Roll Bar Comments

[Fred Douglass]

If I'm talking about retaining part of the Bennet-bar and using it as a detachable addition to the tripod, that little ol' hole would be on the STARBOARD side, in order to be on the passenger-side, wouldn't it?

Q: What do you do with a dyslectic sailor?

A: evah mih ecaf tfa nehw gnivig sredro! (or is that supposed to be):

sredro gnivig nehw tfa ecaf mih evah! (?)

[misfit41]

no doubt the dual bas would help in some situations,,but when it comes to a rear end collision the cobra is no less safe than any sixties{no headrest} car,,convertible or other wise,,,since my car is a sometimes car,,,and I ride motorcycles more than I drive it,,I'll take a chance,,I agree that two hoops look ,,"busy".

[Excaliber]

As I undertand the thread/circumstances surrounding Marks death they were numerous severe injuries to the "body" and face. The cause of death seemed to center on a broken neck. The car was reported to have rolled more than once, possibly more than twice. From the pictures following the accident it appears that there is "not that much" damage to the car itself. Therefore I SPECULATE that the car flipped and rolled at least once in the AIR. Massive G forces would have been exerted at the time.

The passenger (his fiance), of slight build and frame, was ejected from the car EVEN though she was wearing a five point belt! According to the thread Mark was a fanatic about himself and his passengers "buckling up". He was in fact strapped in tightly after the accident.

It does not appear in any of the pictures I have seen that he had a "head rest" on the roll bar or the seat. Did this contribute and/or cause the broken neck? I don't know, but it does make one wonder, "What if".

Again it "appears" from the pictures that the cause of the "roll over" was striking the right hand side of the road embankment. A fairly smooth "ramp" like dirt structure, perfectly suited for "launching" the car into the air. An accident of this nature COULD occur from several different scenarios.

Getting distracted at speed and letting the car "wander" off to the side.
Accellerating hard and having something "break" causing the car to swerve suddenly to one side.
Just driving "conservatively" and having something break and the car swerving suddenly.
Accellerating hard and having the rear end break loose, over reacting and running off the road.
Getting "bumped" by the car you are "racing", from the rear or the side and loosing control as a result.

Well, think about it. I'm sure there are plenty more reasons for an accident of this nature to happen to ANY of us "good, conservative, paying attention" type drivers.

The "likely hood" of such an accident? Probably "rare" considering the miles driven, the number of cars on the road, etc. I use a ONE hoop roll bar. I DID have a head rest, which I REMOVED so my seat will go back farther. I drive on the street and race at the track and accept the "risk" in favor of driver "comfort" and "looks". Foolish? Maybe, sometimes I wonder................

Ernie

[Rebel1]

Like Ernie, I also opted for one full width bar. The RMC kit I have has substancial deep sockets welded to the chassis on both sides and the thick walled roll bar should take one hell of a impact before crumbling.

Ernie mentioned Marks accident. Having seen the pics of the car against the post, with the apparent lack of body/chassis damage. Together with the injuries as described by his Sister. It raises the question whether Mark's injuries were maybe caused by his head impacting the post.

Speculation I know, and a roll bar wouldnt have helped in any case.

In any event, My first wife wanted her head protected as much as mine so the full width bar it is.

[Back in Black]

Some impressions:

1) It IS massive, and mounted to the frame as rebel1 describes above. Very strong and seems to be easily up to most incidents

2) it is a tad short. This gives some pause but if it was taller it would look wierd and more importantly it would interfere with the tops (soft and hard tops)

3) It does interfere with the rear view mirror. This may be helped by relocation to the dash level.. I may do so. Right now I cannot see if it's G'ma in her caddy or a LE cruiser behind me at certain distances,...not good.

Be SURE to mount it either way to a strong FRAME mount.. otherwise it is nearly worthless

[Hal Copple]

on my SPF, i had the "paper clip" rollbar, but needed the higher bar for any track use, so Dennis O. put in one of his fullwidth four point rollbars. Fits under the top, and high enough to be over my noggin when i am wearing my helmet.

My concern remains my head and neck in a minor rear-ender, which i see happening every day. I have a steel plate and several fused cervical vertebre, and i suspect what would be a minor accident in any modern car would cause me serious risk, snapping my head back, perhaps into the rollbar.

