Info / How to .. Jegs Roll Bar Install - Long...
03-19-2003, 09:55 AM
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Info / How to .. Jegs Roll Bar Install - Long... I was going to post this as a reply to the post about the Jegs roll bar kit. But my reply got so long and detailed I decided to make it a new post. Hopefully this information will be helpful and can be looked up in the archive in the future etc, for anyone wanting to buy the Jegs roll bar.
I will come back and add some pictures of the roll bar, I took some while installing and some after I was done.
The roll bar that Jegs and Summit sell is made by Chassis Engineering. I bought the 8 point 98-02 Fbody kit. I spent $250 on the mild steel (jigged notched) roll bar + 2 side bar swing out kits. I went to Lowes and bought a Mig Welder and accessories. I spent about $400 for all the welding equipment. I got quotes from all the local race shops to install my roll cage. They all wanted $100 per point, the 7&8 points are simple so everyone was quoting me $600 for install. Well for $400 I now own a great welding machine and I did the labor my self.
I had never welding a thing before in my life. I bought a book on how to weld with different metals and different equipment. I made sure to use Argon/co2 gas on my roll bar, it helped reduce the splattering.
About the roll bar kit... It came with 1 main hoop already bent to fit the roof of the F-Body. I paid a few bucks extra for the jigged notched ends. But they only jig notch 1 end of the bar. I'll get back to this in a minute...
The main hoop is tall than it needs to be, because the give you flexibility on where you want to install it behind your front seats. I will have to post pics to show you where I planted mine. Anyway I measured from the floor to the roof and cut the bottom of the main hoop legs. The kit came with 6 6x6 steel plates to get welded to the floor. I put 2 plates down and positioned them on the floor behind the front seats. I set the hoop bar back in and fitted it on the plates and lined everything up evenly. I did a little tack weld to hold hoop bar onto each plate. I then removed the hoop bar with the plates on the bottom. I set the hoop on a table and completed the weld to the plates. The hoop bar could now stand on it down with the plates for feet. I then grabbed the middle cross bar that goes between the main hoop. This bar was not jig notched at all. I measured the width of the main hood and cut the middle bar. I looked at how they did the jig notching and did the same to the middle bar using some air grinding tools. I put the middle bar in place between the main hoop and welded it.
Before I put the main hoop back in the car I used an orbital sander and removed the paint from the floor board. You always want to weld metal to metal, with no paint on the metal. After I sanded off the paint, I used some mineral spirits to clean the area. After that was done I put the main hoop in the car and measured my rear down bars. There are a lot of different options you can do here. You can go straight down, you can have the bars bent and go down on the rear deck or you can angle them like the Wolf roll bar. I chose to just go straight down to the rear, on each side of the well, where my t-tops go.
Each rear down bar was jigged notched on end. This end I used to fit up against the main hoop. Notice I did not weld the main hoop yet. I measured/fitted the down bar then took it out and cut it to the right length to each the spot in the back. After I cut each down bar to length the end were flat and would not sit flush to the floor. I had to make an angled cut so the bar would sit flat and angle up to the main hoop. Once that was done I was ready to weld the plate to the floor in the rear. I sanded the area on each side, there was some gummy stuff they use at the factory to seal the sheet metal floor boards, I scrapped that crap off and sanded. I welded the plate down first, you have to be careful when welding the plate to the floor board because the floor metal is very thin compared to the plates. The weld will heat and if your beading is just right or too much it will burn a hole in the floor. After I got my rear plates down, I placed 1 rear bar in and fitted it up to the main hoop resting the other end on the plate. I did a little tack weld to the bottom of the down bar on the main hoop. I was lucky because I have a T-top car; I took my tops off and could stand up where the front seats usually are. After I tacked down bar, I leaned the main hoop forward and welded it all the way around. I repeated this for the other down bar as well. It was nice to be able to lean the hoop forward toward the front of the car; I was able to get a nice weld all the way around. I also didn't even have to remove my headliner =) When I was done I leaned the hoop back and lined up the down bars on the rear plates.
Once everything was lined up, I welded the main hoop's plates to the floor again being careful when welding the plate to the thin metal floor. I then went to the rear and welded the down bars to the rear plates. At this point I had a completed 4 point roll bar.
I too the 2 remain bars from the kit, they each had 1 end jig notched. I located where I wanted the front bars to weld to the floor at near my feet and cut the side bars to match that length. I had to again make an angled cut like I did on the rear bars so they would sit flat and butt up against the main hoop. Remember NHRA rules say that the side bar has to be between the drivers elbow and top of the shoulder. I put my front seat in and made sure it was with in spec. I then sanded the front floor board on each side and welded in the side bars. I now had a complete 6-point roll cage.
