The problem with adding a flat floor and side skirts to aid Aero on the car means jacking the car becomes tricky. I had to drive the Golf onto some wood so I could slide the jack under the skirt and lift from a jacking point on the flat floor but that wasn`t ideal, also the flat floor started to deform unless the jack was positioned perfectly.
The easiest way is to add some sill jacking points. I used the opportunity to address the cage footplate issue, when I first fitted the rollcage, I didn`t fully understand the need for plates welded under the `foot box` and it had been bugging me for a while.
I`ve done both sides and you`ll see some photos from the drivers side and some from the passenger side. This is simply because I forgot to take all the necessary photos on one side…
Matt`s E36 comes with these jacking points from the factory but when lifting it using 22mm rod, we found they weren`t up to the job and bent over time.
I bought some 42mm od 3mm wall tube and some 35mm Solid rod which slides into the tube nice and snugly.
Drilled from the outside with a 44mm holesaw after checking and double checking !
The paint was then ground off the surrounding area
Looking through the hole you can see the outer visible sill, the centre section and the inner
Some 3mm plate was shaped and welded to the floor, this will eventually support the cage foot.
Cut another piece of 3mm plate and weld it vertically onto the inner sill.
I then redrilled the hole from the outside, cutting through the fresh 3mm plate
A 3mm plate was then welded on the outersill
This time I drilled through from the inside out
Because I`d already fabricated the side-skirts I fitted that and drilled from the inside again which is far easier than trying to cut a hole afterwards as I did on the passenger side..
The tube was left too long as I can cut it later. The hole at this point required tidying up with a small file.
The skirt was removed and I sprayed ZG-90 Cold Galvanizing Zinc paint everywhere I could get to inside the sills. I also have half a litre of this which is applied by brush but for areas like this the aerosol is better.
You can see the paint between the layers.
Some plate was welded over the end of the tube to stop water getting inside and then it was welded to the inner 3mm plate whilst ensuring it was horizontal first.
Then the outside of the tube was welded up.
If the tube wasn`t incorporated into the cage foot, that would be finished but I now needed to cover it up.
Used some cardboard to make a template
Traced onto 3mm plate
Cutout and folded into shape then offered into place
Welded the seams from the outside
Decent penetration
The box was tacked to the roll cage tube and then pulled away from the sill using a ratchet strap.
This pulled it away enough to be able to weld the tricky area between the tube and the sill.
Welded the rest of the tube to the box
With the strap removed and the tube wedged back into place using a length of timber
I had to weld the back of the box using a mirror but I`m pretty happy how it turned out !.
Box welded to plates then timber removed
Welding between the tube and the sill was tricky due to the size of my gas nozzle but I managed to get it done with a good weld.
Primer and top coat applied.
With footrest and cage padding fitted
External tube after first coat of black.
After 2nd coat and skirt fitted. Mesh still to fit in the opening of the wing vent.
Some 10mm plate was cut into a circle and welded to the 35mm bar. The welder was struggling with this ! I painted it yellow as it should make it easier to find and also stop people walking into it without realising it`s there..
Rod inserted into the tube and the car lifted. with the weight distribution of the Golf, this lifts the rear wheel at the same time so I don`t need to fit a tube further back.
I also have a longer piece of Rod which has enough clearance to get an axle stand between the round plate and the car. The next step is to make some tubular axle stands than can be integrated into the lifting rod. I`ll add photos when they are finished.
A few showing the longer rod and jack at full height
This is the jack at full lift and showing the disc sat in the jack, it doesn`t slide out at all.
The next part of the project was to add lifting tubes to the rear of the car
Measure tube position
Holesaw through outer sill
Tube fit checked.
Factory lifting point has an extra layer between the inner and outer sill
Cut access panel for welding
Panel removed
Drill middle skin
Drilled
Tube slid into position and inner skin marked and paint removed
Needed top edge recessing slightly to allow cover plate fixing.
Use holesaw to cut blank for end of tube
Test
Welded up. This is to stop water in the tube leaking into the inner sill area
Tube fitted and tacked to middle skin
Fully welded to innder skin and middle skin.
Mark angle from outer sill piece onto some 3mm plate
Cut at same angle as sill hole
Clean paint off outer sill
Cut plate to fit
Weld cover plate to sill, pausing often to reduce heat transfer into bady.
Weld tube to 3mm cover plate
Coat in primer, paint later.
Somewhat surprisingly I`ve had a few messages from people asking if they can support me in some way. I`ve set up a buy-me-a-coffee page for those of you who would like to do so, it allows the opportunity of making a small donation towards future Golf developmentĀ .