I have thought about a taller race seat, but the nice ones with the shoulder flares probably won't fit due to the nature of the cockpit. Plus the tonneau issue, etc.

I used to drive TR 4's and MGB's many thousands of miles, nobody but real race guys had rollbars over their heads. Actually, my first wife flipped 360 over and back onto the wheels in our "B at about 75 mph, all we did was slightly tear the top. I was riding, a little lower on the flip and we would have been killed.

I think any accident in one of these cars carries risk. I do wear all five points of my Simpson always, no exceptions.

But like the others, i have done what i can do, and i have accepted the risks as part of my life choices. It is my opinion, that the full width rollbar looks better than the dual hoop one.

In my point of view, a rollbar is for low speed roll-overs. Like into the mud on an off-ramp, rural ditch, that sort of thing. My car spins flat, and would only roll if a wheel catches, or the roadway/shoulder surface is not flat. As in street driving.

[Charlie]

I seem to recall an old picture of an original race Cobra with a single full-width roll bar, although it was probably a 289 model. If I am not imagining this, then that type rollbar in your replica would have some historical accuracy even if yours is a 427 model. Beside, you don't want to be mistaken for a BMW Z3/Z4 or a Porsche Boxster do you?

[rdorman]

There was at least one FIA car with a full width hoop and forward bracing. I have seen several vintage photos of cars with a very thick 'headrest' bolted to the bar. Even with a helmet on contact with the rollbar is NOT good.
Rick

[cobrakit66]

goose
its your car, run two roll bars if you want. besides if you do roll over it ll cause less damage to your trunk and rear fenders.(just kiddin) i run no roll bar at all,also ride a motorcycle sometimes i dont even wear my seatbelt. 56 yrs old still livin on the edge
ron

[B. SMITH]

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN,

IN 1995 MY WIFE AND I ARRIVED SHORTLY AFTER A COBRA WAS REAR-ENDED BY A TRUCK TRAVELLING ABOUT 35 MPH. THE COBRA HAD GOTTEN LOOSE AND SPUN 180 DEG. INTO THE ONCOMING LANE ON A 2- LANE BRIDGE. THE BELTED, VERY EXPERIENCED DRIVER SADLY DIED IMMEDIATLY FROM HEAD INJURIES DUE TO SNAPPING BACKWARD INTO THE ROLL- BAR.......

WE ONLY HAVE THE DRIVER BAR BUT ALSO HIGHER SEATS WITH HEADRESTS ON THE SEATS. OUR FIRST COBRA HAD NO ROLL-BAR.

THERE IS NO PERFECT ANSWER BUT THE STOCK CAR GUYS WRAP THE BARS NEAR THE DRIVER WITH HI-DENSITY FOAM-RUBBER AND WEAR HELMENTS...

LET'S KEEP AN EYE IN OUR REAR VIEWS..... B. SMITH

[cobrakit66]

point taken

[DanElam]

Gus-

A couple of things. First, the seat is what protects you from whiplash. All the race seats are required to have metal or carbon fiber (no fiberglass allowed) that comes up behind the seat. The roll-bar won't do anything to help with that.

The roll-bar, however, will protect you from whacking your head if it is tall enough. Most of the roll-bars that you see on the Cobras offer a false sense of security - they might protect you, but most aren't tall enough to protect your head from getting squished. Draw a line from the front of the car to the top of the roll-bar. If your head crosses that plane, your head gets squished in a roll-over.

Cages do a good job of protecting against side impact. NASA, NASCAR, and others insist on solid plates to protect against intrusion, but most of the safety comes from the cage not crumpling in a side impact. FFR's spec racer frame is designed for that, but the real danger is from the crush, not the protusion.

The hoop roll-bars don't provide any protection from the side impact, but the tube-frame cars still provide better than average survivability.

Most of the single hoop roll-bars offer misleading protection: most I have seen don't actually provide any real safety advantages. Does this make the cars unsafe? No. They are still safer than an MGB or older Truimph.

If you want real safety, put in a full cage. If you want more safety, put in a rollbar tall enough to protect your head. If you just want it to look good, put in whatever you like. Thank goodness we are still permitted to choose!

