Roll Bar?

[caw901]

I am planning on installing a roll bar in my 1970 2002 before an upcoming DE. I have been looking at the Autopower “Race” model with removable cross brace. I would appreciate any feedback/suggestions on ease of installation, quality, timely delivery, etc. on this or other roll bars.

Thanks,

Chris

1970 Sahara 2002

[TobyB]

They're OK for what they are-

make sure you get the "seamless" or "dom" tubing, just because it's not

that much more and all race sanctions require it.

The base pads are far too small for bolt- in, however. So get some steel plate

(I used 4" wide strap, 3/16" about a foot long) and use it to create a better 'footprint'

for the main hoop. You can then butt it against the inside of the rocker panel,

and get a LOT better protection against punch- through.

Then make bigger pads for the underside, too.

The same treatment is recommended for the diagonals that go through

the wheel wells, too, but you can use somewhat smaller pads.

Then it's a viable safety feature.

I added a harness bar afterwards, so I could use 5- point harnesses.

THAT was well worth the effort.

t

[M3M3M3]

what toby said.

do not get one without a harness bar. regarding the removable sections...not worth the effort or extra $$$ . makes bar less strong and there really isn't any good reason to take them out. you are not going to have any passengers back there ever with a roll bar installed.

i would get (well i did get) a Kirk Racing roll bar instead of an autopower. better fit.

pics of kirk racing bar install in my car in my build thread.

[c.d.iesel]

...." feedback/suggestions on ease of

installation, quality, timely delivery,

etc. on this or other roll bars "

what Marshall said plus if you do a " Site Search "

for " roll bar " and " roll cage " you can read all the

pros and cons on fiitting any such bars in a car

and the deadly risk if you drive WITHOUT A HELMET,

and danger to passengers!

please research fully before spending yer money

[FB73tii]

do not get one without a harness bar. regarding the removable sections...not worth the effort or extra $$$ . makes bar less strong and there really isn't any good reason to take them out. you are not going to have any passengers back there ever with a roll bar installed.

Well I had the Autopower bar with the removable cross brace/harness bar and it worked fine for me at the time which was autocrossing and allowed use of multi-point harnesses. With the cross brace bolted in I doubt it was that much less strong than a fully welded bar. I welded in strengthening plates to increase the footprint and tie to body structure as mentioned above.

Taking out the crosspiece was not too hard and allowed me to carry my 12-piece Ludwig drum set (early '70's maple shell Octaplus) when I needed to. Both bass drums went in the back seat.

Unfortunately this was an old ERW bar, so when I wanted to go to a full cage I pulled it out and bought the Kirk Racing 6-point DOM tube cage kit, NASCAR bars and a bunch of extra tubing so I could build my 12-point cage. If you plan to go to a full cage at some point get DOM tubing for sure.

Fred '74tii & '69 (both with full cage)

[M3M3M3]

Geez fred, that is what i get for making sweeping generalizations! of course you need removable diagonal and harness bars if you have a 12 piece ludwig drum set!

silly me! :-)

[Ian]

I wasn't hauling drum kits in my back seat either, but when I had my Kirk rollbar with removable cross-brace/harness bar, the fit was so tight that it took forever to get it out, and sometimes I had to loosen the braces to the rear fenderwell. So I treated it as a non-removable.

The moral of this story for me, is that unless you are a drummer, get the braces and harness bar welded in. It's lighter, cleaner looking, and you can still shove stuff like track wheels over the passenger-side harness bar into the back seat. Just not drum kits

[FB73tii]

Yeah, at some point I stopped hassling with the removable center section and was still able to get the track wheels back there. Then I had to go build a cage and buy a truck and trailer. At least I don't have to swap wheels at the track anymore...well, only when the cords start to show --Fred

[M3M3M3]

here is link to page 19 of my thread with details of Kirk install. bottom of page.

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,50/page,viewtopic/t,345762/postdays,0/postorder,asc/topic_view,/start,540/

[Fletcher]

On 3/28/2013 at 4:19 PM, M2M3 said:

here is link to page 19 of my thread with details of Kirk install. bottom of page.

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,50/page,viewtopic/t,345762/postdays,0/postorder,asc/topic_view,/start,540/

@M2M3 this link doesn’t work.  Is this info still on here somewhere?

[TobyB]

Award for search goes to Fletcher today!

 

When the board migrated, the links broke.

 

Try looking in Marshall's blog/build area-

it's still there, it's just got a different address.

 

t

Fred, where are you?

[M3M3M3]

LOL!  try this link.  info now on page 38.  starts halfway down the page or so and continues to bottom.