Cobra roll bar safety

[John S Peterson]

I'm almost afraid to ask what kind of "kit" that is on....Kind of scares you what some people will do. How many cars have you seen or heard of where the seat belts are mounted just through fiberglass floor......

JP

[Mdman352]

Originally Posted by John S Peterson

I'm almost afraid to ask what kind of "kit" that is on....Kind of scares you what some people will do. How many cars have you seen or heard of where the seat belts are mounted just through fiberglass floor......

JP

The same kit where this picture came from. Not necessarily the "kits" fault, but more of a builders ignorance.
david

[mdross1]

Yikes! just for looks roll bar? who in their right mind would do something like that? I have to wonder though how much protection a stock bar affords given my head is at the top of the bar.One thing is for certain it will never crush or be torn off my car.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by mdross1

Yikes! just for looks roll bar? who in their right mind would do something like that?

When I was trying to buy a CCX car in the mid 1980's Peter B. made a point that the roll bar was just decorative. But I'm almost positive that we discussed the roll bar being replaced with one that was "fully functional" and it was not as a difficult operation. I'm pretty sure that conversation took place and I'm not imagining it....

[N2VENOM]

It's that kind of lousy workmanship that gives the "Kit Car" industry a bad name. Why anyone would settle for a "cosmetic" roll bar is beyond me. The cobra market has hopefully advanced to the point that we have minimum standards like functional roll bars. I would like to know which cobra manufactures have cosmetic or functional roll bars. I have owned 9 cobras and know just a few that are functional. I hope there are more.

1. Kirkham - Functional
2. West Coast - Functional
3. ?
4. ?

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by N2VENOM

It's that kind of lousy workmanship that gives the "Kit Car" industry a bad name. Why anyone would settle for a "cosmetic" roll bar is beyond me.

It's probably one of those "lawyer things."

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by N2VENOM

I would like to know which cobra manufactures have cosmetic or functional roll bars. I have owned 9 cobras and know just a few that are functional. I hope there are more.

What a great question (where's Cashburn on this). From the ERA web site:

Is the roll bar functional?

While our (visual-duplicate-of-original) single-width roll bar doesn't meet current racing specifications, it is fully structural, bolting directly to the main frame rails. We also offer a full-width bar and a dual roll bar configuration (at right).


EDIT -- The hyperlinks got munged on the rip. Here's the page I borrowed it from: http://www.erareplicas.com/427/faqs.htm

[CobraEd]

I wish I had a rollbar on my Classic Roadsters. I don't think the car looks quite right without it. Have had the car for over 10 years and love it but it would look better with the rollbar. I have been told you cannot easily add it once the car is built. Besides, where would I get one now anyway???


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