roll bar

does anyone know of a functional roll bar or seat belt bar that can be mounted in a vintage speedster? i am looking for manufacturers as well as mounting points...

thanks.
george

I explored this route when I first got my speedy. The cost and the fact that these cars are not likely to roll over lead to get some three points installed and call it a day. In order to properly mount the bars you are looking at some serious work if you car is already completed. In addition, you need to make sure that they clear you head or you will be hitting that with your head.

Some people like the way the look though. Good luck.

i just mounted 4-point belts and i'm looking for them to function properly. ideally, i would like the bar that goes just below shouder height across the back seats so that the shoulder straps could pass behind it and give me proper tension. does anyone know of a manufacturer for this???

Just find a local welder - preferably one that builds roll cages or can bend decent thickness tubing. You won't find them already manufactured --- although the CMC one would be a good start. It just .needs some mounting pads welded into the sub frame (which is quite sturdy.

When you say "functional roll bar" I think SCCA spec, legal for track days or vintage racing. For that, check your sanctioning body for requirements. I think most of us have "cosmetic roll bars". That means, it might help in a roll-over, but don't plan on suing the manufacturer if it fails in an accident. (Ford Motor calls them "bed protectors" when you see a dealer installed light bar in a pickup bed.)

JPS might sell you one, as many of his customers seem to like them. Padded or chrome available. His cars also feature a nice three point retracting belt system. He may offer others as well.

Hi George,

A serious partial cage costs serious money. It'll need to be custom fit to your car with the top up and have to be welded to reinforced "feet" since a simple plate will tear right through a VW pan in a mishap. The rear drop bars will have to pass through the fiberglass bulkhead and meet up with the frame horns to be of any good at all, then those horns will have to be tied into the shock mounts as well. The seat belt horizontal will have to have a diagonal attached to it. (For NHRA/NOPI drag racing the horizontal is uninterrupted with split diagonals. For SCCA racing, just the opposite, the diagonal is uninterrupted with a split horizontals.)

Do you want a REAL poncho or a Sears poncho? Lemme know and I can hook you up. We weld full cages, bars, seat mounts, door bars, and door net mounts all the time for SCCA cars. DOM or regular tubing, any OD up to 2.25 inches.

If you need to see some of the work, we have a couple of SCCA cars and just finished up a NHRA Beetle for the NOPI Nationals Series that you can look at. The shop is in Carver, MA.

If you really want something done, lemme know. It's never cheap, but it'll be worth it.

TC, methinks you must be a Zappa fan.

guys,

the only purpose for this "roll bar" is for my 4 point belt to have something to pass by so that the force on my shoulders is in the more horizontal direction, rather than straight to the floor vertical.

Oh . . . . then you just want a seat belt bar. A LOT of guys with MGBs have them installed. It goes from side to side at the level of the tops of the doors, sits just rearward of the extreme seat adjustment and the seat belts drape over it to help to keep from compressing the driver's shoulders. It's also cool for supporting the tonneau cover.

That's just a bar with brackets welded to the ends, Easy Peasy.

you hit the nail on the head, tc. looks like a custom thing. in that case, here's a good question: does anyone have any photos of a v.s. before the shell was put on so i can see exactly where the steel box goes in the rear...that would be the likely attachment point.