Roll bar for BE or not?

[198686d]

Wise ones:

What's the consensus on installing a rool bar on a BE. I never have the top on. I do, periodically, drive her fast...on tight, curvy roads.

Do roll bars help if the car indeed "rolls"? Do roll bars lower the value of the car? What about the smaller arch shaped (I'm from St. Louis) roll bars for both passenger and driver.

Thanks in advance for your help.

dave

 

[Trevor Jessie]

Oh dread, another can of worms. :wink:

These cars are safer if you keep them right side up.

 

[Jim_Gruber]

If it indeed a true roll bar and not one of those dress up items like what is seen on Miata's. Roll bar needs to be properly installed. I've seen the results of a Spridget getting T-Boned when a Buick went through a Stop sign. Roll Bar allowed the Spridget to slide sideways instead of having the Buick go over the top. My '68 with a BE front end has had a rollbar installed ever since.

BTW, UPS will ship no box just a shipping label.

 

[bill_young]

Dave, I have a roll bar in my Midget and although it's shorter than I'd like so that I can still get the top on I'd rather have it than nothing. I've never been close to having the car on it's top, but if it ever occurs I feel better knowing that there's something to give me some survival room. You can either buy one of the ready made bolt in bars such as offered by VB or have a custom bar made up a one of the local race shops. I'm sure that someone like John Mangles would know where you can get one built. The small double hoop bars look neat, but most seem to lack the bracing to prevet them folding to the side or back. What I'd recommend is one main hoop with a diagonal inner brace and rear braces for support.

 

[theleisure]

another thing to consider is insurance. believe it or not, having a roll bar on my sprite disqualifies me from certain lower priced brackets with state farm insurance.

**edit after Jim's comment below** Jim-- I don't have off street parking available and that factor makes my car unfit for specialty insurers. I agree, anybody who qualifies for them absolutely should get their insurance.****

 

[Jim_Gruber]

Yes but Specialty Insurers like Hagerty and others don't worry about things like roll bars and $125 a year for $4,500 agreed value on my '68 including towing is pretty doggone good.

 

[tony barnhill]

Any roll bar that's lower than your head is just window dressing! To properly install a roll bar for protection, it must be at least 2" above your head - then, you can't put your top up.

So, if you do install a window dressing roll bar, it might help or it might not or it might injure you in a roll over!

 

[Bob Claffie]

Everybody knows the windshield will collapse in a roll-over so the smart guideline is to draw a line from the base of the windshield and the top of the roll-bar and see if you will fit under it. If not, you are just kidding yourself. Bob

 

[bthompson]

Well that's just unsettling. :eeek:

 

[mightymidget]

I can tell you from experience that a roll over in a MG Miget is tuff. I rolled one at after trying to taking a left curve too fast.

the car lost control and during the slids it broke two of the after market mags on left side, causing it to flip upside down over an embankment, clipping through a small tree and landing top down in a swamp.

The top and windsheild flattened/gone. luck would have it that the muudy swamp saved me. I was dragged out of my seatbelt between trunk and mud. The thing that hurt me the most was the metal round frame in the seat back. It openned up the back of my head pretty good.

Roll bars are good but a roll bar with struts is a lot better

 

[198686d]

I'm sure that someone like John Mangles would know where you can get one built. The small double hoop bars look neat, but most seem to lack the bracing to prevet them folding to the side or back. What I'd recommend is one main hoop with a diagonal inner brace and rear braces for support. [/quote]


Bill, I'll ask John tomorrow when I go to pick up my car. I'm sure John can do this work, and he'll tell me if he thinks it's the right thing to do. I understand your point about the double arches being vulnerable. thanks for the help.........dave

 

[198686d]

Yes, it is unsettling...or captivating or decapitative

 

[aeronca65t]

Ask the guys at ~Autopower~ if their street bar will fit under your top. Since it's a Bugeye (with pack-a-way frame), it's easier to get a top on than the later folding-top Spridgets.

And they might be able to build one an 1" shorter or so if that's what is needed. Good company and good product.

I agree that the higher the roll bar the better (within reason), but even a roll bar that's even with your head would provide some protection (at least in my opinion).

Roll bars without braces are actually dangerous in my view and can "mousetrap" the driver. Braces are a must.

The double hoop "show bars" are mostly just for looks. The stock, double hoop factory bar in the Audi TT is not approved for any of the track-day events I go to.

Not all Miata bars are bad. Mine is a good-quality ~Hard Dog~ bar. Hope I never need it, but it's not "for show". Amazingly, it clears my folding top easily, even with the glass rear window. It went in when my car was less than a month old.

And most folks don't have adequate padding on them either. A thin leather cover looks nice but you'll still crack your head open if your head hits the bar in an accident. You should really have the correct high-density roll bar padding.

 

[bill_young]

I have to agree with the last post, remember to add adequate padding if your head can come into contact. I padded my bar, but only on the drivers side and last year when giving a friend a ride I accidently accelerated too quickly and popped his head against the bar. I'll be more careful as I usually don't have passengers, but if you do pad the entire bar. I used the foam padding that was the requirment at the time and made up my own vinyl cover which attaches with velcro strips.

 

[mrsprite]

I guess I'll have the dissenting opinion.....IMO, roll bars ruin the lines of the car and look fugly. Invest some money in the suspension, brakes & tires and your occasional jaunts on that twisty road won't be anything to worry about (and it will lessen the liklihood of rolling over.....unless you do something stupid).

I drive my Bugeye daily and at high speeds too (sometimes 100+ MPH).....I have never felt "unsafe" without a roll bar.

Just my .02 worth.

 

[twas_brillig]

I'd appreciate hearing from folks as to potential sources to buy a 'designed' roll bar for a bug-eye-- one that meets the various specifications but will also fit under the soft top (so probably not okay for racing)and ideally doesn't impact seat movement.

Our bug-eye had a DIY roll bar in it way back when, but the bar hadn't been mandrel bent so one of the curves was partially collapsed. It bolted to the floor and to the rear wheel arches; it fit inside the cockpit (ie no holes cut in the 'trunk'). We no longer have it.

Regards philosophy: we've got a Meyers Manx clone dune buggy based on a '62 VW chassis. I spent the thousand (or so) dollars to get a race shop to build a cage for it: double loops (windshield and behind seat) with side bars running just below the body on the sides. We use it for running around town a fair bit, and my concern wasn't so much rolling it as getting t-boned (per an earlier e-mail). As is, I may lose my left arm, but that Hummer that just hit me won't be able to crush the passenger cockpit.

I'm thinking of a rollbar with the Bug-Eye (and even if it's not 2" above the top of my head, it'd still be higher than the body), but probably not on our 62 AH 3000 BJ7. And we all have different (and weird!) trade-offs that we can't defend.

Later,

Doug

 

[aeronca65t]

I'd appreciate hearing from folks as to potential sources to buy a 'designed' roll bar for a bug-eye-- one that meets the various specifications but will also fit under the soft top .....

See # <span style="font-weight: bold">61360 A</span> in the Autopower link that I gave.

 

[nomad]

I used to ride and race motorcycle's. I felt safer on a track than on the street. We're more easily seen than a motorcycle and if we hit a deer or a turkey we're more likely to survive it. Percieved risk is relative. If we don't drink, rest when were tired, and only let it hang out enough to feel good on twisty roads that we're familiar with I think that is good enough. Just another opinion on roll bars! Tnx,KA