Do I *need* a rollbar?

[cscobra]

I'm building ERA #766 as a street model ("streetcars" can be found in San Francisco!)--no hood scoop, no rollover bar, no side exhaust, no racing stripes, but with "loop" bumpers front and rear, the body-color grille splitter with chrome trim at the front edge (like the original), undercar exhausts with rear exits, and 15 x 7.5" wheels front and rear (along with 235/60R-15s all around), along with the street dash (regular speedometer). I'm after both the original appearance and the original driving experience. This is the way the vast majority of original Cobra 427s left Shelby American (likely fewer than 50 racecars and SCs were actually built).

ERAs from at least #758 do have a degree of "crush zone" designed into the frame both front and rear. The doors also have substantial steel reinforcements inside (the fiberglass is completely unstressed) and the door hinges and latches bolt to the steel frame, not to fiberglass. Weakest point: the MG T-series door latches (like my TD, although they are stronger than they look if adjusted properly).

If you don't try to bend/break the laws of physics, then you won't miss the rollover bar. Like a motorcycle, this car will only do something stupid if the driver directs it to do so (even inadvertantly), so control of your own car is completely up to you as you already know. Speaking as a motorcyclist, we must drive our cars as if we are invisible to others just as good motorcyclists must do in order to reduce as much as possible the risks and the consequences of poor driving decisions by others.

So build your street model as you wish, enjoy it, drive it well and responsibly, and don't be concerned about the absence of the rollover bar. You've already done well simply by choosing superior engineering by ERA.