Chrome Rear Cage

Reverb · Post by **Reverb** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 5:01 am

I`ve been searching for a chrome rear engine cage. All I`ve been able to find are the raw steel ones. I`ve found chrome front bumpers, but not the rear ones. Does anybody make these, or do I need to buy a raw steel one and have it chromed?

90volts · Post by **90volts** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 6:15 am

got mine from these guys: http://www.bugsandbuggies.com/Parts.asp ... &SN=9&GN=6 shipping was a while but when they finally came out it was super nice. i love it.

Reverb · Post by **Reverb** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 5:47 pm

That looks like a nice bumper. I called the shop from your link, and he said shipping that large of an item from Detroit to Tucson would be pretty pricey. That bumper is made by Bugpack. I called my local Bugpack dealer, and they said that item is discontinued...so I guess it`s back to searching.

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 6:14 pm

You might try some of the VW trike people. Most of them have chrome rear bumpers. They have some cool looking exhaust systems too.

newmanx59 · Post by **newmanx59** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 6:16 pm

[QUOTE="90volts"]got mine from these guys: http://www.bugsandbuggies.com/Parts.asp ... &SN=9&GN=6 shipping was a while but when they finally came out it was super nice. i love it.

[/QUOTE] Mike, What is that kid in the picture getting ready to do to your buggy tire? :laugh1:

jspbtown · Post by **jspbtown** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 6:42 pm

Not exactly sure what you are looking for, and I have never seen one of these in person, but I noticed it during one of my "reading breaks" at work. www.pacificcustoms.com item: AC707230

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 8:25 pm

JC Whittney has a raw steel engine cage. I had the original bumper, roll cage, engine cage, flip cap and cutting brakes from my Manx triple chromed last summer. Cost me $2,300.00. I wouldnt do it again. The buggy project I am working on now will have these items powdercoated ( hopefully by me).

90volts · Post by **90volts** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 8:27 pm

dennis, yeah pretty pricey - NORMALLY. I had them ship it greyhound. (yes - the bus). that was part of the delay. had to go down to the local greyhound depot to pick it up on the day the bus arrived , but saved a BOATLOAD of money that way. i believe it was under 50 bucks i paid.it's a regular part of greyhound's service.if they actually have them in stock, ask them about it. jerry, that's my son. and after all i did getting this for him!

i was just trying to get him to stand and look natural. didn't work.heheh.just turned out that way. you think that one's bad? look at this one!

manxdavid · Post by **manxdavid** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 9:12 pm

I got my Manx roll bar chromed and it only lasted a couple of years before rusting and flaking and that was supposed to be a quality job; most of the chemicals needed to do a good job are illeagal to use now apparently. I got a new one bent to pattern in polished stainless and it's excellent. If I were after a rear cage I'd buy a raw steel one, get it copied in stainless and then sell the original one on... :2cents:

Lee · Post by **Lee** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 10:15 pm

I bought the Bugpack cage in raw steel, which is fine because it didn't even come close to fitting. I had to heat one of the top tubes with the large rosebud torch and bend it in about four inches to get it to line up with the shock tower. This made that tube too long, so I had to use the tubing cutter to take a few inches off it. When it was time to use the mounts that attach the top tubes to the shock towers, I discovered they sent me two rights instead of a left and a right. I had to heat and rebend one of the mounts to make it work on the left side, then I added more welds to both mounts to give them some strength. Then I discovered that the mounts for the bottom tubes wouldn't line up with the bolts in the rear trans mount unless I took some material off the rear trans mount itself. Once everything was "customized", I welded the brackets on for mounting various things and had the whole thing ceramic coated, just like the exhaust. When I got it back from the ceramic coaters, I discovered that they didn't polish it. Turns out they didn't like my engine cage. Didn't fit into their polishing equipment or something. They charged me around $130 or something just for the coating. Big part, difficult job. I had to chuck a buffing wheel into a drill and use jeweler's rouge on the whole cage for over an hour to get the shiny finish. I guess that's why it took so darn long to build the buggy - EVERY aftermarket part was like this, except for the Gene Berg shifter. I lubed it per the instructions, installed it, adjusted it, and it has worked flawlessly ever since. If I could do it over, I would ask Rob (Speedee) to help me bend one up. Might take a couple hours, tops. Have it powder coated with the "near chrome" finish. It looks a lot like ceramic coating, but without all the guilt.

rzeller · Post by **rzeller** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 10:28 pm

A couple of months ago I bought one of the raw cages from JC Whit. It cost somewhere near $45. The shipping (by truck carrier) cost me $55

I even picked it up from their loading dock (they couldn't find my house). I've just spray painted it gloss black, with the intent of powder coating sometime in the future.

newmanx59 · Post by **newmanx59** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 10:34 pm

[QUOTE="Manxdavid"]I got my Manx roll bar chromed and it only lasted a couple of years before rusting and flaking and that was supposed to be a quality job; most of the chemicals needed to do a good job are illeagal to use now apparently. I got a new one bent to pattern in polished stainless and it's excellent. If I were after a rear cage I'd buy a raw steel one, get it copied in stainless and then sell the original one on... :2cents:[/QUOTE] I like David's idea....Bend one up out of stainless and polish it. You would even be able to duplicate a Manxter type cage if you wanted.

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 11:13 pm

If I had it all to do over again on my Manx.I would have had everything either powder coated or stainless. Chrome was a nightmare to have done. It still isnt perfect and it requires alot of upkeep. not to mention having to tell kids not to touch it all the time... The clone I'm building now is for taking on the beach and just beating up so stainless is too expensive for me. I think Powdercoating or even just black tape will do fine. I will keep a pic of my Manx taped to the dash of the clone so when peeps see me at the gas station and ask about the buggy, I can show them what a buggy should look like...

Reverb · Post by **Reverb** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 1:48 am

I found this bumper at J.C. Whitney. These bolt to a skid plate. Anybody have any experience with these?

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 2:07 am

are you looking for a bumper that looks good or are you looking for a bumper that will actually do something in an accident? If you would like a safe bumper I wouldn't get that one. If you want one for looks go for it!