Fox body roll bars - suggestions?

[Beagle]

There are several six point roll bars out there for the Fox body, and at current, I'm leaning towards a bolt-in.

Wolfe Race Craft has both and is local. The price difference is about 100.00 but I'm not confident in my welding so I'd rather wait until I get a little better at it before welding it to the floor.

The car doesn't need it for speed, won't be 11.49, but it wouldn't hurt it for structure. At some point I would like to make the door bars removable, but for now I can live with them.

Thoughts?

[SuperBuickGuy]

welded in bars don't rattle as much
plus, as far as welds are concerned. Flat thick plates on top of floor sheet metal is the easiest thing in the world to weld. 1) keep your torch aimed 80% at the thick top plate, 2) clean paint off both pieces, 3) tack every 4" (both corners and one in the middle)... then weld away. If you smells something burning. Stop, figure out what is burning, and extinguish... then continue welding.... easy as pie

[milner351]

Another tip on welding thick to thin - get a good puddle, then stop, move to another location, get another good puddle, then stop - keep moving around. Avoid the temptation to try to run a long bead - that invites burn through of the thinner metal. Weld 1/4" at a time. Set the welder up for a gauge between the thick and the thin pieces. You can do this.

[Beagle]

Thanks guys. The part I don't want to do is the main hoop -> rear down bars. Requires welding upside down in the car next to the headliner. Maybe I could just farm that part out. It's thick to thick and not really in shear as I understand shear.The location is what's worrying me.

I sort of like the way the Wolfe bar fits in the back -



this sort of shows my concern area:

[milner351]

Yea - that would be a concern - doing that without messing up the headliner would be tricky.

That's a bolt together joint on the bolt in bars? If yes - probably worth the c-note to avoid the hassle given the time constraints we're working under.

[BBR]

Beagle, you probably know this but I have the Maximum Motorsports 6 point in my car. It fit SUPER nice and was easy to install. It is a bolt-in bar which might work well for you considering the time restraints. It could always be welded in later if need be.

One think I do like about mine vs the Wolfe is the location of the rear downbars. I like downbars that attach closer to the upper rear shock mounts instead of bypassing them and going to the floorpan behind them, but that's just me.

[Beagle]

Thanks James - I read their instructions last night and this wasn't clear:

37. Have a qualified welder use either the MIG or TIG
welding process to weld the rear braces to the main
hoop. The stubs that the rear braces bolt to are there
to properly locate the rear braces, they are not
structural. Take care to have the rear braces welded
to the main hoop itself, and not simply to the locating
stubs. Take care to keep warpage to a minimum. For
strong welds, welding must be free of any slag and/or
porosity.

Are they talking about the part that comes up from the wheel well to the main hoop?

[BBR]

Yes. The down bars bolt on and should be welded to the main hoop. Mine were welded (I bought mine used from a buddy) and this can be done prior to installing it in the car, so you don't have to set your interior on fire.

[milner351]

BBR for the win (by the way - I purchased the AED a/f gauge on your recomendation)

[DanStokes]

My bar in the 'Stang is a Max Motorsports and I like it. Mine took more welding as I have a convert but it stiffened the body A LOT. Wolf may be fine too but I know for sure that the MM bar is a great fit. I got the swing-out, removable side bars and I think they were worth the money.

I had the whole deal powdercoated silver before installation and that was a good deal, too.

Dan