Installing A Custom 6 Pt. Roll Cage

By: Rusty Woodall a.k.a. "Rocketman"
With Special Thanks To Paul Bartlett - Team Racing Enterprises & Restorations  1-888-990-TEAM



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When it comes to installing a roll-cage into your stang, one of the hardest freak'n decisions you will have to make is whether to install a pre-fabed bolt in system or to go ahead and spend the coin for a custom roll-cage.   Well I  opted for the latter and went with a Team Racing Enterprises Custom 6 pt. 4130 Chromoly Steel roll-cage. I contacted Paul Bartlett at Team Racing Enterprises right here in Ventura County to do the work.  You can reach Paul directly at 805/290-5585.  They have a great shop located right off of 5th st. on Mountain View in Oxnard CA.  Some of you Freaks probably know Paul as The FAST Guy. Paul was doing work for Team Racing Enterprises as a subcontractor.  About 3 months ago Paul hired on with Team Racing Enterprises full time and is now their Parts Manager and Lead Fabricator.

Read More About Installing A Custom Roll-Cage:


Not really knowing anything about Team Racing Enterprises and Resotorations, I decided to go out to the shop and follow along with the team as they installed my custom roll-cage.  Team Racing has a very nice shop located off of Mountain View in Oxnard right next to the Gas Company.



This team is no stranger to working on  performance vehicles.  They specialize in performance enhancements, tube/chassis fabrication, custom designs and complete restorations.  They can do complete turn-key projects and give you a vehicle thats clearly a standout in performance, looks and exclusivity.
Heres a shot of  Duster that is one of their current projects



And here's a Freak'n awesome 1969 Dart that belongs to one of Team Racings owners.  That is one sweet ride.



Here's a complete tube chassis fabricated by Paul that will be run in the Pro Street category.



Needless to say Paul knows what he's doing.  Paul is no stranger to working on a Mustang.  Paul is a Stangfreak himself having owned a 1996 4.6L coup that has seen the christmas tree lights at LACR.  In fact his stang was the first mod-motor Mustang to go down the track at LACR.  Additionally, Paul worked for several Ford Dealerships and has attained the certification of Ford Master Technician.  Currently, Paul owns a 1971 Chevell that is sponsored by Team Racing Enterprises and runs in the PSCA Limited Street Class.  His small block 402 ci Chevy makes an awesome 946 RWHP on 22 psi of boost from a Vortech YSI centri S/C.



Once we got the car into the shop the interior was completly gutted to make some working room and to get all the areas preped for welding.









Here, Paul lays out the templates for the main hoop base plates and cuts them out using a plasma torch.






The base plates for the shock tower brace are fit checked to the shock towers.  The base plates are made from 3/16 mild steel flat stock.



Once the base plates are welded to the shock towers the cross brace is welded in.



Here, Paul welds in the base plates for the main hoop.



Once the base plates are installed, the main hoop is layed out and bent on the tube bender.  The main hoop and support braces are made from a 1-5/8 Chromoly seamless DOM (drawn-over-mandrel) tubing that is produced to a military approved MIL-T-6736 specification.  The 1-5/8 Chromoly tubing has a wall thickness of .083 inches and weighs 1.367 lbs/ft.  An equivelant mild steel tubing weighs 2.134 lbs/ft.  So, the Chromoly tubing is a significant weight savings over a mild steel tubing.



Several fit checks are made prior to installation.



And finally, the finished main hoop is inspected using an angle gage.and welded into position.









Using a calibrated eye with several years of fabrication experience behind it, Paul does a final inspection of the main hoop.



Now that the main hoop is installed the main hoop supports are measured and layed out.









The main hoop supports are fit checked and then welded into place.






Here Paul completes the final welds on the main hoop supports.









For the main hoop cross bar support and the front side-bar swing outs Paul went with pre-engineered units from Chris Alston's Chassisworks.  CAChassisworks



This is a freak'n awesome kit that allows for a roll cage side-bar to swing open by using a weld on clevis and tab on the ends of the bars.  By simply removing the the spring-loaded pin at the top to the bar can be swung open making for easy entries and exit.  What is really nice is the clevis set is NHRA accepted.









Here's a view of the front swing-out floor attach unit.




Once the clevis assembly is welded on, the unit is welded on the base plates on the front areas of the floor pan.







Paul performs a thorough inspection of all the welds  prior to re-installing the interior.



After the inspection, the interior is replaced.







I have to say that Team Racing Enterprises takes very good care of their customers.  My car was returned to me in prestine shape.  The exterior and interior was completely detailed and all visual evidence of a major modification was completely  removed.






I must say this is by far the best installs I have ever seen.  If you are interested in the installation of a custom roll-cage. then I would definitly give Paul and the Team Racing Enterprises crew a call.