Rollbar for a Bugeye

[twas_brillig]

Who has a rollbar in their bugeye? purchased from?

Ideally, I'd like to find one that would meet racing type specifications; fit without interfering with the seats and the top; and provide a mounting point for putting a three point seatbelt in. I've had a roll cage made up for the dune buggy, but the local shop isn't in business anymore. And I'm more worried about being t-boned than rolling the car.

Thanks!

Doug

 

[aeronca65t]

Try these guys:

https://www.autopowerindustries.com/applicationlist.asp

Call them for more specifics (your car is listed under "MG/Austin")

 

[xbimmer]

I've got one from my first Bugeye...a '60 which I found in St. Louis years ago. Took it out and it is still in the garage. Have my '59 Bugeye now but don't think I'll ever use it. Have no need for it so I am willing to part with it. I don't know if this is what you need or not. Will try to get a pic of it for ya. It fits under the cloth as well as a hard top. Mounts in 4 spots.

 

[bill_young]

Usually bars that will clear the top are too short to comply with most racing rules. As far as mounting points for the belts etc, it's easy to add a diagonal and cross bar to even the basic hoops and use those for mounting the belts. That's what I did in my Midget. I also added what's called a Petty bar from the main hoop forward to the frame rail at the side of the transmission to help stiffen the cockpit area. I used an original aftermarket bar and modified the mountings and added the straight support pieces to fit, it wasn't too difficult to do.

 

[twas_brillig]

Xbimmer: you should have (hopefully!) a pm from me.

Bill Y: can you remember where you you bought the original aftermarket bar? and does your bar anchor to the rear wheel wells, or only with the Petty bar?

And I knew that keeping the top of the bar under the top wouldn't provide enough vertical for racing rules, but forgot to qualify my original note: I just want the steel quality, wall thickness, and bending to be fully legit.

Thanks for the responses!

Doug

 

[bill_young]

My original bar was one I bought at a swap meet for $15 as I remember. I think it was originally designed for a B and I had to modify the legs and make new mounting plates for them. I did mount the main hoop to the wheel wells, with the rear struts to each frame rail member just behind the axle line and the front Petty bar to the right side frame member alongside the transmission about even with the front door edge. It's probably not going to pass "tech" with the SCCA but should do fine at the local autocross. I checked the wall thickness and material, it was seamless steel tubing .125" thick and I bought straight tubing for the pieces I added in the same dimension. That's a bit heavier than I believe the SCCA rules require, but I'm running a street car and not overly concerned with weight. I was planning on autocrossing the car when I built it, so I bought a copy of the SCCA Solo rule book and built the bar and car to those specs as much as possible. I set the height to just clear the folding top mechanism on my car, so it seems a bit short when compared to the hard top.

 

[Jim_Gruber]

UPS will ship those across country BTW. Mine came from CA will just a shipping label taped to the top of the bar. Cost was < $50 several years ago.