Building a cage for a CJ-6

After taking the jeep out 4-wheeling Memorial Day weekend, although fun, it was entirely unsafe with no cage. We all know that looks count and I wanted something that minimized the "longness" of the CJ-6 and added to the look of it without being overly busy. So on Friday I went and bought five 23ft sticks of 1 3/4" .120 wall DOM and proceeded to bend up some tube with my cousin all weekend. I have to give most of the credit to him as he did most of the dirty work making our vision come alive. From basically start to finish here it is-

























I had two sticks left over and one will get mostly eaten up by some sliders and frame tie ins, but I am very pleased with the results.

 

nice job . now will top still fit

 

Yes. Hardtop still fits just fine.

 

Nice job. For aesthetics could the roof line be kept straight and the top still fit? If not I can understand the difference in height. It's far better than I could have done in any case.

 

Very nice job. Owning a 6 myself ( no roll bar ) the role bar, cage usually stands out to me, and most look very awkward to say the least. Yours is the best I've seen yet. Looks natural to the jeeps longer body, without any over kill.
Good job

 

Roofline as in the front spreader bars? The outers bow outward for headroom and the inners upward for the same reason. The idea with this cage was to keep the classic CJ look and make it relatively safe ( it needs more triangulation, but would take away from the "classic" look). Most older school cages you see this on. The rear seat is going to move forward "one seat length", in other words the front seat brackets will become the rears, because the rear spreader bar is too close to a passengers head and I want the extra room behind the seat for a fridge. I can also mount a roof top tent from the B pillar to the C spreader as they are level with each other.

RJ'sCJ6- Thanks for the compliment.

 

First off I applaud your build and the installation of a roll bar / safety cage. For the most part these forums are a great place for everyone to share , educate & learn ..............

It is not my intent nor desire to critique what decisions you made in the design or the building of said cage but I must reluctantly wonder why you would trade triangulation, strength & safety for the classic look?

In my opinion it really defeats the prime reason for even having one. No pun intended here I just get anal about safety!

 

I know.....I was torn as well, but this Jeep isn't a hardcore wheeler so rollover possibility is low.. The cage itself is .120 wall DOM and in a few weeks will all be connected to the frame. I've witnessed a few gnarly rollovers even with factory cages and all have held up well enough that those involved walked away. I have every confidence this one will as well. I also still need decent access to the back seat with the hard top on. Triangulating where it needs it for a side impact ( B pillar) would make it all but impossible to get in the back. Could we have built a jungle gym? Sure. Does this particular Jeep need it? I don't think it does.

 

I like it.
No jungle gym look.
Reminds me of how cages/roll bars looked in the old days....simple.
Only comment I have is larger steel plates over the tops of the rear wheel wells for more wheel well support.
I wouldn't bother with frame tie in.......with or without triangular supports...not needed in my opinion.

 

I like it. I agree with Tarry to a point. I think as long as you stay reasonable and don' get crazy, it shouldd be fine. If you build a Koh style cage just for cruising the woods and trails you'll need a helmet just to ride in it. But as soon as an lsx and atlas get swapped in with coiled links, then the cage would need somemore bracing. I don't see that happening though

 

Yes. No motor or trans or t-case swaps in this jeeps future. We would have used much larger floor plates and different sizes top to bottom so it didn't act like a sheer if we weren't going to the frame. This jeep isn't getting any more lift or bigger tires so it needs some sliders for rocker protection. Two of the three standoffs for the rocker protection will run directly under and tie into the A and B Pillars and then there will be a tube that connects the rear bars to the frame in the back of the wheel well. That should provide ample protection in the unlikely event this thing goes over.

 

I like the basic design. Looks good and reasonable protection. Ive been looking at lots of ideas for my '6 and this has elements I like.

 

We tried to mimic the rear "down tubes" of the Tj unlimited and still have it blend into the design of the main cage well. I think we nailed it for the most part.

 

cant believe I missed this thread when researching my cage...

Jeepermc.. would you mind taking some measurements and pictures of your cage in the hardtop?
do you have factory or aftermarket seats?

 

Not at all. I have the factory seats. 1/3 2/3 front bench and standard back seat moved up to where it would be in a CJ-5. What kind of pics and measurements are you looking for? There is a lot of room under the hardtop compared to my experience with soft tops on other rigs. They sit about 2-3" higher than the actual top of the windshield frame so there's plenty of room in the hardtop.

 

I should have updated this a long time ago with the frame tie ins and sliders.

 

height of center hoop would be nice.. to top of tube and how much room you have between the top of the bar and the bottom of the top.
I also like the way you bowed the spreader bars out... might need to do something like that..

 

No Problem- The closest it gets to the top is the middle spreaders where they bend up for headroom. I jam a 1x4 in there to keep the top from rattling on bumps and just in general. lol

 

Kudos to your cuz for his nice work on this cage. What kind of a bender did you guys use?

Don