Well I finally started to put the S&W roll bar kit in the T-bird. This is a fair amount of work and bending around for me. I took out all the interior and also most of the stock sound deadener. The sound deadener filled up half the garbage car and probably weigh close to 40 pounds. The carpet also has very thick sound deadener that I will remove most of. Should be a lot louder in the next time I drive her. I also found a manual seat track for the driver's side and this will save 15 or so pounds. I got a set of cloth seats but they were only 3 pounds lighter than the leather seats so I'm going to stick with the stock leather seats for now.
For some reason I can only find 6 of the 8 plates that came with the car; not sure if I lost them or they did not send them. I still need to order the swing away kit for the door bars so I guess I will have them send two more when I order this. I have not used the mig welder for a while but my welds are improving throughout the day. The stock floorboards are very thin and it's a bit a trouble not burning holes.
So far I got the floor all cleaned (with the help of my daughter's boyfriend), four out of 8 plates welded in, the main bar in, and the two back support bars. I have the door bar fitted but they are just laying there, and I need to fit the two rear lateral support bars that will tie into the top of my upper control arms.
Any advice on what seat-belts to get? And how to hook them up?
Anyway I have a lot to do but at least I started.
The pictures kind of got posted backwards. No more backseat in the future and I'm going to do some tin work back there also.
TED
Couple more pictures, I will post more later as I proceed with the project.
Nice work. When I had my S&W kit mocked up(never got fully installed) I had my main hoop sitting rearward more. It was almost right against the rear seat ledge.
If you are going with 5pt harnesses, you have two choices. They have wrap around style, pretty self explanatory. You can also have bolt in, but will need to weld tabs onto the crossbar. You can use the factory bolt holes for the other two attachment points. The crotch strap can be secured through the floor under the seat front.
Keep in mind that wrap around harnesses are no longer legal for NHRA competition...Just my .02 Bar looks good so far !!!
are you rolling the weld off the plate onto the floor? that should help with not burning through.
also, are you planning on reinstalling the rear panels? the rear seat looks to be taking a permanent vacation, too.
There are standards (NHRA) that the cross bar have to be and the distance from the
back of the seat.
So if you have a very strict track tech you might want to check in to that before you
get to far along.
Just my 2cents.
This. The NHRA rule book is invaluable for all the specs/measurements for bars.
Great looking work.Now,I would like to get the seats from you.You really need racing seats.I need yours.
I believe it was an amendment a few years back but someone can correct me if im wrong.
I would like to know for sure since my rule book is a few years old and I don't have tabs welded on my crossbar.
Ill do a bit of research for you and let you know. Im glad this thread popped up. I have to re-certifiy my harnesses in my 93 LX.
I have been working on the project and just about done except for the fat man swing out kit and seat belt mounts. The seat belts are on back order and have not came yet. I put the short bars in the back towards the upper control arms but now I look at it I should have moved them out a bit more to the side and up a little, but they still look good.
The reason I did not go back more with my main loop is that it made it easier to weld all the way around. Also it put it closer to my helmet to make sure I was withing the 6 inch range.
I also did some tin work (22ga sheetmetal) beween the trunk and interior. I still need to seal it good but I think it came out pretty good.
I also decided to go with race seats to save weight and sit me a bit lower in the car. I got a good buy on a used set but I can't believe how cheap they are and that these are NHRA legal. They are all worried about safety but these have just four bolts in the bottom held by one layer of thin plastic. Without the top bolt to the crossbar they would be useless.
I have my daughter's boyfriend helping me (he's 20) and doing a good job learning how to weld and manufacture stuff. It is nice to have company; my two boys don't seem to take an interest and this is kind of a bummer. But they do good in other ways and in the long run they are probably a lot smarter than I.
Anyway everything take a lot longer than it is suppose to and at least it starting to come together.
Tomorrow I leave for Palm Spings for a week and I guess I will have to take a ride up to Apple Valley to see the boys at MTS. Don't have anything to buy but it's always nice to see what's new.
