Tucking roll bar into a pillar on a 63 Chevy II

Alright so I have this idea of tucking a 1 3/4" standard wall roll bar tube inside the a pillar, or partially anyways. To do this I would have to drill the spot welds on the inside of the cars a pillar to remove it and then place the tubing inside as far as possible and probably tack the tubing to the pillar. Curious if anyone had seen this done or has tried to do it. I am worried about the tubing being to big and hitting the rubber gasket for the window.

THANKS, James

I know a guy that makes the roof a structural part of his race cars by cutting the roof off and welding it to the cage.
If you're building a full cage, why not use 1-5/8" tubing?

Hey James,

That's exactly what I did on my build but I ran 1 5/8" since I'm not building it for any sanctioning bodies but more for stiffness. I don't think you'll be able to fit 1 3/4" in the A-Pillar and hide it if that is your aim.

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g170/novanutcase/shoppics2-23-07007.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g170/novanutcase/shoppics2-28-07005.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g170/novanutcase/shoppics2-13-2007002.jpg

John

Oh I thought 1 3/4 was just the standard roll bar tubing dimensions. I honestly dont care what i run in there. Its not for spec....more so for look and maybe some road racing. So is that what they did for you john is drill out the spot welds on the inside of those a pillars and then just bend the tubing to fit inside it? Just want to make sure that way I dont get in there and find a surprise....I HATE SURPRISES.

If you have the patience that would be the sweetest way to do it and yes use the 1-5/8.

John those are some sweet pictures of how that was done, I would have liked to do that to mine but it has to be certified and I don't know if they would have accepted it because of not being able to see everything. Liljim....this may be something to cosider if you get serious about the road racing, not sure what the rules and regulations are.

Show some pics of the build if you decide to go this route.

Oh I thought 1 3/4 was just the standard roll bar tubing dimensions. I honestly dont care what i run in there. Its not for spec....more so for look and maybe some road racing. So is that what they did for you john is drill out the spot welds on the inside of those a pillars and then just bend the tubing to fit inside it? Just want to make sure that way I dont get in there and find a surprise....I HATE SURPRISES.

Pretty much. When Rodger and I were discussing roll cages I had said that I wanted a cage that was as hidden as possible. The aim of the car has always been to not blatantly make it look super race, rather, to have those features but not make them so obvious. Sinking the down bars into the A-pillar was the solution that we came up with for that area. We felt that this way we could increase the rigidity of the chassis buy melding the roll cage to the roof rather than it be independent of it. Plus it look really cool!:D

John those are some sweet pictures of how that was done, I would have liked to do that to mine but it has to be certified and I don't know if they would have accepted it because of not being able to see everything. Liljim....this may be something to cosider if you get serious about the road racing, not sure what the rules and regulations are.

Show some pics of the build if you decide to go this route.

Thanks Chuck! I probably won't be doing any hardcore racing with the car in any sanctioned races so I don't need to stick to any rule books even though, from what I've read in NASA and SCCA rule books, it pretty much conforms to their rules though maybe just showing tech these pictures they'll let me run it in an SCCA event. That would be FUN!!!:D

John

Pretty much. When Rodger and I were discussing roll cages I had said that I wanted a cage that was as hidden as possible. The aim of the car has always been to not blatantly make it look super race, rather, to have those features but not make them so obvious. Sinking the down bars into the A-pillar was the solution that we came up with for that area. We felt that this way we could increase the rigidity of the chassis buy melding the roll cage to the roof rather than it be independent of it. Plus it look really cool!:D

John

Hey thanks! Glad to know that it can be done. Is there a need to brace the roof before I cut out those inner pieces? Also looks like I will be removing my dash to do this. I dont see anyother way around it.:rolleyes:

JAMES