No, I'm not so concerned about the roll bar *adjusting* itself. It's bolted
extremely well and very solid. My worries would be more along the fact that
the bar could be, and should be, mounted solid to the frame. It's mounted to
the wheel housing right now, which is not as solid as I would like to see it.
I'd never consider altering the shape of the soft top. The top is part of the
design of the car.
The roll bar is always up and solidly in place when the top is erected. It's
designed to fit perfectly under the rag top.
The way I see it, any such a device will help in case of an accident. The more
solid it's mounted, the better the chances of protecting the driver and
passenger.
When driving an old convertible, we all take risks.
Cheers
Liv
From: Chris & Kelly Sharp
To: Spitlist
Sent: Sunday, January 25, 2004 5:56 PM
Subject: RE: >>NASS "Adjustable" roll bar?
Interesting thread.
I'd be a little concerned that the bar might "adjust" it's self during a
roll over event, which would be worse than having a bar that's a little
short. Additionally, it won't do you any good when the top is up and the
bar is in the down position. A short bar will at least give you room to
live, even it you loose some hair in the process.
However, there are other options to consider. I recall a Grass Roots
Motorsport article several years ago about building a racing Spitfire with
a
Mazda rotary engine. They used an exceptionally tall roll bar and had a
custom top made to cover it. It was functional and looked OK, but
definitely not stock. You could probably get a local automotive
upholsterer
to build one for you at a reasonable cost.
Cheers
Chris Sharp
'64 Spitfire4
'80 TR8
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