Phil,
Be careful about buying a cage from a manufacturer who does primarily
NHRA-type cages. I found out the hard way with my old XXF/GL in the mid 90's.
When I had the car built in the late 80's I had in mind a
dual-purpose car to run the nostalgia drags and LSR. I had the chassis
builder construct the frame and rollcage to meet NHRA specs, had the
car NHRA certified, and proceeded to compete in both
venues. Unfortunately I soon discovered that dual-purpose cars are
often a compromise in both categories and my car wasn't competitive as
a dragster. Since I built it to stay within the then 150" wheelbase
limit that nostalgia dragsters had to contend with, it was a little
short for LSR.
Things went well as far as SCTA Tech was concerned as long as I
ran a vintage engine. The car was extremely well engineered and nobody
noticed that the chrome-moly cage was "oh-too-small" and "oh-too-thin"
(1.5" X .062" wall) by SCTA/BNI specs.
In 1996 a friend installed his "C" Class SBC in the car to compete
in CGL. By that time Tech had gone from individual inspectors going
pit-to-pit for entry inspection to what we have now, what I call the
"Big-Top" method with everybody getting Teched at a central location,
a better method as far as I'm concerned.
Needless to say we were restricted to licensing the new driver up to a
175 MPH maximum and the car was parked shortly thereafter when we started
building the King$ Ran$om XXF Modified Roadster.
My point is to be careful when assuming that things that fit NHRA
requirements will automatically satisfy the SCTA/BNI rules.
Ardun Doug King
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