hardtop on the jeep the cage sits to far forward.

[bluesman2a]

I'm something of a cage-man myself. Strictly amatuer mind you, but I've done quite a few custom jobs. I can tell you without a doubt that the reason you are seeing those welds look so poorly is that he never took the cage back out of the Jeep after he fitted and tacked it. Several things to think about:

1) The feet are way too small as previously mentioned. They need to spread over the surface area of the tub unless you have it tied to the frame underneath (doubtful based on quality of work displayed).

2) Did you TELL him you had a hardtop you would be using? Did you leave it with him with the hard top and/or hard doors on? I can tell you based on experience, if he didn't fit it with the top and doors ON, then it probably wouldn't be right. There's easily 4-5" of difference in spacing when you move from one to another. If you did tell him these things, then I would look for a do-over from him. He can take your cage and put it in another CJ/YJ that doesn't have a hard top.

3) I would not personally like to see my name associated with that workmanship. When I do a cage, the last thing that happens before paint is that I go over 360* of each joint and clean/inspect them. Then the person I'm making the cage does the same, just in case I missed something. That is just pure laziness you're seeing there.

4) Here are some pics of a cage we did in a CJ-7 with a hard top and hard doors, don't much care for the color, but it fits and has none of the issues yours does...

http://www.printroom.com/ViewAlbum.asp?userid=bluesman2a&album_id=107807

Note: the pads are MUCH larger... Also, I didn't weld the feet...

Here's some in a YJ with similar constraints:

http://www.printroom.com/ViewAlbum.asp?userid=bluesman2a&album_id=89650