I didn't bother to put in the #7 & #8 bars because I'm only running low 11's right now, and you really only need a 5-point to meet NHRA rules.
Next I installed my swing out bars on each side. I looked over each side and used to the hinges from the side bar kit to measure where I wanted to cut. At lower end you have to make sure your high enough to the bar swings out over the floor board lip etc. I used a recip saw and made a clean at on each make on the side bar. I remove the side bar and welded in the top and bottom bar catch. I put the side bar back in and it rested in between the catches. I drilled a hole in the side bar using the pin hole in the catch as my guide. The bottom end of the side bar had to be modified, for the bar to swing out. I made an angle cut to the bottom so as the bar swings out the bottom of it would clear the catch and not get pinched.
Lastly I painted the cage black and put the interior back in.
I did this whole project in a day and half with some help from a friend as an extra pair of hands. I had never used a welding machine before either. Luckily I live about 45 minutes away from Chassis Engineering's warehouse here in Florida. I just drove there and picked up the kit. I asked the guy if he had some extra scrap bars I could to have to practice one. They were really cool and gave me like 3 small bars and some metal plates. I practiced on these pieces for like an hour before I started on the car.
Welding is definitely an art form and I have respect for those you can do it perfectly. All of my welds came out great in my opinion, not as good as a master welder but still very clean. Using the gas with the welding machine makes a big difference.
Anyway, if you buy the Jegs roll bag kit you CAN do it yourself and some money but it’s a tuff job. Which means no shop is going to do it for cheap also. I think even if you buy the wolf bar either bolt in or weld in a shop is going to charge you a decent amount either way to install it. You might as well get the cheaper Jegs one, the only thing is you have to do some extra jig notching and cutting. If your shop has a jig machine they can do it with no sweat. I had to cut and grind my own notches =(
Good luck, I hope this little story helps.
Lee
I will come back and add some pictures of the roll bar, I took some while installing and some after I was done.
The roll bar that Jegs and Summit sell is made by Chassis Engineering. I bought the 8 point 98-02 Fbody kit. I spent $250 on the mild steel (jigged notched) roll bar + 2 side bar swing out kits. I went to Lowes and bought a Mig Welder and accessories. I spent about $400 for all the welding equipment. I got quotes from all the local race shops to install my roll cage. They all wanted $100 per point, the 7&8 points are simple so everyone was quoting me $600 for install. Well for $400 I now own a great welding machine and I did the labor my self.
I had never welding a thing before in my life. I bought a book on how to weld with different metals and different equipment. I made sure to use Argon/co2 gas on my roll bar, it helped reduce the splattering.
About the roll bar kit... It came with 1 main hoop already bent to fit the roof of the F-Body. I paid a few bucks extra for the jigged notched ends. But they only jig notch 1 end of the bar. I'll get back to this in a minute...
The main hoop is tall than it needs to be, because the give you flexibility on where you want to install it behind your front seats. I will have to post pics to show you where I planted mine. Anyway I measured from the floor to the roof and cut the bottom of the main hoop legs. The kit came with 6 6x6 steel plates to get welded to the floor. I put 2 plates down and positioned them on the floor behind the front seats. I set the hoop bar back in and fitted it on the plates and lined everything up evenly. I did a little tack weld to hold hoop bar onto each plate. I then removed the hoop bar with the plates on the bottom. I set the hoop on a table and completed the weld to the plates. The hoop bar could now stand on it down with the plates for feet. I then grabbed the middle cross bar that goes between the main hoop. This bar was not jig notched at all. I measured the width of the main hood and cut the middle bar. I looked at how they did the jig notching and did the same to the middle bar using some air grinding tools. I put the middle bar in place between the main hoop and welded it.
Before I put the main hoop back in the car I used an orbital sander and removed the paint from the floor board. You always want to weld metal to metal, with no paint on the metal. After I sanded off the paint, I used some mineral spirits to clean the area. After that was done I put the main hoop in the car and measured my rear down bars. There are a lot of different options you can do here. You can go straight down, you can have the bars bent and go down on the rear deck or you can angle them like the Wolf roll bar. I chose to just go straight down to the rear, on each side of the well, where my t-tops go.
