Roll Bars

Rat Rods Rule

Help Support Rat Rods Rule:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
May 12, 2007
Messages
219
My rol bar main hoop is made and sitting in the garage waiting to be installed. After reading Dons post it has moved to the top of the list of things to do.I just parked Ratzilla until some issues are corrected. Too many to list and too many too ignore.I was putting driving "fun" over safety.Here is how I plan to do my RB :main hoop behind seats , anchor bar running along side seats to front .will also give me some side protection. Also a mini hoop in front under the dash. this front hoop will become part of my roadster rollbar when I run with the top off next year. The frame of my roadster windshield will actually be a roll bar hoop anchored to the mini hoop under the dash. Plan on 2 bars running front to back for added stability.I guess a roll bar is like insurance,you dont need it till you need it.LFE
 
that sounds great, if it wont mess up the look too much add some roll bar padding to the side bars and under dash. you can really get thrown around in a wreck and solid steel bar can do more damage then good if it hits you.
 
Good thinking LFE, we've kinda gotten used to having you around here. :D:D

Here is another picture from that same thread. Lady was thrown clear, good thing, the T is upside down against the guard rail. :eek::eek:

I'm a little concerned about my Son Don getting his T running. It is putting out some pretty stout HP, and he has a heavy foot sometimes. One morning he put his '03 Mach I into a ditch when he redlight raced a Camaro and it got away from him. I am going to sit him down and show him all these wrecked T pictures and have a talk with him. These things can get real squirrelly real fast.

Don
 

Attachments

  • guardrail.jpg
    guardrail.jpg
    31.2 KB
that sounds great, if it wont mess up the look too much add some roll bar padding to the side bars and under dash. you can really get thrown around in a wreck and solid steel bar can do more damage then good if it hits you.
I agree. I was running a 62' Nova at the track. Rolled the car through the lights at 117 mph. I had a 6 point bar with no padding. I ended up cracking my Bell Helmet. :eek:
 
some more of my thoughts

Dont know what Im going to do with my thoughts about cars and safety. Only throw them out as food for thought and to hear what others have to say ,lets hear it - agree or disagree.No matter what we say about the various car makers style or marketing concepts , they all spend a lot of money and time trying to make their vehicles safe.They do this after much testing and crashing of their vehicles.They pay lots of smart people to do nothing but work on making the vehicles safe. Then along comes me , built a few customs ,mostly bolt on stuff and bondo. I read a little , study whats beeing done and in 5 months in my garage with a couple of guys just like me we make a truck.No tests , no computer models,no wind tunnels , no safety track record , basicly a wing and a prayer . As i was laying in bed the other night reviewing this show season and chiding my self for basicly having a trailer queen I said to my self "you are scared of it arent you".Most evey show i have gone too I have had my grandson with me and Im really not ready to take the responibility of having his young life in my hands. However if its not safe for him , is it safe for me ? Am I being paranoid here ? Having done my share of stupid things for over 70 years Im wondering is my luck is gonna run out.There are enough things out there beyond my control to end my life ,I sure dont want to be the cause. Seat belts , roll bars , padding ,check and re check the welds the nuts the tires the lugs and on and on am I being too cautious. If you have been there in your thoughts how did you resolve it.Is pretty good ,good enough?
 
it's good to think about it. you can't assume everything will be ok. Personally, i have alot of these thoughts as i think of chopping my truck a ridiculous amount. it will look cool, but will I be able to fit through the window if the doors get all mangled in a crash? i could be building my own coffin.

build it as safe as you can. you can die in any car anywhere. seatbelts, roll bar, good brakes, safety glass. then drive safe. after that there isn't much else you can do besides give up the hobbie. Take your grandson for a 15 minute cruise in a nice area, trailer it on long trips. i'm not sure what else you can do.
 
Okay, I'll weigh in. I understand where you are coming from LFE. When I look back at some of the unsafe things I did when I was younger, I feel lucky to still be around. I don't look at situations with the same wreckless disregard as I used to. With that being said, I try to build my projects with safety in mind as I go. But that is geared more towards chassis strength, rigid mounts, and good reliable parts. Unless I plan on my build being raced or race ready, or I need it for added chassis rigidity, I don't install a roll bar or cage. Of course, I ride a motorcycle too, so I may see things differently. I see no problem at all with someone wanting to put a roll bar in their rod if they want that added degree of safety. It's a good idea as far as I'm concerned. Especially if you want the piece of mind that loved ones travelling in your ride will be safe. There was a local dentist here a while back that would purchase a new mini-van every couple of years. The first thing he did after taking delivery was take the van to aone of the race chassis shops and have a full perimeter cage installed just for added safety his children.

I don't worry too much when I'm driving in my hot rods. I just enjoy them knowing that I built it as safe as I could within reason. I can't control the surrounding unknown variables.
 
I think you guys have covered everything. The only thing I could offer here is to suggest a "Shake Down List". Make a list of thingd that you want to check out before you take your grandson for a ride. No matter how insignificant it may seem. Number each item 1- 1000 if you have to. Start at the top and work your way down. If an item can even be considered "Questionable", fix it and move to the very next one.
Don't skip around.

When you get done, Enjoy the ride and the time with the grandson.
 


Write your reply...

Latest posts

Back
Top