I wanted a roof rack that was supported by the frame rather than the body, so It could hold as much weight as I wanted to put up there without having to worry too much. It just made sense to incorporate an exterior roll cage into the mix since I had to have those support pipes there anyway. A local pipe bending/welding place put it together for me and I have yet to mount it. I may even wait until I get some of the body work done first. Front pipes might be in the way of some of the sanding and grinding I need to do. Back uprights come off the rear bumper, so they are not in the way of much of anything. Not sure how much rust I will have to deal with once I start on the paint, or if any pieces will have to be cut out and new metal welded in place. THANK GOODNESS getting this thing was my wife's idea, because it can be a bottomless pit when it comes to money. The cool thing about her is she doesn't believe in half measures and safety comes first, so we are doing it right. It may take longer to get it road ready, but when it is, it will be REALLY ready.
I do have one concern that maybe someone has a suggestion for. The drive shaft seems to be at a pretty steep angle to me. Is there something that will tell me how much of an angle is too much, or something that can be done to lessen the angle? I don't want to snap off any driveshaft bolts. I can see where somebody already did that once, and pinched off the gas line, which I am replacing ,as well as the brake line to the rear breaks, which I am also replacing. My only mechanical experience is with old '53 Willy's jeeps. I got one with a frozen up engine when I was fourteen, and rebuilt it myself and drove it for a couple years on the back roads and in the desert until I finally got a license. It was a duck tape and bailing wire operation, but it always ran. I had it for almost 20 years before I sold it to get a '65 land cruiser with a 350 chevy in it that I sold a few years later, without ever having to turn a wrench on it. I've rebuilt several TR3's and a couple TR6's from the ground up, but this is my first "real" 4 wheel drive project, and quite a challenge since NOTHING seems to be original on the entire drive train.
