[PROPEL]

Has anyone installed an Autopower race rollbar into a GT before? Should have been straight-forward enough... but they don't give specific instructions, and I think they sent me the wrong mounting kit.

I have six VERY long bolts left over for the main hoop mounting feet. Am I supposed to mount the steel backing plate to the underside of the car? If so, the bolts would have to pass through the inside floor ledge sheetmetal, then 3-4" of open space, and finally through the outside floor sheetmetal before attaching to the backing plate. This also doesn't make sense because then I would have to trim off about 6" of the rocker panel sheet metal flange so that the backing plate would fit flat against the floor.

The alternative would be to use shorter bolts and only drill through the inner sheetmetal. Then I would need to somehow sandwich the backing plates into that small open space between the inner and outer sheetmetal (and still be able to attach the bolts, too). There is very limited access to do this when the wooden parcel shelf is removed.

Seems like a bitch either way.

The other thing that's strange is that it seems like the rear braces are reversed. They connect from the top of the rear wheel housing to the main hoop by using telescoping tubes. When I swapped the left and right, they fit much better...except the through-bolts securing the telescoping section do not fit now. I plan to redrill/center the holes in the telescope to make it work.
Unless someone can tell me for sure which is left and which is right, and how they're actually supposed to fit.

 

[nobody]

One of my cars had one in it, except for the cross. It went all the way through the car just behind the b pillar. The other mount went to the rear wheel wells. The tubes to the wheel wells had to be drilled to fit. Under the car plate was cut to leave the flange intact. Hope that helps

Looking at your picture the wheel well mounts are right.

 

[PROPEL]

Thanks alot for the info! ... I feel much better knowing that I'm supposed to be adapting stuff to make it fit.

 

[TGSI Racing]

There is a significant problem with the "bolt in". If you bolt all the way through, then you will never be able to properly tighten the bolts... as you tighten the bolts you will be crushing the "box section". Even if you think you have it tight, a few hot days and cold nights will cause everything to get loose.

The best thing to do is to weld in the hoop. First, cut the "feet" off of the bottom of the "hoop". (Take care to cut off only the "feet" and not shorten the tube any.) Then using about 100 sq inches of steel plate (at least 0.125" thick) fabricate mounting plates that conform to the whole area that the original "foot" went in. This plate should not only be a flat plate, but should also pick up vertical surfaces. The vertical surfaces should include the area behind the door jam, the walls of the package tray, and behind the seats (forward and down). This is a real pain to fabricate, but it is the only correct way to do it.

After the plate is fabricated, weld it in place. Then, weld the "hoop" to the plates.

 

[jeff denton]

To me, rollbarring is a science of going just a bit into overkill from where it seems to look good enough.
So how much rollbar do you need for what you're doing and how safe do you want to be?
I agree with TGSI, fabricate a plate and weld all together. In building Speedway GT's rollcage, there just did not seem to be any place to anchor the main hoop. My solution was far more radical than necessary for most, but the horizontal plate tying the rocker panels to the floor and rear subframe is incorporated.