Does anyone know if you can have a full roll cage in a mini and get it mod plated? I know you can’t with new cars, but was just wondering if anyone has gotten around it? You can get 4 point (half cages) done, but I want a full cage for safety. I’ve been in a crash in a mini and they don’t exactly hold up too well.

Ha, I know what you mean, not exactly the best in a crash compared to new cars but i suppose they were pretty good in their time.
Regarding roll cage, if it was pre ADR, 70's? wouldn't it be ok?
I think the thing the safety police are concerned about is that not only would the tubes be a hard object to head butt, they could also be a trap hazard in a bigger accident.
Sounds stupid but a badly fitted cage could possibly be worse than no cage.

Hi

I have fairly strong views on this relating to a classic mini ,,, so here goes.

Unless all occupants are prepared to wear helmets then a roll cage with front compartment protrusions should not be fitted..

Unless the driver is prepared to wear a 5 point or 6 point harness then no roll cage should be fitted.

Peterb was spot on also with the thoughts behind a badly fitted roll cage.


There you go, fairly opinionated aren't I. The poor old noggin just doesn't cope with hits to the temporal region very well. ( just in front of ear) and very near where a roll cage vertical support goes. If you think of your head jostling about like you are in a 4 wd going off road , you understand the sway that occurs and how easy to bump the side of head.


Now i am with you on trying to improve structural integrity. Side intrusion bars of size and some way to firm up overhead would be really beneficial, but because of the size inside a mini and proximity to said noggin ,,,, i haven't seen one YET.... maybe an exo skeleton roll cage.... wouldn't be much good for wind resistance. The other thing is the engineering of the whole situation needs to be looked at. If you have the worlds strongest roll bar attached to 1.6 mm rusty sheet metal it aint going to do much good.

If you are worried about the inherent safety of the older cars , then honestly nothing is as good as modern, crush zone, collapsible wheel, etc etc technology

The police used to roll their Minis they survived. Personally I would not fit one I have one up in the shed but it is only for the rear of the car.Don't forget they they passed the side intrusion test at Liverpool Sydney in 1976 .I was there watching the test the body is very strong. I have never found a Mini that did not have strong spot welds. Some other cars from the same era were not as good in the welding area. I cant remember when the anti burst door locks came in even though I made the prototype panel mods.
I used to have a 1934 Dodge with a 3.4 L jag motor channeled 180mm .It withstood a smash but the steering column gave me a few problems .That was a long time ago. Now I have problems building my Mini THANKS to Winnabey and others I am grateful for there help and vast KNOWLEDGE.

Having been involved with cars with cages a few years ago if you look things have changed over the years too.
All the old (especially alloy) cages did have the main hoop right over your head to hit as FNQ is pointing out, but all the newer FIA spec cages have the main hoop moved back in the car.
Take a look at this one : http://www.agi-precision.com.au/product ... t-bolt-in/

The Main hoop is even laid back a bit from vertical to give you more head room.
When I had a Rally car all the tubes close to occupants had to be covered with an approved padding, air con insulation was not considered good enough.
Note the mounting boxes they use now to spread the load, not the couple of bolts through the floor like the old ones.

So given the smaller diameter of steel tube over alloy, a good design keeping the tubes as far away from people as possible and padding built for the job is a far different thing to what people had in decades gone by. The weight of a modern steel cage built to a standard would be far greater than the old alloy ones as well.

This was a few years ago but there were rules (QLD Transport) about side intrusion bars and others on cages, a look at the Vehicle Standards Bulletins would tell you more about what you need to get a cage approved today.


Stewart.