The first item on our shop list, the roll cage, turned out to be the easiest. In any case, we opt for a welded instead of a cage. So there weren’t many alternatives left.
We saw 2 possibilities. Either we let a recognized installer fully assemble the roll cage, or we go for the Custom Cages roll cage. The latter is a bit ikea-style, although the building kits are better documented there.
Nevertheless, they are very friendly people who want to assist you with advice and deeds.
Since we already have a TIG welding station and a qualified photo welder alias “den Biesemans” in house, we opted for the DIY package.
All that remains is to make a choice regarding the material of the tubes.
We had the choice of CDS (Cold Drawn Seamless Carbon Steel) or T45 (High Tensile Carbon Manganese Steel). T45 is stronger so that the wall thickness can be reduced to 1.6mm, which results in considerable weight savings. Since we already have more than enough weight, we have chosen T45.
Custom Cages has 2 models for the E30 M3 available: a rally version and a DTM-style circuit version that can be a little less comfortable, especially on the navigator side.
Demanding as we are, we can’t settle for the rally version because we would like to add the rear section of the DTM-style cage. These are additional triangles to the attachment of the rear axle and to the differential.
Immediately we have another good reason to travel to Daventry.
Thanks to the flexibility of these people, we now have more or less a personalized roll cage.
The entire tube package is delivered neatly numbered, cut and pleated, with numerous photos and a video of an installation in a Mitsubishi Evo.
Their showroom is also remarkable. There is a collection of photos of crashed cars from the past 20 years. Striking is the strong representation of the McRae family.