Izzy's Custom Cages

At Izzy's, we build custom weld in cages for street cars, full fledged racecars or autocross competition. We can also provide pre-bent Hoops, Halos, Lateral bars or Nascar Style Doorbars for you DIYers. Some details below pertain to full cages... we no longer offer full cage kits. We recommend that you source the straight tubing locally. This saves you money on fab time, material costs, shipping and it gets you in touch with your local steel supplier, which is always a good idea!

Once you've contacted us and confirmed the estimated price for your cage, some measurements need to be taken for the main hoop, front downbars and some general length, width and height measurements of your chassis. Remember, we will build the cage elements based on your measurements, so accuracy counts and you cannot provide us with too many measurements! You will need to measure for the main hoop and braces and any diagonals that you want. The main hoop is the hardest part. Here are some directions to help you out.

Getting measurements is actually pretty easy. You'll need some masking tape (for cars with interiors), some string (kite string works well), a marker, a nut or bolt (to tie the string to) a carpenters level and a tape measurer. A buddy to help will make things a little easier.

To prep the string, measure the distance from the floor (not the exhaust/driveshaft tunnel) to the roof at the center behind the seats. Cut your string to about 2" longer than that measurement. Mark the string 2" from the end, then 5" from the end, 11", 17", 23" 29" etc... so that the first mark will be 0", the second 3", 6" 12".. etc in 6" increments. The string will be taped to the ceiling and will act as your vertical tape measure as you measure horizontally across your car. You'll end up with a drawing like those on the left. Feel free to print them out as a guide. In the future, we'll have some easy forms available to fill out the measurements.

Make sure the car is sitting fairly level. Check the air in the tires to make sure they're all approximately the same pressure. Use a carpenters level on the rocker panel and rear deck to make sure. If it's not, you can use pieces of wood or stacked floor tiles to adjust it. With the car level, adjust your drivers seat as you normally would.

Now is the time to locate the optimum place for the hoop to be located. Ideally, you want to look for areas that have some structure like rocker panels, suspension mounting areas, frame rails, etc. Be sure to keep in mind any seat adjustments that will be necessary after the cage is installed (especially important on street cars). On a street car, you'll probably want the main hoop somewhere near the middle of the "B" pillar (the metal between the side window and the small rear window).

Once you have located the area where the main hoop attachment points will be, place marks on both sides of the car in approximately the same positions. Measure the distance between the two points and divide the number in half. That is the centerline of the main hoop. Place a mark on the center point.

Use your level to transfer that point onto your roof and mark it with tape/marker. Tape your string to the ceiling making sure it is fairly secure. Tie or wrap the nut or bolt to the string so that it hangs close to the floor and pulls the string straight.

Now, measure from side to side at the 3, 6, 12 etc inch marks. The 3 and 6" marks are the hardest as there probably wont be definite places to measure to, but as long as you keep the tape fairly level it will work. Remember, if you use the tape measure body in the measurement you must include that measurement in your figures, otherwise, your hoop will be 2.5 to 3" too narrow.

To find the best areas for the rear and front braces, you should crawl under the car and look for structural areas or suspension pickup areas that you may be able to tie into. If it's to be a bolt in cage, you need enough room to be able to mount the backing plate as well as to place the attaching hardware. Once you've found a suitable location, and have made sure that there are no obstructions (fuel or brake lines, seats, door panels, wiring harness'), mark this point with tape/marker. Mark the opposite side as well and measure the distance between the two points as well as the distance from the main hoop.

Use the level and place tape where the 3, 6 ,12" etc. marks would intersect the body on both sides. For the rear braces, measure from the 3, 6 and 12" main hoop marks to the point where the pad would be. Do the same for the front bars using some of the lower marks (18, 24, 30" etc).

There are a few other measurements to take into consideration such as door panel mouldings, window cranks, seat back adjusters, but that will give you an idea of what to start thinking about. There are a few more details to talk about so give us a call or shoot us an email!

Any further questions, feel free to ask.