My friend has wrap around belts he just purchased last year and he have not heard that they are not legal. Also they still sell them so I think they are still okay. The ones I purchased are bolt in just in case.
TED
You're doing very good work. It looks fantastic. Just make sure you have the latest version of the rules so you don't do anything you have to UNDO later.
Are swing-a-ways legal for the racing you'll be doing? I'm in the process of doing an SCCA-style cage, and they are not legal.
Chris
Coincidentally, Popular Hot Rodding is running an article on a custom 10-point cage in a fox mustang. They mention that the NHRA requires the main hoop to be X and Y from Driver as well as the accurate position of the door bars. PM me with your email if you are intrested and I will scan the 4 page article for you.
Cam
Thanks, I sent you my email.
Since this is a roll bar designed for 10.0 I don't think I need to do this but it would be good to read the artical to make sure. They keep on changing the rules and it's very hard to keep up.
I also need to get a locking transmission dip stick this year. I do need to order the most reacent rule book; like I think they may have chaged so you need SFI pants with nitrous as well as a jacket.
The swing outs are legal for drag racing.
No big updates on the car lately due to family medical problems (mom) but I hope to start again next week-end.
TED
with aftermarket seat you will need a brace ran to the top of the back side of the seats.
The tab you see on the cross bar is for this purpose. Still have to weld two more for the belts. I don't think I would trust the stock mount on aftermarket seats for any use.
TED
Thanks Camertbird for the PDF it came out great. I see what you are saying now and it was great to see how they are doing it. They welded the kick down bars to the subframe conectors through the factory drain holes and I don't know if this is the best place in my mind. Mine go back to the upper control arms and to me this is a better place to reduce the flex. Right or wrong either way has nothing to do with NHRA rules. Almost temping to do both but I don't think I would gain much.
It says that the cross bar behind the driver should not be more than 4 inches below the driver's shoulders. For mine I used my daughter's boyfriend for a model and set the height and it turns out that he sits lower in the saddle than I even though we are the same height so for him it was 3 inches and me 5 inches. I had to make the seats a bit lower to make up for this.
Also it says that the main loop should be no more than 6 inches above the driver's head and no less than 3 inches. The 3 inch mark is impossible to achieve in most cars, especially in a fox body due to the low roof. My head hits the head liner with a stock seat and helmet on.
These rules are kind of crazy and I do not see how you would make a car fit every driver. All I can do is do the best I can and hope the tech person agrees.
Mine is an 8 point roll bar and you need a 5 point for 10 and up. I may kick my self in the long run for not do the halo loop for a 10 point and legal to 8 but I don't plan at this time to go that fast. Once you are 10 and below the whole game changes and in my mind it looses a lot of the fun. Also I'm keeping this street legal even though I plan to drive it very little on the street.
TED
I reviewed the instructions that came with the roll bar. The 3 to 6 inch rule is how far the main loop is from the back of the helmet. It can't be closer that 3 inches because the driver could hit his head on it on roll-over and if it was more than 6 than the roof could cave in on the driver and it would not be any good. This make sense to me. I also understand it has to be higher than the head but you are limited by the stock height of the roof-line how far you can go.
TED
The distance is gonna depend on your track tech because every driver is a different size . Most tech guys just eyeball it anyway unless you are going really fast and need to be NHRA certified . Here is a shot of my bar .
(http://[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/Siggy1265/rollbar1.jpg)[/IMG]
I like the green in some ways I wished I painted mind a different color; but black is easy. I do wished I purchased red belts to make them easier to find.
Some more pictures, I'm done now and also have the old crippled guy swing out bars installed.
Been raining like crazy here but I did get to take it out for about 5 miles yesterday, it is a monster now with the new headers and a little less weight. Even the race seats make it feel faster since it drives you back in a hard seat. But the final answer will not be till I get to the track. Hope to go on the 23rd.
TED
A couple more. Even have a new 10 gallon fuel cell now. Driving this car now on the road just feels wrong.
TED