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Re: Rollbars

To: "Parlee, Brad (ED&C,SLS)" <brad.parlee@indsys.ge.com>
Subject: Re: Rollbars
From: James Barrett <jamesbrt@mindspring.com>
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1998 22:41:18 -0400
At 04:52 PM 9/16/98 -0400, you wrote:
>I saw Larry's nice chrome roll bar and it reminded me that I wanted to get
>one.
...
>Any inf. on Safety factors?

        Be aware that some "roll bars" for Tigers are
completely  unsafe!  The bar is sometimes made in two pieces
and then welded together in the middle (and then ground off smooth).
I assume this is because it is easier to bend the two
pieces  than try to get the bends correct on a single
bar.
    I found this problem when I was installing my bar and I 
broke it in two. (Just trying to line up the mounting holes.)
The weld that broke had not pentrated even 1/16" and the
grinding took most of that away.
  I had purchased the bar from a prior Tiger
owner who had not installed it.  The bar also had a 
very nice zippered padding that hid most of the bar.
    To repair the bar I ground the ends with
the failed weld to a 45 degree chamfer and inserted 
another tight fitting bar inside the two ends. I then did
a proper Arc welding to include both ends and the added
internal bar.  I did not grind the weld smooth.  I believe
the repaired bar to be safe, but I could not use it
at any formal racing as there is specific rules that
state that the bar MUST be continious.
        If you mount the roll bar (no matter how well made)
to rusty sheet metal or badly rusted frames, then you
only have a "show" bar, not a ROLL OVER bar.
        In NASCAR roll bars/roll cages must be TIG
welded.  Arc, Gas and MIG welding is not allowed.  

James Barrett Tiger II 351C and others



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