Rollbar fabrication...cost?

[bmwpower]

Anyone make rollbars? What would it cost to make something like this?... I know bad pict, but it's all I got. What are my options (ie, metal type)? Would this pass state inspection?

I may be coming into a new project and might need a rollbar in my convertible... :pimpflash

http://home.comcast.net/~bmwpower/cabriorollbar.jpg

[Vicegrip]

Roll bar costs can be all over the road. Much of the cost can be in the time spent on the small details of mount point fabrication and the like. If you have a commonly tracked model of car an off the shelf bar is most often cheaper than a custom made bar. Sometimes it pays to start with an off the shelf bar and then tweak it to suit your tastes or needs.

I would likely charge about 1K for a good well made but simple bar that runs to real points and not just to the floor. You can easily spend 10+ hours bending up and fitting a good one off bar not counting any paint finishing. BTW the bar pictured has a design issue showing that some on track organizations might pick on. The diagonal is not terminated in the corner of the main hoop. It also does not have a harness attachment cross bar. The pictured bar is also set quite close the the drivers head and this would make it less safe for street use as you do not have a helmet on for street drivng and the soft foam covering does Nothing to protect your head during a wreck and a rollover is far less likely than just a wreck. In this case a bar could make the car less safe overall.

[bmwpower]

Wow. Good info Vicegrip. I definitely wouldn't want to make things worse with a rollbar. I'm wanting one for protection.

I wonder why this bar was not made to the "track" specs you mentioned. Seems like it wouldn't be that much harder to do.

Roll bar costs can be all over the road. Much of the cost can be in the time spent on the small details of mount point fabrication and the like. If you have a commonly tracked model of car an off the shelf bar is most often cheaper than a custom made bar. Sometimes it pays to start with an off the shelf bar and then tweak it to suit your tastes or needs.

I would likely charge about 1K for a good well made but simple bar that runs to real points and not just to the floor. You can easily spend 10+ hours bending up and fitting a good one off bar not counting any paint finishing. BTW the bar pictured has a design issue showing that some on track organizations might pick on. The diagonal is not terminated in the corner of the main hoop. It also does not have a harness attachment cross bar. The pictured bar is also set quite close the the drivers head and this would make it less safe for street use as you do not have a helmet on for street drivng and the soft foam covering does Nothing to protect your head during a wreck and a rollover is far less likely than just a wreck. In this case a bar could make the car less safe overall.

[Vicegrip]

Wow. Good info Vicegrip. I definitely wouldn't want to make things worse with a rollbar. I'm wanting one for protection.

I wonder why this bar was not made to the "track" specs you mentioned. Seems like it wouldn't be that much harder to do.

True you would think it is not much harder but some folks build for looks or without careful study. It might not be a bad bar but there are things that could have been a bit better for the same materal and effort.
Look at some pro built race cars and you will often see the same design aspects regardless of car. BMW, Porsche, GM or Dodge, physics and energy absorption is the same. The only laws you can't break are Newton's. might be worth the time to check in at the SCCA website. SCCA has some of the more extensive and detailed rules on cages. You can often learn "why" from the rules.

I fully understand the desire to add rollover protection to a convertible. Yours is a good idea and I bet it can be done and without a lot of machination, money or complex install. Geometric design strength, solid mounting points that are as strong as the bar and up to the task and functional separation from the humans it is there to protect.

It might be worth the time to find a fabricator that builds SCCA legal or better race cars. I bet you can find a good off the shelf bar too.

If not you can also go the tuner route. ;) There was/is a company called Monkey Bars or something like it that sold fake roll bars and roll cages for street tuner type cars. They were made from PVC tubing and you were to cut and fit the PVC tubing and then glue/screw attachment feet to the dash and floor boards as needed then covered it all in foam to make it look real. :wtf:

[bmwpower]

Who would have thought Advance Auto Parts would have some info on their site:

http://www.advanceautoparts.com/english/youcan/asp/pht/pht20040301rb.asp

[bluesman2a]

Tube? Yeah I do tube... My last big project... It's a LITTLE more involved than that.
http://www.sjmembers.com/gallery/albums/album37/DSCF0015.sized.jpg

Vicegrip has some good info, I would add also, if you are thinking of joining a racing association, get a copy of the sanctioning body's rules (they can all be different) and study them before you have any kind of custom work done.

Another source you may not have previously considered is a GOOD offroad shop, many have fabricators that live and breathe tube, if they understand exactly what you want, they can probably build it cheaper. By comparison, a grand in the offroad world gets you a full 6-8 point cage for a Jeep. The key is getting somebody you are comfortable with working on the car, and who's work you can check out in advance. I can't TELL you the number of tube-butchers out there.

[erda]

These guys are on the other side of the continent from you, but you may get some ideas from them. They may be able to point you in the direction of someone on the east coast.

http://www.davesport.com/cgi-bin/davesport/

erda

[TNToy]

Drive down to Memphis, and I'll build you one. :D

You'll want to build it out of DOM. Most likely a 1.50" X .120 wall tube for internal vehicle rollcages.

I build most of my stuff out of 1.75 x .120 DOM or HREW, but that's for larger, heavier offroad trucks.

[bmwpower]

Drive down to Memphis, and I'll build you one. :D

You'll want to build it out of DOM. Most likely a 1.50" X .120 wall tube for internal vehicle rollcages.

I build most of my stuff out of 1.75 x .120 DOM or HREW, but that's for larger, heavier offroad trucks.

I hope you know I might take you up on that. I have some family in TN. :)

[wayfast]

wow, weird to come here and see someone's car who i know. not you, but syko's e30