GT500 CFTP lightweight Watson roll cage install

[Tomster]

I recently completed the Watson lightweight roll cage installation. For those who have any interest, I did a writeup about the install in the GT350 section years ago. The process is pretty straightforward, with one exception..... before you drill, you have to double and triple check your drill locations before you drill. You probably only have about 1/8" of leeway forward and aft, or it won't work.

Another point that is worthwhile mentioning, if you are working from the trunk opening, be sure not to allow any weight to rest on your bumper fascia. This could induce bumper sag. This happened on my triple yellow R. This time around, I did not work from the trunk end unless I had to. If I did, I made sure not to put weight on the bumper.

Here are my install notes from a while back. https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/th...l-cage-installed-in-hr361.93015/#post-2046986

Here are the photos.

Holes primed with automotive etching primer and then coated with laquer

Holes cleaned up with a dremel tool, top and bottom

The work area, close quarters

Each side had a custom template to drill the holes balls on

Sponsored

 

[NGOT8R]

Very nice! Is that a 4 point? Does it have provisions to add the door bars and make it a 6 point? I like that rear seat delete too!

 

[Tomster]

Very nice! Is that a 4 point? Does it have provisions to add the door bars and make it a 6 point? I like that rear seat delete too!

The rear seat delete is the one I used from one of my old GT350Rs. Unfortunately, the roll cage, when manufactured, wasn't the same exact as the older heavier cage. It was slightly off so I had to open the rear support legs up a little to allow the legs to pass through without contact. I have a friend looking into a solution. In the mean time, it doesn't look horrible, just not the kind of work that I usually do. You can't buy those RSDs anymore. Ford pulled the plug on them as an aftermarket option.

The cage is a 4 pt. It is constructed from the same chromoly steel that the 6 point cage is. The standard DOM (drawn over mandrel) steel 4 pt cage is 70+ pounds. My cage is 40 pounds. I approached Watson a while back and had a batch of them constructed and they all sold in short order via a group buy I organized. Since it is the same cage as the 6 point, if anyone wanted to add the side bars, it would just be a matter of reaching out to my friend Frank at Watson and seeing if he would just sell me the missing pieces and doing a minor fabrication. I wouldn't see a problem with that, but I don't anticipate ever going that far. The key point here is the least weight for a reasonable amount of protection.

Sponsored