I'm thinking of putting a roll bar in my 56 Chevy. Just some thing simple, no funny car cage or any thing. My friend has a bender, so I thought I would try and bend something up. I'm not really looking to pass any kind of "offical" tech, but want it to actually do something in a crash. It mostly will be someplace to mount my seatbelts to. So whats the reconmended tube dia. and wall thickness. I'm looking to use some kind of mild steel that is easy to weld with a Mig or stick, or god forbid gas. And does any one know where to buy it in the central part of NJ or east PA? And I did try a search but did not find a roll bar specific thread, just the mention of "roll bar" a bunch of times. THANK YOU
I would think about resale as well as safety and go ahead and take the effort to install a bar that would pass tech if so be. Most drag cars go with 1-5/8" .134" wall HREW tubing and that will pass NHRA tech after the bend is made. What bender do you have, or have access to? If you have 1-3/4" bender die, just use the same thickness at .134" and bend away.
If you need to meet a sanctioning organization tech requirement, be guided by those minimums. Otherwise you can do anything you want. The following is minimum general practice: - Minimum outside diameter 1 1/2" - Minimum wall thickness of main hoop 1/8(.125)" - Mild steel(1018) DOM tubing A rollbar is good in a rollover. In a non-rollover accident(more common) it can be a liability. So, try to position the bar so your head won't contact it in an accident. And realize, you can move and stretch quite a bit in an accident. Padding the bar is better than not. But even with padding, it's still a padded steel baseball bat if you hit your head on it.
At least for the SCTA and those like ECTA who follow thier lead, they want 1 5/8 .120 wall. One place you can buy legal tubing and get it bent to your spec at a reasonable cost is Jegs. Friend of mine put a full funny car type cage in a later Chrysler/jeep pickup. Got the cage bent to his drawing and is very happy with the whole deal. And that's with shipping right to the west coast. Few more miles and he would be under water.
NHRA rules call for 1 3/4" tubing with a minimum wall thickness of .118". This means you need .134" mild steel tubing to allow for it getting thinner when you bend it. The 1 5/8" tubing is for full roll cage.
You didn't state if it was a car or truck? If its's a car you may be $$$ ahead to buy one that is made for it from a supplier, there are many of them. You say you don't care if it passes any racing organization tech, if you want it to work as intended, i think these go hand in hand.
Thinning while bending is not the issue , its because the tubing you get even tho they call it .120 wall ,really measures out at .114. The sad part is that .134 measures out at .134. Places like Morrison, Chassie Works, Jegs , S&W have compliant kits already. Most metal yards dont carry 1 5/8 .134
Ditto you might as well go with 1-3/4" x .134" wall DOM or HREW easy to Mig and will pass tech plus it will work in the worst case scenario. Pat
While there are some industry tolerance specs that manufacturers may or may not choose to adhere to, I have found that exact size and thickness vary depending on the mill producing the tubing.
Be careful when you do this. Roll bars in street cars can actually add to head injury's. Make sure to keep it as close to the body as practical, allowing for the most headroom possible. Anywhere that you might come in contact with it, use padding. Also some insurance companies have rules regarding Roll Bars in street cars, so check first.
I bought from S&W race cars for my 62 Impala, give them a call......Bought it years ago, didn't cost alot.....
VooDoo Child 56 I sent you a PM with a trusted friend and chassis builders contact info in your neck of the woods. Blind Elwood
x2!! Roll bars in street cars are quite dangerous....unless you're driving around with your helmet on. :0 ....and then you'd look like you just came off the short bus. Come to think of it, if you have a minor accident and you hit your head on the bar your new mode of transportation could be the short bus!
Good points to consider, thanks for thinking about my safety. The car is a 56 sedan delivery with a non stock frame so off the shelf may not work. Elwood, thanks for the contact but DE. is a little farther than I was hoping to go. There are a lot of Jersey race cars so I hope someone local has a contact.
Summit sells kits for a compliant rollbar for under $200. I'd just order a kit and use what you want out of it to make the rollbar.
You didn't say exactly where in NJ you were,but a great local source for plate,tubing,etc is Joseph Fazzio on the collingwood circle in Wall Twp. That's where Rt 33 and 34 run together. A coupla miles west of exit 100 on the GSP. Here's their website: http://www.jfiwall.com/
Give Gene a call at Wild Rides in Wall,He does race cars,He can do it,Very good work. Good luck,Lucky
you got Profab in Whitehouse Station - 908-591-3087 right in your backyard Hansen Racing in Middlesex - 732-748-9770 - Larry been at it for years good luck
Ive been to the glassboro location..place is huge and has just about anything you could want.. and prices are great. they might even be able to bend it for you as well. I recently was there to buy a 6 inch steel pipe to build an oil tank for my chopper.
I knew the Jersey guys would come out ofthe wood work. 40streetrod, that sticker in your avitar, was that in Union on rt22? I'm really close to Whitehouse. Iv'e also been wondering where to get general steel stuff, square tube and the like, the place in Wall sounds like the ticket.
Don't know if it's of any help . Racecrafters in Lebanon on Rt 22 use to be a source of pipe and fabrication.
save your time and money. look up S&W Racecars right across the river in Pa. they have your roll bar in a kit form I bet. buy the kid and start welding good luck wayne
Fazzio's is great. You can't see it all in one day. I've gotten a lot of square tube from them. The used equipment section is great, and the upstairs has/had a lot of hidden treasures.
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