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Installed a 4 point Watson cage this week in the M1

gone_n_60

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That is correct, the main hoop ties into three factory bolt locations on each side. The rear legs will require drilling a total of 12 holes in the trunk in line with the rear crossmember support.

Alignment will vary from car to car...in my case it lines up pretty spot on. The trick is to leave the main hoop bolts and rear leg bolts that mount to the main hoop loose while you are lining everything up. You will be able to rock the main hoop back and forward to help get the rear legs lined up to the crossmember. Leaving the bolts to the rear legs loose will help you further fine tune...you will have less than 1/8th of an inch of play to work with. Once everything is lined up how you want, the main hoop bolts can be torqued to fix it into position. It is a two person job.

The real fun starts with drilling the 12 holes for the rear supports...you need a second person to monitor the drilling and make sure no brake lines are going to be hit by the drill....they are extremely close and were in the way for atleast four of the 12 holes on my car (using a step drill bit will help mitigate this). I had to bend a brake line out of the way to keep them from rubbing against the mount plate.

One last tip - make sure the machined joints for the main hoop/rear leg connections are clean. Mine had a few burrs and the tolerances are so tight that this created fitment issues. I took a small Dremel with a mild cleaning grinder to clean it up and it made things much more workable.
Appreciate the info and detailed write up. I should not be surprised that even a quality product claims no drilling needed (or says fits factory bolt holes) but then there's drilling needed. So for the 2nd man it's either my buddy down the street who's a Nissan mechanic or my older son who cad do anything from brakes to installing a new turbo on his Audi. ;)
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gone_n_60

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That is correct, the main hoop ties into three factory bolt locations on each side. The rear legs will require drilling a total of 12 holes in the trunk in line with the rear crossmember support.

Alignment will vary from car to car...in my case it lines up pretty spot on. The trick is to leave the main hoop bolts and rear leg bolts that mount to the main hoop loose while you are lining everything up. You will be able to rock the main hoop back and forward to help get the rear legs lined up to the crossmember. Leaving the bolts to the rear legs loose will help you further fine tune...you will have less than 1/8th of an inch of play to work with. Once everything is lined up how you want, the main hoop bolts can be torqued to fix it into position. It is a two person job.

The real fun starts with drilling the 12 holes for the rear supports...you need a second person to monitor the drilling and make sure no brake lines are going to be hit by the drill....they are extremely close and were in the way for atleast four of the 12 holes on my car (using a step drill bit will help mitigate this). I had to bend a brake line out of the way to keep them from rubbing against the mount plate.

One last tip - make sure the machined joints for the main hoop/rear leg connections are clean. Mine had a few burrs and the tolerances are so tight that this created fitment issues. I took a small Dremel with a mild cleaning grinder to clean it up and it made things much more workable.
I never updated here but FYI on the convertible version or at least the one I got there was no drilling. It used all factory bolt holes even in the back. It's possible the convertible has bolt hole where the coupe doesn't. My luck! Lastly the rollbar besides being required safety for the track looks awesome too!
IMG_7177.jpg
 

chefwally32

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I never updated here but FYI on the convertible version or at least the one I got there was no drilling. It used all factory bolt holes even in the back. It's possible the convertible has bolt hole where the coupe doesn't. My luck! Lastly the rollbar besides being required safety for the track looks awesome too!
IMG_7177.jpg
that is sweet looks incredible
 

Nardly

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I never updated here but FYI on the convertible version or at least the one I got there was no drilling. It used all factory bolt holes even in the back. It's possible the convertible has bolt hole where the coupe doesn't. My luck! Lastly the rollbar besides being required safety for the track looks awesome too!
IMG_7177.jpg
More pics! It does make the car look more competition.
 

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raidernixon

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I never updated here but FYI on the convertible version or at least the one I got there was no drilling. It used all factory bolt holes even in the back. It's possible the convertible has bolt hole where the coupe doesn't. My luck! Lastly the rollbar besides being required safety for the track looks awesome too!
IMG_7177.jpg
I don't think I've ever seen one of these in a convertible...it looks great!!
 

gone_n_60

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I don't think I've ever seen one of these in a convertible...it looks great!!
Thanks! After waiting decades for my Mustang I wasn't going to miss out on taking it to the track and learn to drive it like the Ford Engineer/Designers intended! But I also wanted it for those bucket list drives like the Blueridge Parkway in VA or New England in fall or doing the PCH in California. So nice part about the Watson is it comes out pretty easy too.
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