Bugeye roll bar advice

[The_architect]

Gundy,
Did you have your tonneau custom made to fit around the roll bar, or was it modified by a shop for you? It's nice.
Charlie

 

[RickB]

My 2 cents FWIW

I've been in some accidents in my driving career. (none lately!!)
I pretty much stopped counting at 40.

Motorcycle's, MG's, work van, pickup, etc...

I've been hit by pretty much everything out there, from tractors to tractor trailers.
This is not something I'm bragging about, but I can safely say I've had ample experience at the whole "instinct" thing.
Also due to my experiences I've adopted a bit of a mantra when teaching kids how to drive.

"See that place under the dash - if the car is rolling you want to be in there"

It's been proven that if you have thought through an experience you are far more likely to do what you have thought out during an emergency.

Ok, all that to say - my experience has been that once I feel I am no longer in control I have always tried to find the center of the vehicle and get anyone else in the vehicle to safety as well. You have good instincts, don't ignore them.

 

[mightymidget]

No joking that is very good advice that I have used myself

 

[twas_brillig]

We had a pretty amateur hour (ie kinked in the bends) roll bar in the Bug-Eye years ago; it was really handy for hauling 4x4s and such for building fences..
Seriously: we've got lap belts at the moment; when we finally get her back on the road, I'll be getting a legitimate racing spec type roll bar bent (guesstimate from the shop is $ 600 Cdn),ideally with diagonals going back to the wheel arches in the rear and a horizontal brace from side to side just above the rear trim, and mounts to put three point belts in.
I don't expect to ever roll the wee beastie, but I am concerned about getting t-boned in an intersection or otherwise laterally crushed by an SUV changing lanes - with the roll bar and the horizontal brace, I might lose an arm but neck/spine etc. should survive. I'll give the shop the top support and ask that they fit it as closely as possible; our amateur hour bar didn't impact seat movement. We'll also look at putting a high mount LED brake light on the horizontal, and a wind screen as well.
Gundy - where did you get the wind wings?
(We also have a Meyers Manx style dune buggy with a double loop roll cage and side bars, just below the top of the body and about hip/waist height. Again - not worried about rolling it, but I expect to survive a t-bone crash. And the double loop is better for hauling 12 ft timbers than our 1 ton long box dually.)
Doug

 

[Gundy]

Gundy,
Did you have your tonneau custom made to fit around the roll bar, or was it modified by a shop for you? It's nice.
Charlie

It's a standard tonneau. You have to install the snaps and stuff yourself which I did with the help of a friend.
I had an upholstery shop do the cutouts for the bar and stitch
some edging around the cut out. I think they charged like $20 to do it. Putting those snaps and things in is a bit of a pain but we took our time and were pleased with the results.

 

[Gundy]

Doug,
I got the wind wings from the previous owner. Guy had all sorts of NOS Amaco stuff. He sometimes sells the stuff on E-Bay.
TR4a-Bugeye is his E-Bay handle. Nice guy.
I bought the 2 Hs4s w/ intake from him recently.