A while back I bought the Eastwood tube bender so I could fabricate my cage. I'm finally to a point to start using it. The instructions say to mount it down for safe operation. Since I'm working out of my garage I don't have the space to permanently locate it so I thought I'd build a base for it on casters so I could move it around when needed and easily store it. I used leftover square tubing I had and cobbled something together. Pics are attached.

Today I decided to try it out and build something simple like the hoop support tubes for the front end. First tube bent no problem. On the second tube- snap- was the sound of the die splitting in two. @#$%^!! And this was before 11am. Way too early to call it a day.

My first Macguyver attempt to keep it going involved some vise grips on the die in an attempt to keep it together. This didn't work as the force of bending the tube exceeded the strength of the grips. The flattened tube was the result and is now scrap.

The second Macguyver attempt involved drilling some holes and bolting the die back together. This seemed to work. I was able to make my second tube and resume working.

I also made some plates to level out the area on the frame where I'll be welding them in, as well as on the firewall. They're welded in, but I need to clean these up then I can trim the tubes down and weld them in. I'll have to buy more tubing to make the rest of the cage- which will be some time next year as the remainder of my weekends this year are booked for the holidays.

As for the tube bender- hopefully I can get a replacement, and then I'll see about buying some steel dies...

more pics from this weekend...

ouch on the die...bythe way how were you bending it without securing the bender to the floor?

It's quite possible I'm doing it wrong, but so far (other than the die snapping) it seems to be working.

The base that I made is sturdy with the strongest rated wheels I could buy. My thinking was that engine cherry pickers are on casters and they work fine, so why couldn't this. I intentionally located the bender forward on my cart to allow more leverage for the back half as this is where I'm pushing down on the jack handle. It has more than enough sturdiness and length to not tip over. The tubing is clamped down inside the unit so that isn't going anywhere, either. Also, since I'm pushing down on the jack handle slowly, it's not out of control trying to roll away on me.

Then again, I've only built the hoop supports. If it proves to be problematic, I can always remove the casters and attach it to my garage floor.

Hoop- there it is
 

Happy 2012!

After a 3 week trip in Taiwan, I'm back now and put a little time in on the car today. I located and welded in the hoop supports as well as cut holes in my inner fenders for clearance. I've roughly shaped patch pieces for the fenders, and will weld them in as soon as I get the chance.

Happy New Year right back at ya. Its looking good.

Happy new year! Great job on the inner fenders!

Love your Sunday night updates Brendan! Looks great Sir...:thumbsup:

Thank you, everyone! Finally, I was able to get a full weekend in on my car. It's the first one of the year, and the first one within the past 2 months. I was having withdrawls...

Anyways, On Fri I was able to patch the holes I made on my inner fenders and spent yesterday and today by starting to mock up the cage in my car. Since this car will see the street I don't want the cage too close to my head, nor do I want to always wear a helmet while I drive. I know this won't pass NHRA tech because of that, and that's OK. The purpose is to provide more rigidity and a bit of safety than Pontiac provided in 1967.

My plan is to build a "6 point" style cage. I'm making my own so I can fit it where I want and how I want. I'm going to have this fit up as close as possible to the body so I can attach it to the body in various locations for additional strength.

I made some rough estimates as to where I'll be sitting and how much room I need (hence why I put the wheel and pedals back in) and determined that the main hoop can be exactly where the ashtrays used to reside on the rear seat armrests. This is cool as I can reuse the original vinyl from them. Of course, the arm rests had to be trimmed down to clear the inner wheel tubs.

I made two versions of the rear down tubes and decided on the "version 2" as it is a less severe bend and should be a little stronger for that. I'll also add gussets in critical areas as well as plates on the rockers for strength.

It seems like I don't have much to show for a full weekend's worth of work, however, one benefit to this is it's a lot easier (and cheaper) to cut and grind plastic than it is DOM steel. Plus, I can see it, and change it if I don't like it. Next weekend I'll work on the bars that run along the doors. They'll fit nicely underneath the "deluxe" armrests on the '67 Firebird.

Looks good.