P500 Thinking of taking a little off the top...

[trigger]

I got a little update: First i wanted to let everybody know i didnt use d.o.m. tubing for this build. I know a lot of you guys are up north in hill country and if you considered doing this i would recommend d.o.m. incase of a rollover. I dont hot rod around or hillclimb or jump or any of that stuff. I just creep along in the ponds and mudholes and trails so i think the fact that i didnt use d.o.m. aint that big of a deal. That being said, there really aint a big difference in my cage. I took 3" out of each piece of tubing beside the seats, below the headrests in the straight section. I took 1" out of the front tubes in front of the dash. I also cut out the section overhead on either side where the front and rear cage bolt together. I drilled plug weld holes everywhere that i cut, on both sides of where im going to weld the tubing together. I havent welded any seams yet, ive just filled in all the plug weld holes. I was going to finish weld all the joints tomorrow and grind, smooth, and paint, however, i think we're meeting some friends out on the lake on the pontoon boats tomorrow so i might not get to finish it until sunday. I didnt want to bring the roof down lower then my intake and exhaust stacks, thats why i only took 3" out of the back, the potential is there though to take more out if anybody wanted to chop theires more. The new section of pipe that i put in the overhead cage is only 11 1/4" on each side, so even though its not d.o.m. , its not a long flimsy piece of pipe, its short enough to be stout in my opinion. Well, heres some pics. Before and after in the last couple of pics. Also, Mr. Piggies helped me on this mod too. Lol Enjoy!

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That's bad ass BC! Keep the pics coming...I'm jealous.

 

[Chooglin]

@trigger I think this is going to be very tricky to get the Honda roof to work with a chop. I really hope I can figure something out , I don't want to give up my Honda roof

 

[trigger]

@trigger I think this is going to be very tricky to get the Honda roof to work with a chop. I really hope I can figure something out , I don't want to give up my Honda roof

What's worse for me is I have that SSV overhead system that mounts between the bars. I have to keep that dimension.
Question though, I noticed BC cut the verticals down low, why not cut closer to the top after it comes out of the bend?

 

[Bastardchild]

Chooglin when i get a chance ill try to get you measurements front to back on the cage. Its basically about the same as stock except its a little lower. I believe the roof only expanded by about an inch or so front to back when it went down because i only cut an inch out of the front rollbars. So the back cage went straight down 3", the front cage went down/forward at whatever angle the front bars are only 1". So that means the roof bars had to get longer, but probably not by much. I dont know what the honda roof looks like that youre talking about, but if theres any slack in the roof it may work.

 

[trigger]

Chooglin when i get a chance ill try to get you measurements front to back on the cage. Its basically about the same as stock except its a little lower. I believe the roof only expanded by about an inch or so front to back when it went down because i only cut an inch out of the front rollbars. So the back cage went straight down 3", the front cage went down/forward at whatever angle the front bars are only 1". So that means the roof bars had to get longer, but probably not by much. I dont know what the honda roof looks like that youre talking about, but if theres any slack in the roof it may work.

I tried to look close at jak's pics after the chop to see what he did with the top. He has the Honda roof. Looked like there were some extra holes in the back but could've been from a different mod or add on.
Thanks for the info on the spread BC. I wondered what it would gain between the bars.

 

[Bastardchild]

I would think your ssv system would still work because the measurements from drivers side to passengers side overhead never changed. The only measurements that changed overhead were front to back, but probably not by much. As for your question about where i cut. Im not looking at the p5 right now, but if i remember, i think i cut it down low because that was the straightest part, i think the straight part up higher has a lean inward, so if i cut it there and tried to go down with it, i would also have to cut the overhead bars that go from left to right overhead, that way as the cage goes down 3" it can also expand left to right.

 

[trigger]

I would think your ssv system would still work because the measurements from drivers side to passengers side overhead never changed. The only measurements that changed overhead were front to back, but probably not by much. As for your question about where i cut. Im not looking at the p5 right now, but if i remember, i think i cut it down low because that was the straightest part, i think the straight part up higher has a lean inward, so if i cut it there and tried to go down with it, i would also have to cut the overhead bars that go from left to right overhead, that way as the cage goes down 3" it can also expand left to right.

