Paint (why do I bother)

Yes, I decided to paint my jeep after finishing up the suspension and axle work. It looke really nice when it was finished, but after the first few scratches I didn't think of it as paint anymore. I liked the primer gray look a lot, but I guess once again I can't leave well enough alone. The paint turned out really great though and I enjoy practicing up on my painting skills for that time when it really matters. This was the 4th rig I have painted and the first time I used a clearcoat basecoat paint.

Cage build

I must say that I don't have many pictures of my cage while it was being built. I have these two from when it was just finished before paint, and I also have some of it out and about after it was finished. My cage was built with .120 1 3/4" tubing. I didn't use DOM as many do because it is very expensive these days. I haven't rolled it yet so I can't say as to whether or not it will hold up as well as DOM (although we know it won't) It will save my life in the event of a rollover and that is good enough for me as of now. I would venture to say that the design will hold up well to more than one role (or tip) and more than likely if I roll it that much it will be getting more than just a new cage. You can also see in these pictures the tube fenders that I built. They came out really good too. Hope the pictures give you some ideas


It is hard to see the cage in this picture, but if you look closely you can see that I made a V above the driver area and the two C pillars come to the middle of the cage and also form a V. It make for a pretty strong design. The more you read about cages the more you will see that triangulation is the key. More is usually better to a point. In this picture you can also see the rocker protection that I made after being T-boned on a snow run (note the dent in the door and rocker). I had plans to make the rocker "nerd bars" before, but I hurried up after really needing them. They would have helped since the trucks bumper was the height of my rockers.