Roll Bar Question

[loud91rs]

Tom, per what we talked about on the phone with my roll bar, I decided to take a picture and see what you think. I will be taking my car in for the sub frame connector install soon, but if this needs attention as well I will wait to save up some more money and get it all done at once. Otherwise the car runs now and I should be ready very soon if this does not need attention. Will this weld pass safety? Before any of you flame me the car was bought this way lol.

[Russ Jerome]

Both NHRA and IHRA read the same:

"Welding must be free of slag and porosity. Any grinding of welds prohibited."

No flaming on whoever did weld it, they tried but thats a pretty cold weld and the raised portions could be deamed slag.

[loud91rs]

That's what I figured. Looks like I'll have to save some more money and hopefully just go with a new 10 point.

[Russ Jerome]

I wouldnt hesitate to remove that surface and re-weld it if the tubing is correct. If it was burnt thru and coverd I would ditch it but it doesnt look like it even got hot.

[wrath]

I'd just bust out the cutoff wheels and the die grinder then re-weld. Looks like whoever bent and notched it did a good job but then it looks like someone sewed up a cow's ass with a grapevine. Are there any other bad welds? Or does this guy weld like me where by the time he got near the end of the project the welds were beautiful but the first ones were embarrassing?

Honestly, seen better, done worse. Looks fixable to me.

[loud91rs]

It is a kit from competition engineering.

[loud91rs]

Most of the rest look better. Seemed like it was a hard spot for the guy or something. The rear bars that are flat look good.

[Top Fuel Tom]

Plenty of people out there that would say it's OK to grind and weld that. There are also plenty of people, including me, that would say it's not OK to grind and weld that. Bottom line, a roll bar is a saftey device. If it comes loose in a crash it becomes a weapon.

I had a car in my shop a couple of years ago that had a cage in it with welds that looked a little, but not much better than your cage. He wanted me to remove the door bars because he was only going to street drive the car. As I was cutting the tube down by the floor plate it broke loose at the cage joint. This cage had an NHRA cert on it! The car came from Texas so, somewhere in Texas there is a NHRA tech that thinks the welds on that cage were fine. I guess opinions vary.

[loud91rs]

Tom do you think you could pm me with a guess as to how much you would want to remove the roll bar?

[Top Fuel Tom]

Tom do you think you could pm me with a guess as to how much you would want to remove the roll bar?

I'll give you a call.

[loud91rs]

Sounds good! I am trying to weigh out my options right now and reguardless it seems as though the right thing to do is to get rid of it. As of now the car is probably a high 12 car, but this is just the motor I bought the car with. We all know how plans always change!