That ssv mounts to the front and back bars. It's fiberglass molded, kinda wraps the front bar, then you tilt it up in the back and install the hardware. Perfect fit for stock but...
Was staring at your pics again, 3" doesn't sound like much but it definitely makes a difference in the looks. Nice job man!

 

[Bastardchild]

Heres a pic of the old roof bars compared to the new roof bars. I was dead wrong about the top of the cage getting longer, it actually got shorter by 2.5"! I figured it would have to get longer being the front bars went forward when they went down. Huh? Oh well, this should answer your question about using your honda roof. That means if you copied this mod you should have 2.5" of freed up space in your roof pan. You could probably evenly distribute the roof front to back with the same amount sticking off the front and back and it should look right i guess??! Or have a 2.5" overhang on the front to help block the sun? Lol hope that helps!

 

[Bastardchild]

Oh ok, i was thinking the ssv mounted left to right. Well i was wrong about the cage expanding front to back, it shrank 2.5", can the ssv still work within those measurements?

 

[trigger]

Oh ok, i was thinking the ssv mounted left to right. Well i was wrong about the cage expanding front to back, it shrank 2.5", can the ssv still work within those measurements?

Unfortunately no. Those bars would have to remain the same distance apart.
Shrank 2.5"? Wow, by looking at it you would just assume that you would add length to the top bar. Angles changed...?

 

[Bastardchild]

Heck im stumped trigger lol. Maybe the laws of physics changed for my build lol I gotta get going this morning. Ill update this when i can. Take it easy!

 

[Bastardchild]

I guess we're hitting the lake tomorrow not today, so im out here filling seams with weld and smoothing them out. The magic of the flap wheel...

 

[Bastardchild]

Slow going. 2 joints down, 6 to go lol

 

[Bastardchild]

Drivers side smoothed and primered. Now just 3 joints to go on passenger side

 

[Chooglin]

Looks great BC , its going to be worth all the effort and work you've done !

 

[Chooglin]

Question though, I noticed BC cut the verticals down low, why not cut closer to the top after it comes out of the bend?

When I cut mine it will need to be cut somewhere above the horizonal headrest bar. As you can see in the pic. , my spare tire carrier is attached to the headrest bar.

Then I think I will be cutting the curved part at the top of the winshield up front. I am pretty sure the angle of the winshield is going to change after the top is dropped. Making the cut on the curve (in the proper spot) will allow me to change the angle.

All this thinking is just in my head right now , so who knows, this could all change when it's actually time to start cutting !

Everything mentioned above , is provided I don't just start from scratch !

 

[Bastardchild]

Chooglin a full custom p5 cage would be awesome! I say you do it! I basically studied mine up from top to bottom and all angles and the way i decided to do it had less cuts and welds as far as i could tell. I knew i didnt wanna go lower than my intake and exhaust snorkels, i didnt want to lean the front bars any closer to the steering wheel, and i wanted to get the bolted connection out of the overhead bars. I also preferred not to mess with the passenger side grab bar, thats why i cut down low instead of up high for the front. I also didnt want to deal much with the 2 smaller diagonal bars behind the seat head rests that start at the top of the cage and come down at an angle and are bolted in the center down behind the seats. I figured id cut it off just above the bolted connection behind the seat and figure a way to reconnect it later. I already figured how to hook it back with minimal cutting and welding, i just aint done it yet. We're hitting the lake with a bunch of friends tomorrow so i'll probably get to that part next weekend. I might get to paint tomorrow, not sure. We're going to a bonfire tonight, and the lake tomorrow. Only in florida lol...

 

[Bastardchild]

Everybody decided to skip the lake today so that afforded me a little time to tinker around the house and pull the p5 out for paint. Im not exactly a paint and body guy, just wingin it.

 

[Bastardchild]

Another

 

[Bastardchild]

Not to bad for an amateur i guess..