Show me your roll cages (full interior)

[69NEWCLASSNH]

Has anyone here installed a roll cage, while retaining a full interior?  

 

I'm toying with the idea of adding one, but still want the car to be usable on the street.  Any suggestions, or kits?

 

Thanks,

   George

[02Anders]

Hi George,

 

Depends really upon how much you need the rear seats?
If you have people sitting there regularly, then I'd advise against installing a roll cage.

[vacca rabite]

I'd suggest against a roll cage if you don't drive your car with a helmet at all times.

Roll cages are absolutely unforgiving in an accident and tend to be easy to smack your noggin on.

 

Zach

 

[NYNick]

How 'bout harness bars? Is there a source for those?

[TobyB]

For something for a dual purpose car, where you're not going to use the back seat,

a roll bar does make some sense.  You can tie the harnesses to it, and it'll add some

hope to the roof staying up and the side staying out should you get into real

upside- down and sideways in traffic situation. 

 

Which, really, you shouldn't do in a dual purpose car, but whatever.

 

I had an autopower roll bar in mine for a bunch of lapping days- it made me feel better

about harness and 9.8/10ths....  I beefed up the mounting pads by about 100 square inches.

 

t

 

[Preyupy]

I agree with Zach on the street a roll cage is a safety concern if you are not wearing a helmet.  Even with padding on the bars near your head any impact is likely to cause you some serious injury.  A roll bar mounted properly along with a proper head rest is much safer on the street.  The other problem with a cage is unless you have it custom fabricated (no AutoPower or Racecraft kits) they don't fit close to the A pillar so your leg is up against it all the time.  If you do have one built to be out of the way you will have to cut the ends of the dash to make it fit properly. 

[jrkoupe]

cage on street?..

 

 

not a good idea.

 

4 pt roll bar a better choice...and still it depends how often you may be on street......

[esty]

with a rear seat delete kit...

 

[tisalover]

Wow, Esty those pictures are beautiful, and inspiring. It makes me feel much better about taking the rear out of my one car and putting a rollbar in it. Maybe I will tidy things up, I really like those pictures and that finish quality.

 

Bravo, it is so aesthetically perfect. Sincerely, Peter

[TobyB]

The nice thing is that you can do it easily with some plywood, carpet staples and glue-

Esty bound the edges, but you can wrap over the edges of the plywood if you leave it

a bit smaller, and it still looks good.  I used 1/2" on the bottom, and it made a very useful parcel

shelf back there.  Even put a couple of straps for strapping down heavy things...

 

t

 

[tisalover]

Thanks Toby, I think I'll make some cardboard templates, and take a look at following your good example. Although I must say I'm more comfortable throwing nasty old tools, oil and things into the back the way things are now. It is always a balance between happy utilitarian usability, and aesthetics.

Thanks again, for your excellent perspective on things.

Best regards, Peter

[TobyB]

I used some black 'indoor/outdoor' carpet and pretty routinely made junkyard runs with mine.  It's

much more sporty than a truck and still pretty useful...

 

 

t

[M3M3]

On 2/14/2017 at 9:43 PM, tisalover said:

Wow, Esty those pictures are beautiful, and inspiring. It makes me feel much better about taking the rear out of my one car and putting a rollbar in it. Maybe I will tidy things up, I really like those pictures and that finish quality.

 

Bravo, it is so aesthetically perfect. Sincerely, Peter

There is an entire how to article on the rear seat delete in the faq articles section. ....

[M3This]

Count me in with those that say no to full cages on the street. 

 

It was always explained to me that your head against the bar in a accident is like a baseball bat against a pumpkin. As a result I cant get that image out of my mind. 

 

With that said I recommend roll bars (preferably custom and weld in). They will add proper harness mounts, offer roll over protection, and stiffen the chassis. 

[boxy02]

I don't know if a full cage (custom or otherwise) would fit with a stock, full interior. That said, I had a full custom cage welded into my car. My friend tucked it into the A pillars and roof as much as humanly possible (because I'm driving it on the street and the plan is for track days (HPDE not wheel to wheel). My interior isn't stock. If you go this route, get yourself a wink mirror so you can see all around you. The first dash I fit into the car I had to chop the ends off. It looked crappy, so on the second one, I carved out the foam and metal frame from the ends and fit it around the A bars...I think it turned out pretty good. I lowered the seat mounts a good 3" to give myself more head/helmet room. If you install a roll bar or cage, your rear seats will be useless and should be removed, no one will be sitting there anyway. Make sure you set it up (measurements) with your interior handles/window cranks to make sure you have enough room to use them. Good luck, be safe. 

Edited February 20, 2017 by boxy02