which way is easier to weld the bars to the frame of a 72 skylark, cutting access holes in the floor or lifting the body? Also the two back bars pass through back into the trunk but are between the frame rails, could I weld a steel brace between the rear frame rails and then weld the bars to that? I had someone weld a 6 pt roll bar into my car and all they did was weld it to 6 x 6 steel plates that were welded to the floor. What I am left with is either cutting the bars at the plates and rewelding to the frame or starting over with a new bar kit which I would rather not do $ . Any thoughts. Thanks, Brad
In installing accessories on Ford super duty trucks in the past,,, the factory told us to drill and bolt rather than well because welding softens the frame at the site and can cause it to break.... then on the rail road, if track men welded a rail for some reason , it would break just down the edge of the welded section.... and in construction work it is illegal to weld on a building frame.... I would drill and bolt...
The plates welded to the floor, and the bar welded to the plate is NHRA legal I believe. that is what we did. on the front bars, Tyler cut holes in floor pan to expose the frame.
My car goes to the chassis building guy for a 10 point cage next month. According to what we read in the NHRA rules,if it's a full frame car the main hoop and front bars have to be welded to the frame.The rear 6x6 plates in the trunk are legal to weld the rear trunk bars to. I am having them cut the area around and remove the piece so the bar can be totally welded to the frame. He is making sheetmetal plates with a hole in them and sliding it up the bars and then will weld back to the floor. I will use silicone to seal the around the bar and the hole in the plate so the body can flex and not tear the floor up.
Thanks guys, that was my understanding of the rules also. Full frame car, must be welded to the frame. I also thought that the bars into the trunk area must be welded to the frame also? My bad for letting someone weld it in that has had only limited experience with roll bars/cages. Now I have to make it right, want to be legal at any track I go to. Thanks, Brad
You are correct, even the trunk bars need to be welded to the frame, on a full frame car, to be "legal". The 6" in. plate deal is for uni body cars, my trunk bars were this way, cut them out and rebent the bars and welded them to the frame to be legal to run quicker than 9.99, I also had someone who didn't know the rules put in my roll bar, as the car went faster, I ended up redoing it into a legal cage... Not sure how your track tech. guys are, you are better off doing it per the rules, and never have that be a problem while getting teched.. Like someone else mentioned, use sheet metal to patch around the holes thru the floor, pop rivets and silicone..If you plan on going quicker than 9.99, cage has to be certified, that's where they check the wall thickness of the tubing, might want to keep that in mind too..... Gary G.
Thanks for the replies, 1 more question. Since the bars in the trunk meet the floor about 3 inches inside the frame rails could I weld a piece of steel across the frame rails from one side of the frame to the other and then weld the bars to that piece? Seems like it should be okay but I dont want to redo it down the road. I only run 7.20s in the 1/8 so its no where near 9.99 in the 1,4 and never will be. Still, I want to be safe in case something happens. Thanks, Brad.
That should work, and be legal. I welded mine to the frame area above the coil springs. Good luck. Gary G.
could you show us a pic of your trunk. i was thinking the cage had to go back further than that. thanks
