Pedro the contortionist...

I have to smile when I remember the funky ass positions you have to get in when welding a cage!

Here I am welding the first tube connecting the subframe tubes to the rear tube node.
I can't stess this enough.... when welding ANYTHING get as comfortable as you can get. The more comfortable, the better you can see the cleaner the material is the better your welds will be.....mine are not perfect but it's amazing how much better they are when I happen to be in a more comfy position. Supporting your mig gun with your other hand can be tricky at times when welding in weird positions, but is vital to use you second hand to stabilize the nozzle to give you most control over what you are doing as possible.....

Much like many I initially planed on Tig'ing the cage but in the interest of saving time I opted for the MIG. After welding some of these tubes I have a hard time imagining doing some of these beads in weird positions with a TIG.... having to manage the filler rod and the pedal would of really been a challenge! not to mention just fitting the tig torch in some of these tight confines.....

In any case here is me after I found a "comfortable position allowing me the best view of what I was welding.
the result I must say almost brings a tear to my eye....hehe

Personally I never seen this design done on any 2002 or e30. I think it's elegant and make perfect sense "engineering wise" and much better than other "subframe connector tube" designs. I just looked at it and this is the design that made the most sense.


All the "black" tubes are the new tubes in case you did figure that out already.

like I said not perfect.....but not bad either....