[Goose]

Again, I would like to thank everyone for their insightful comments/opinions. You have all provided much food for thought on the subject but ultimately, it is a personal decision. So, for now, after discussion with my wife and the insight provided from those who have responded, we have decided to stay with one, single-hoop bar over the driver.

I will certainly review my head's relationship with the support pillars to see how easily it will contact in an accident and take corrective measures as I see necessary (i.e. padding).

My wife has reserved final decision-making based upon how comfortable she feels in the vehicle after we have cruised around for a while. I did point out that plenty of other convertibles do not have any type of protection, especially older models. If my wife is uncomfortable my choices will be...

1) Retrofit an additional roll bar or a full-width version
2) Get a different vehicle
3) Get a different wife

I don't need to think about those choices, it will definitely be #3...oops, I meant #1.

I hope she doesn't see this, because it will then be #2.

[leadfoot]

I was waiting to receive the car back from CSC racing, after a REAL roll bar was installed.

I had this installed for a rally (www.targanewfoundland.com) and did all sorts of homework before allowing holes to be drilled into the car. If it weren’t for the rally, I would not have put it in. But after going through the exercise and homework, I would never track my car without it... never.

First... have a friend sit in your car, and notice where the bar is one their head.... Almost right down the middle. This doesn't help even if you are a "right brain" individual. Second... draw a line from front frame to the top of the roll bar... right the bar should protect you from your neck down. Finally.... remember when you roll, there will be some movement of your body before the harness (new 5 pt right!! done up REAL tight) stops you from exiting the car. At this point your, if you are upside down, your head has whacked the ground.

Lets hear from those that have survived a rollover with a standard bar?.....

It is one thing to accept these risks, knowing the possibilities, but it is another thing all together to think that in the event of a roll, the bar will save you.

I am sorry to be "on the soapbox", but I think it is imperative to be informed before tracking your car.

Also... the high back racing seats are also going in. Unfortuatly I admit they ruin the look a little bit, but it sure beats a broken neck.
(OK now I am really off the soapbox)

...tried inserting photo... but will have to reduce it's size...

[Carroll DeWeese]

I like the dual roll bars. I ordered my SPF with them. If I choose to go to full width in the future, I already have the holes in teh fiberglass. I do not have to retrofit.

I also have and use the SPF hardtop. I plan on getting tall back race seats. I feel the need for more sholder, neck, and head support.

I love the Cobra and want to drive it as much as possible. I also do not trust other drivers very much. I can not believe how close some people follow me. They are an accident waiting to happen. I also had SPF install the racing fuel cell. I assume that I will get hit at some point and I want to survive to drive another day.

You can see photos of my car in the photo gallery.

[flipper35]

One added benifit to a cage for those that use their cars on the track is the added rigidity of the chassis. There will be less twist and cowl shake and allow the suspension to do it's job better. I like the idea of having the front half removable for cruising the streets though.

[MAXVELO]

HEAR YE, HEAR YE,
I JUST LISTED MY DOUBLE ROLLBAR ON EBAY FOR SALE
ITEM#2427141380 IT IS LISTED UNDER THO FOLLOWING;
COBRA REPLICA, DOUBLE ROLLBAR, ROLL BAR
THANKS GARY

[jdean]

looking at safety issues if you ever roll over - the Lemans gas caps as typically mounted near the peak of the rear fender - will open if it touches anything, like the ground.

The single hoop driver side bar will actually help orient the car to the passenger side fender as it rolls over.

One way to prevent fuel spilling out would be to have a modern-type gas cap under the aluminum cover.

[HighPlainsDrifter]

jdean,
You are correct about the Le mans cap, it isn't legal at an NHRA track as it can flip open and spill gas. I did put a modern gas cap under the Le mans cap just for that reason.
Perry.

[JOHNNYCOBRA]

It is definately a good idea to have another positive sealing gas cap, However since I am running a fuel cell, the flapper valve should prevent fuel spillage in a rollover.



I wonder what happens to the windshield? Man there just isnt much holding that thing in place.

Wouldnt the windshield just become a Guillotine?

Also I upgraded my attach points for the rollbar over the standard Shellvalley item. I ran a two inch bar thru the frame to
attach the rollbar, this in turn was welded to the frame, instead of a 3/8 plate welded to the frame.




John