To perspex or not to perspex?

Br1tishwarcry

New member
Points
16
Location
swindon
Car
vw golf mk3
Currently in the process of killing a 1.1 saxo and giving it a rebirth with a lovely cammed 1.6 16v 106 gti lump full spax suspension and dampeners and gutting it.
Currently as it stands she has no interior and a sorry attempt at a budget cage (not me, this is how it was bought) custom 3inch straight through system (£300 with receipts apparently but we are yet to see) looking to achieve the best i can out of this little shell. I have high expectations for this budget build, just want the best i can out of this little car.
Currently has all glass in it but as im trying to make the most of the power to weight ratio i was looking at removing the glass all round apart from windscreen for obvious windows and replace it with some form of lightweight plastic... be it perspex or polycarb im unsure. my question is... has anyone done this and if so where did you get yours from im really trying to make the built not bought topic a reality and dont want to go for ready made polycarb if that makes sense??? i would rather raid b&q etc and fashions some myself? its all part of the learning curve. if any of you experts could point me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated
 
Hi and welcome to the forum.

Is this for track or road use? If road use, ditch the cage as it will be heavy. If for track, ditch the cage as it is unsafe and replace with a properly designed one. If looking to save every ounce/gram then use T45 tubing. More expensive than standard seemless but who said going fast was cheap? :)

Don't use perspex, it shatters. Use polycarbonate, often referred to as Lexan which is a trade name.

You can replace the windscreen with poly. It is actually stronger and safer than the original glass but, if you do a lot of driving in the rain, there is the chance of scratching it with the wipers even if you use the stratch resistant stuff.

I am making my own windows but as this company makes all the windows for the Saxo why reinvent the wheel? You have enough work to do as it is :)

http://www.plastics4performance.com/all-products/

Good luck with the build and keep this blog going.
 
Thanks old-git , Im hoping for fast road car and occasional track car. I have a dd focus anyway which is my sensible 5 door 5 seater family car so im after this for the madman in me. I dont really know what you can class this "cage" as. Its a few bits of metal going behind the passenger and the drivers seat, no real strengthening at the back. Ok, i didnt know you could pass an mot without a glass windscreen? the more weight i can save the better. Ideally id like to go cheaper than that, the total spend on the car along with engine and suspension is sitting me at just £275 and that would just double my spend.. any thoughts would be greatly appreciated
 
So, what is the Golf doing on your profile? :)

If you don't mind the extra work, then making flat side windows is pretty easy. The front and rear, which are curved, can be a little trickier to make and fit.

I have no experience of modern track days, so don't know whether they have safety rules that require roll cages. As long as you drive on the highway within the posted speed limits then a cage isn't really necessary.

You have to balance safety/weight/cost/usage, something only you can do. Making a car fit two usage criteria isn't easy (I should know!). Stripping the car will save weight and is fun but can become obsessive (again, I should know :) ), but will not make a lot of difference on the highway as the car is a lightweight already. However, it will make it noisy so it will feel quicker :) On the track it will make a difference so worth doing if that is going to be its main use.

Track use will require improvements to the brakes in order to prevent overheating. This can be achieved in many ways, the cheapest being fitting more suitable (usually harder) pads. Modern braking systems are pretty good as standard so, unless you intend to do some serious hooning, the standard brakes with uprated pads should do the job. However, these pads will make highway driving less fun as they will not work properly at the cooler running temperatures. If this doesn't cut the mustard on the track a popular upgrade is fitting the braking system from a sportier version of the same model as these often fit with little or no modifications.
 
Well now, that golf is a different story... basically i bought from a backstreet dealer (i know stupid move) and i was stuck with a shed of a car and needed transport... so i bought this golf.. £300 drove as it should, 12 months mot, new pads all round and only problem with it was it knocked in reverse. 11 months on... the shell is rusted to pieces and has only what i can describe as a crater in the o/s front wing and doesnt like to engage into gears ATALL!! so the focus was purchased and i am in the process of swapping to that. It would literally be a case of turn up and drive track days rather than organised cup events etc. I have never been on the track and im considered a grandad driver as fuel on my golf is a pig. My thought process was, occasional drive with friends and then track day as and when i get the chance. But i thought if i get it prepared for track use i.e lose as much weight as i can, then when it actually comes around to doing a track day i dont have to mess around with it... if that makes sense. With regards to brakes i was thinking 406 brakes? i know this has been done before with very little/ no modification? its already running vts wheels which are larger anyway and like i said i have picked up uprated suspension anyway
 

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