Where to get urethane bushings for cage to frame tie in brackets?

langester · Aug 15, 2018

Hi,
I am thinking about making cage tie ins on my frame. Is there a place to buy urethane bushings by size? I was thinking about using 1.75 inch O.D. .120 wall tubing 2 or so inches long for the bushing sleeves. So far I am not having any luck finding just the bushings. I am not hung up on the tube size either so if there is a better size to use I am open to ideas. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

toddz69 · Aug 15, 2018

Autofab is the king of stuff like that. Autofab.com.

Todd Z.

sykanr0ng · Aug 15, 2018

Will these work for you?:

https://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=BUSHDOM

langester · Aug 15, 2018

Thanks for the replies and the links, I will check them out! You guys are Awesome!

NC-Fordguy · Aug 15, 2018

Years ago when I did mine I used .120 wall 1 and 3/4 dom tubing designed as a T fitting into a couple of tabs with a bolt going through the tabs securing the T with the opposite end welded to the frame. Not sure if you are following the same design??

For the bushings I used leaf spring bushings from a full size jeep---Cherokee Chief, J-10 etc. They fit into the dom with a little persuasion and they are available from most any parts house.

IIRC leaf spring bushings from a s-10 truck will work too.

langester · Aug 16, 2018

Thanks for the info. I will check that out at the parts store, local parts would be a lot more convenient.
Have a good one!

Glass Pony · Aug 16, 2018

I used Blue Torch Fab.
https://www.bluetorchfab.com/collections/brackets-tabs/products/btf-poly-bushing-sleeve-kit

SteveL · Aug 16, 2018

I was just gonna fab something that uses leaf spring or track bar bushings

Boss Hugg · Aug 16, 2018

My cage has 2x3 tubing under the body, sitting on body mount bushings on some body mounts I welded to the frame.

svastano · Aug 16, 2018

Ok dumb question here.... Why do you need bushings? Most of the photos I have seen on this board and from the kits I have seen for tying the cage to the frame are: weld to frame a bracket then bolt the cage to that bracket....

toddz69 · Aug 16, 2018

svastano said:
Ok dumb question here.... Why do you need bushings? Most of the photos I have seen on this board and from the kits I have seen for tying the cage to the frame are: weld to frame a bracket then bolt the cage to that bracket....

Various schools of thought on this topic. Many of the Bronco kits are as you describe.

In the off road racing/prerunner world, cages are usually welded directly to the frame but for a daily driver/frequent driver, the solid mounted cage transmits a lot of noise and vibration to the cabin.

It's not seen as much anymore but back in the day, cages were mounted to the frame via tabs and bushings as I think the OP is planning to do. This accomplished several things - if your vehicle rolled or was in a crash and part of the cage needed to be replaced, it was easier to remove and replace if it was mounted via bushings. And secondly, the bushings tend to absorb a lot of the road noise and vibration which makes it a more tolerable design for vehicles that are operated on the road a lot.

Todd Z.

langester · Aug 16, 2018

Thanks guys! I appreciate all the responses. I will look into all of the suggestions before I decide on the finished product.
As Toddz said, I was trying to eliminate as much vibration as possible by using bushings. At first I was not going to tie my cage to the frame. I have several floor bars that would prevent the cage from pushing through the body if there was a roll over. After thinking on it a while I have come to the conclusion that the frame mounts will be a better idea. I like to " Hope for the best and plan for the worst". I have come this far, so a little more fab work is worth the risk in the end for me. Just my opinion of course.

I appreciate all the help, this Bronco Community is Awesome!

langester · Aug 16, 2018

I should have added that my Bronco will be a daily driver and I will use it off road in the mountains ( hunting trips and family outings, etc). This is not intended to be a rock crawler but I do have a soft top and want all the protection I can provide myself and still be comfortable when I am on the pavement.

74 Bronco Billy · Aug 17, 2018

I am at this stage myself, and would like to see some pictures of both types of tie ins if possible, so, lets post up some pictures please

svastano · Aug 17, 2018

74 Bronco Billy said:
I am at this stage myself, and would like to see some pictures of both types of tie ins if possible, so, lets post up some pictures please

I can share a couple from my 77 that my buddy that is a race car chassis builder did for me:

wsager · Aug 17, 2018

Boss Hugg said:
My cage has 2x3 tubing under the body, sitting on body mount bushings on some body mounts I welded to the frame.

I’d like to see pics. I’ve thought about doing this with 1x3 for a 1” body lift.

NC-Fordguy · Aug 17, 2018

I'm not sure if tying the cage to the frame provides a tangible benefit or not. Seems to be a hot issue of debate in the 4x4 world akin to which off road tire is best or the auto vs manual transmission discussions.

In my thoughts it was worth it. The reason I used bushings was not to help with noise issues or reverberations but I know the body will twist and move some while off road especially in extreme flex positions. My thinking was it allows the body to have a little bit of room to move around and not pop body mount bolts and such.

I have a six point cage custom built. I did not tie the the cage to the frame at the very rear. The spring hangers on the frame introduced some challenges and the fill tube for the gas tank did as well.

If it helps anyone I can take some pictures and post them up.

Where to get urethane bushings for cage to frame tie in brackets?

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