Landracing Forum
Bonneville Salt Flats Discussion => SCTA Rule Questions => Topic started by: PVB1NZ on July 01, 2010, 07:04:42 PM
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We are based in NZ and are building a 5E Production Category car, with a production floor pan etc. We are using the larger spec 4130 to be safe, (we have plenty of experience building & welding 4130) and we cannot get the correct size steel in NZ at any rate. My question is this: in the rules (SCTA 2009) it states "unitized cars" cages can be bolted to the vehicle using 2 * 1/4" thick support pads, but does not mention any rules regarding welding the cage in. Can we weld the cage in and to what rules??
Also excuse my ignorance from "down under" but what is a "unitized car"??
Help from anyone with this knowledge would be appreciated. Thanks. Peter.
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We are based in NZ and are building a 5E Production Category car, with a production floor pan etc. We are using the larger spec 4130 to be safe, (we have plenty of experience building & welding 4130) and we cannot get the correct size steel in NZ at any rate. My question is this: in the rules (SCTA 2009) it states "unitized cars" cages can be bolted to the vehicle using 2 * 1/4" thick support pads, but does not mention any rules regarding welding the cage in. Can we weld the cage in and to what rules??
Also excuse my ignorance from "down under" but what is a "unitized car"??
Help from anyone with this knowledge would be appreciated. Thanks. Peter.
"Unitized" is the term used when the car in question has no separate frame or only a sub frame (think '67 camaro)
What the rule is trying to convey is "sandwiching" two 1/4" plates above and below the floor board bolted in place. The rest of the cage construction as per 3B, & 3.B1.
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Thanks for that. I now understand "Unitized". So is there an option to weld the cage to the vehicle ??
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Thanks for that. I now understand "Unitized". So is there an option to weld the cage to the vehicle ??
Yes it is OK to weld the cage in.. Make sure at each "mounting point" you weld a 6 x 6 x 1/4" thick plate on top of the floor area, then weld the cage to the plate (if the uni body is not thick in the area you are mounting the cage I would use another 6 x 6 1/4 thick plate underneath and "sandwich" them as in the bolt in rules.)
Good luck and please make a build dairy and post pictures as you make progress.
Charles
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Thankyou all. I am sure I will have plenty of questions as we go through the build so we will stay in touch. Thanks again. Peter
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I am in complete support of what Charles said and I don’t want to minimize his focus on safety. However, some uni-body (another new term) cars have a strange shape of the formed sill or the structural rail along the outside of the floor pan. This is ideally what you would like to weld to. But due to the various shapes it can be very difficult forming the 1/4” plate around the contour. The perimeter requirements of the plate has not changed and is the same in the ’10 book as the ’09 rule book. In some difficult locations it is ok to size the plate per the rules if you can not fit the 6 x 6 size.