Let me tell you guys this..... This car is turning out to be BAD ASS!!!!
Wait until Paul posts the updated pics. :supz:
Very nice work! I'm starting on a new edge now. It's getting an 8.50 cage and I'm thinking it'll be an 8.3x car eventually. My question is, at what point are these boxes something that should be done? Also if i plan to keep a rear seat in mine how can the uppers be tied in to other structure? Thanks.
Thanks for the compliments guys. Someone saw spy pics
Sorry, I have been crazy busy and haven't updated this in awhile. Also sorry for the delayed responses, I wanted to wait until I could give a detailed answer and not just a general reply.
I have seen 10 sec cars that destroyed the lower boxes that were left unreinforced. Once they get bent up they are nearly impossible to straighten up. Look for kinks or wrinkles around the square (ish) opening on the bottom and elsewhere around the box as evidence they have moved/bent. I've seen mid 9sec cars rip the uppers out completely that were left unwelded or reinforced. So that said, pretty much every one of these cars if they run decent need attention. You kinda have to ask your self what your current and future goals are for the car. Alot of guys can get away with, and be happy with welding up the oem. But, thats alot of work, and when done, you still have the oem factory sheetmetal box (lowers) sandwiched in there. The uppers, can be adequate welded and reinforced, but there again, the time and effort required, you can put our boxes in (uppers and/ or lowers) and have a superior in strength and adjustability component for future options. They arent hard at all to replace, and our designs only go in one place so its an easy install that is very hard to do wrong. One thing to keep in mind also, is if you weld/reinforce the oem now and decide to cut them out and upgrade later, they REALLY, REALLY, suck to cut out with all that weld and plating on them. You WILL be hating life then. Then, you have the someday resale value. A car with aftermarket uppers/lowers will always be more desirable than reinforced oem. And if the guy who is looking at buying a welded oem box car wants the upgraded adjustable boxes, he may not be willing to cut out the welds and plating and pass on buying the reinforced oem box car. I know I would.
On tieing our upper box in, if you didnt want to go though the inside of car to the main hoop,You can put a tube across (between) the frame rails down by the floor, similar to what we have done for the 25.3 spec in the pics, (only between the rails and not below like we did) and run the tie in tubes down like we did in the pics here Its a good place for a rear driveshaft loop too. Then if you decide to do a 25x spec you can tie it all in then, or tie it into the subframe connectors now, depending on how they are done, or fab them to suit the build. I also am 99 percent sure a slower car, maybe mid nines or so wouldn't need tie in tubes, but I cant recommend that just in case something happened. It is my opinion the every aftermarket upper box (well the ones I have seen anyway) should be tied in to be safe. Our upper box, with its boxed, plated and gusseted design (the side adj plates being in most areas 1/2" chrome moly, equal to 3/4" mild steel), 1.625 CM upper x member, and being welded to the frame rail vertical and horizontally, which is ALOT of weld surface and strength, would have to be pulled out of square AND rip the welds at the rail to fail, I dont see that happening, but I wont make that call when someones car and life are at stake. My official position is tie in all aftermarket boxes including ours.
I hope this has helped. If you have any further questions feel free to ask here or call me at the shop at (352)821-FAST Thanks for the great question. Paul @ JCR
