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Fabricated tubular crash bar and core support build
Bought myself some new toys, Woodward Fab tubing bender with 1.625" die and an AHP Alpha-Tig201xd.
So naturally I ordered some 4130 chromoly tubing and gave recreating the factory crash bar radius a shot.
This is basically the third tube I ever bent so its not perfect, but itll work.
My buddy has a 3-axis CNC so we used that to cut out the hole pattern for the crash beam.
I clamped the bar onto the bumper in the place I wanted it to fit.
My work area.
With the bar clamped to the bumper and the bumper installed on the car, I used these main bolts to hold the bar in the proper place in relation to the car. This made it so I could remove the bumper and have plenty of space to mock up the rest of the tubes. TIG welding while sitting on the floor where the radiator would normally be was definitely a chore.
Bar tacked in place.
Mounting plates installed.
And finally, a mock up of the design ill be using.
Last edited by Slowbalt2000; May 13, 2019 at 11:03 AM.
First time notching tubes. I dont have a notcher but its actually not too hard to do with an angle grinder.
Drivers side tacked in place. It looks like the tack is broken because it is. I didnt like how it fit at first so I broke it off and made it fit nicer.
Was working until about 10:30 on a sunday just so I could finish getting the passenger side tacked in. Im pretty happy with how symmetrical it looks to the drivers side.
Ill be adding one more horizontal support before I do the finish welds and give it some paint. Havent decided on the color yet. Maybe silver.
Some shots with the bumper on to show fitment. It actually fits quite nicely and Im very happy with how it came out for my first time doing anything like this.
Might be able to finish it this weekend so I can move onto the core support. Stay tuned.
Last edited by Slowbalt2000; May 13, 2019 at 11:09 AM.
I assume you are just using that bolt to hold the tube in place for now? Also I'm guessing you will have everything welded to the 1/8" steel plate so it will still be removable? Interesting project, thanks a lot for sharing.
Yeah, those are actually ecotec head/main bolts. I have a whole box full of them so i figured theyd be good to use as placeholders. I tacked the bolts/bar in place with the bumper on the car so i knew it would still fit when I was done. Working on mocking up the parts with the bumper on would be pretty difficult. And yes, the 1/8” plates will be welded to the tubes and it will come off just like the factory one.
Looks good. Is there a reason you went with that size tubing specifically? Figured you would go with a smaller tube to keep the weight down and it also be easier to form.
I didnt know much about any of this until a few weeks ago. 1.625x.083 chromoly is commonly used for roll cages per NHRA rules. For roll bars, 1.75" tubing is required. I just wanted to have it be safe, not too concerned with weight. The car is stripped anyway.
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