One of the drawbacks of the Safety Devices roll cages for Firenza etc, is that the front legs come down in front of the dash rather than following the screen pillars down behind the dash, also as a consequence of this the front legs mount on the floor next to the front of the door aperture but in front of the accelerator pedal. After a long rally all day in the car, my ankle was quite painful, so I took the car to Ian Jemison a few weeks ago to see if he could alter the front legs to improve the situation.
After looking at it, we decided it would be best to start again, so I removed the old cage and sold it and he designed and fitted a new custom made one, initially I wanted it welding in to strengthen the shell, but the Historic regulations don't allow that, so it is bolted in as before. The other thing about all the Safety Devices cages is that the main hoop mounts on the floor in front of the back seat and leans back slightly, making it very difficult to get in to the rear seat at all. This new cage mounts in the corners adjacent to the back seat and is vertical, which must be stronger in a roll.
Whilst the dash was out of the car to get the cage fitted, I decided to finish off fitting one of my fibreglass dash panels and some proper instruments that work, there is an Elliott rev counter, a Racetech electronic speedo and Racetech oil pressure, water temp and voltmeter along with all the warning lights that used to be in the centre. I have also done away with the air vents and fitted panels either side with ignition, start button and light switch on my side and a fusebox on the navigators side, in the centre where the warning lights were I have the battery master switch, fuel pump switch and electric fan switch. Everything can now be reached by me when strapped in, which is how it is supposed to be for the regulations.
here are some photos









Next stage now is to get the rear arches and lower rear side panels repaired this winter and the bottom half repainted to tidy up the exterior, I bought Spence's rear panels off ebay and they should provide all the metal that is needed to get rid of the rotten bits. I have neglected the bodywork and cosmetics over the past 5 years and concentrated on the mechanicals, but now I'm happy with how it goes, it's time to smarten it up.
Next events are The Vale of Clwyd Classic on 7th Sept in North Wales, The St Wilfrid's on 22nd Sept in North Yorks, The Throckmorton Challenge on 12th Oct in Gloucestershire and the Solway Historic on 20th Oct in Cumbria
Davidr
After looking at it, we decided it would be best to start again, so I removed the old cage and sold it and he designed and fitted a new custom made one, initially I wanted it welding in to strengthen the shell, but the Historic regulations don't allow that, so it is bolted in as before. The other thing about all the Safety Devices cages is that the main hoop mounts on the floor in front of the back seat and leans back slightly, making it very difficult to get in to the rear seat at all. This new cage mounts in the corners adjacent to the back seat and is vertical, which must be stronger in a roll.
Whilst the dash was out of the car to get the cage fitted, I decided to finish off fitting one of my fibreglass dash panels and some proper instruments that work, there is an Elliott rev counter, a Racetech electronic speedo and Racetech oil pressure, water temp and voltmeter along with all the warning lights that used to be in the centre. I have also done away with the air vents and fitted panels either side with ignition, start button and light switch on my side and a fusebox on the navigators side, in the centre where the warning lights were I have the battery master switch, fuel pump switch and electric fan switch. Everything can now be reached by me when strapped in, which is how it is supposed to be for the regulations.
here are some photos









Next stage now is to get the rear arches and lower rear side panels repaired this winter and the bottom half repainted to tidy up the exterior, I bought Spence's rear panels off ebay and they should provide all the metal that is needed to get rid of the rotten bits. I have neglected the bodywork and cosmetics over the past 5 years and concentrated on the mechanicals, but now I'm happy with how it goes, it's time to smarten it up.
Next events are The Vale of Clwyd Classic on 7th Sept in North Wales, The St Wilfrid's on 22nd Sept in North Yorks, The Throckmorton Challenge on 12th Oct in Gloucestershire and the Solway Historic on 20th Oct in Cumbria
Davidr

