The Sprite Forum

Did a search here on roll bar and not much since 2016. For continued marital harmony, besides the 3 pt seatbelts she would like a roll bar installed as well. Spridget Mania lists one for a BE and wonder if anyone presently here has installed one from them...and how it went. They say you can still use the top which is important for us as well. Bugeyguy is selling one on Ebay right now, but it looks awful heavy and only anchors in at 2 points as opposed to 4 points with Spridget M. This 948 is all stock (original floor mats) and am not going racing or have any interest in cutting into the body to mount it. I imagine the next owner will take it out. Any leads from the group here? Thanks -Dan-

Oh boy...This thread is going to be long on the two cents worth...ha ha ... Obviously, having the luxury of any cover over your head limits the roll over protection as you so wisely stated... the other that isn't mentioned often is the ability to clear a full size spare in the boot of a BE. You also addressed the fitting of a ragtop.. While most SAY they will accommodate the fitted top, If fact few of any really do... The bar doesn't clear all of the tightly stretched material.. The rest of the what if anything will save your ass in a hit from any direction is in my opinion pure conjecture. ha ha... This bar below is an old one that does all the above but in reality is just a confidence builder not a life saver... rather than putting you out of your misery will leave you a vegetable..Oh! yes, while the one in the pic will easily install without welds or surgery, it's securing points are weaker.... Lastly, my idea is to put one on to make a wind filter and brake light bar easier to install and look good...



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 2021-10-17 11:33 AM by earthur44.

Eric - Yes..I agree on all points. And like I say its mostly for the wife. mounting a wind screen on it will also help her a LOT. Yours looks a lot like one the bugeye guy has for sale. Is there any markings on it as far as who made it and where?

No, but it was in the 80's... Other threads have named the outfit that produced them... As I said, the reasons are many as to the why's for installing this roll bar type...The best thing going for a Spridget in a crash situation with another vehicle is its weight... or the lack there of.... inertia is on it's side ...ha ha

I got this one from Speedwell engineering in CA years ago--Not Scca approved, but I like it and it fits under the frame and top both times I have put the top up in the last 10 yrs or so.

When I was racing in the SCCA in the 60's,I went to my local welding shop & they custom built one for my Bug Eye...of course I didn't know if the SCCA would approve it...I had to drill a hole in the bar so they could check the thickness...never knew any body had eyes that good,,then they applied a sticker & thereafter the tech people just looked for the sticker...

In the past, companies that sold these were quick to call them roll bars, now days, people are careful to call them something else. Certification goes a long way.

My main concern with any roll structure is how it is mounted to the car. Mostly these were bolt in and bent to fit easily into the car, meaning the mfgs would choose a shape based on ease of installation, which often meant less than ideal mounting locations. That one in the second pic is the same one I have in my '65 road Sprite and the mounting points are pretty dismal. If you welded in some plate where the mounting plates hit the body, the load could be spread over a much larger area and avoid punching through the floor in the case of an actual roll over.

That said, I have built roll bars for street cars where space was a concern, and if you can stomach having one custom built and welded in, you will be much safer than with anything commercially available.

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Unfortunately, my regular mechanic who owns and drives a TR 3, mentioned to my wife that when he drives his, he doesn't wear a seat belt as he would prefer to be thrown from the car rather than crushed by it...... And our friends who got a convertible mini with those pop-up safety bars, is not helping ;-(

So this roll bar (I did find one) is strictly for her piece of mind and will go in shortly. Thanks for the updates. -Dan

Good call. Peace of mind is worth it.

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New business website coming soon
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I’ll put my two cents worth in on roll bars in street cars. In talking with several racers, their take was that you’re more likely to bash you helmetless head into a roll bar, in a wreck, than you are flipping up side down in a street car.

That's the story I read over and over. The roll bar is more of a hazard than the lack of one. As I recall smashing your head against it in a rear end collision is the big issue. Racers with properly engineered roll bars wear helmets. Seems like a lot of trouble to make the car less safe.

Adrian

I’m kicking around the idea of a roll bar. What if it was set back far enough that you couldn’t hit your head on the it?Granted it would have to be a bit taller. For me, the ugliness of the thing is my biggest concern. Obviously the top won’t close but then I don’t have a top.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-11-22 09:23 PM by Davebdave.

You would be amazed at how far your head will flop around in a collision. The roll bar would have to be a long way behind the seats and you would need something way better than the standard three point belts to keep you in place. Watch some crash test dummy videos.

The roll bar on my race car is several inches higher than a convertible top would be. It's heavily padded and I wear a helmet that meets the toughest safety standards there are. I also wear a HANS device to keep my head in place. I wouldn't ride in a street car with a street roll bar that fits under the top. Just my opinion.

I like the look of of roll bars. I might even put one in my Bugeye. That said, I know nothing about them. All I was saying is if the OP's wife wants a roll bar so she will be "safer" I don't see the point. Everyone who seems to know about roll bars says they are the opposite of safer. Why go to the bother of making the car more dangerous if the goal is to make it safer?

The OP's wife needs to do some research. I suspect flipping the car over is statistically far less likely than being rear ended or spinning off the road into a ditch... where you might have walked away had you not bashed your skull open on the roll bar...

Adrian

I’m thinking a padded roll bar wouldn’t be much harder on the head than the sharp top frame. Then maybe use a custom bikini style top. Not anything I want to do soon but I would eventually like to auto cross the car. I have been in a rollover in an AMC sedan and it didn’t take much to trip the car. The driver took a corner too fast, the wheels dug into the dirt and we rolled three times. My head hit the roof on each revolution. I own three other convertibles without rollover protection but their wider stance makes me feel a little safer. Throw in single circuit brakes, harpoon steering column, and the posts I’ve read about cracked front axle spindles and I don’t feel super safe in the Sprite. If it just wasn’t so darn fun to drive!