Each rear down bar was jigged notched on end. This end I used to fit up against the main hoop. Notice I did not weld the main hoop yet. I measured/fitted the down bar then took it out and cut it to the right length to each the spot in the back. After I cut each down bar to length the end were flat and would not sit flush to the floor. I had to make an angled cut so the bar would sit flat and angle up to the main hoop. Once that was done I was ready to weld the plate to the floor in the rear. I sanded the area on each side, there was some gummy stuff they use at the factory to seal the sheet metal floor boards, I scrapped that crap off and sanded. I welded the plate down first, you have to be careful when welding the plate to the floor board because the floor metal is very thin compared to the plates. The weld will heat and if your beading is just right or too much it will burn a hole in the floor. After I got my rear plates down, I placed 1 rear bar in and fitted it up to the main hoop resting the other end on the plate. I did a little tack weld to the bottom of the down bar on the main hoop. I was lucky because I have a T-top car; I took my tops off and could stand up where the front seats usually are. After I tacked down bar, I leaned the main hoop forward and welded it all the way around. I repeated this for the other down bar as well. It was nice to be able to lean the hoop forward toward the front of the car; I was able to get a nice weld all the way around. I also didn't even have to remove my headliner =) When I was done I leaned the hoop back and lined up the down bars on the rear plates.
Once everything was lined up, I welded the main hoop's plates to the floor again being careful when welding the plate to the thin metal floor. I then went to the rear and welded the down bars to the rear plates. At this point I had a completed 4 point roll bar.
I too the 2 remain bars from the kit, they each had 1 end jig notched. I located where I wanted the front bars to weld to the floor at near my feet and cut the side bars to match that length. I had to again make an angled cut like I did on the rear bars so they would sit flat and butt up against the main hoop. Remember NHRA rules say that the side bar has to be between the drivers elbow and top of the shoulder. I put my front seat in and made sure it was with in spec. I then sanded the front floor board on each side and welded in the side bars. I now had a complete 6-point roll cage.
I didn't bother to put in the #7 & #8 bars because I'm only running low 11's right now, and you really only need a 5-point to meet NHRA rules.
Next I installed my swing out bars on each side. I looked over each side and used to the hinges from the side bar kit to measure where I wanted to cut. At lower end you have to make sure your high enough to the bar swings out over the floor board lip etc. I used a recip saw and made a clean at on each make on the side bar. I remove the side bar and welded in the top and bottom bar catch. I put the side bar back in and it rested in between the catches. I drilled a hole in the side bar using the pin hole in the catch as my guide. The bottom end of the side bar had to be modified, for the bar to swing out. I made an angle cut to the bottom so as the bar swings out the bottom of it would clear the catch and not get pinched.
Lastly I painted the cage black and put the interior back in.
I did this whole project in a day and half with some help from a friend as an extra pair of hands. I had never used a welding machine before either. Luckily I live about 45 minutes away from Chassis Engineering's warehouse here in Florida. I just drove there and picked up the kit. I asked the guy if he had some extra scrap bars I could to have to practice one. They were really cool and gave me like 3 small bars and some metal plates. I practiced on these pieces for like an hour before I started on the car.
Welding is definitely an art form and I have respect for those you can do it perfectly. All of my welds came out great in my opinion, not as good as a master welder but still very clean. Using the gas with the welding machine makes a big difference.
Anyway, if you buy the Jegs roll bag kit you CAN do it yourself and some money but it’s a tuff job. Which means no shop is going to do it for cheap also. I think even if you buy the wolf bar either bolt in or weld in a shop is going to charge you a decent amount either way to install it. You might as well get the cheaper Jegs one, the only thing is you have to do some extra jig notching and cutting. If your shop has a jig machine they can do it with no sweat. I had to cut and grind my own notches =(
Good luck, I hope this little story helps.
Lee
03-19-2003, 01:54 PM
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Re: Info / How to .. Jegs Roll Bar Install - Long... Nice post man! Thanks <img border="0" alt="[cheers]" title="" src="graemlins/gr_cheers.gif" />
Now you need to build your own y-pipe, maybe even your own headers <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="gr_eek2.gif" />
Now you need to build your own y-pipe, maybe even your own headers <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="gr_eek2.gif" />
03-19-2003, 02:51 PM
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Re: Info / How to .. Jegs Roll Bar Install - Long... Mike: I did my own exhaust, I have 3" off my headers into an x-pipe then turn downs before the axel. All I have to do was change the wire feed in the welder and I can weld stainless or aluminum exhaust/metals.
Having a welder is coming in very handy!
Lee
Having a welder is coming in very handy!
Lee
03-20-2003, 12:02 AM
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Re: Info / How to .. Jegs Roll Bar Install - Long... Lee, thanks for the very detailed info, i truely appreciate it. I must say that is one of the most in-depth "replies" i have seen on this forum (not that i have read every repliy but enough). I have some welding experience, but was uncertain how much moodification I would have to do to the kit, mainly concerned about the jig notching. I am hopefully ordeing mine today or tomorrow and plan to have it installed while I am off island for a few weeks. I have read several posts on Rollbars and think I will paint the majority of mine before install and clean the joints for welding then repaint those areas. Again, thak you very much and if you can post or email pictures please do. "?" the rear bars and the doors are just straight bars notched on one end right? So I will have to bend *** desired and angle cut to fit? charles.trayer@us.army.mil thanks again.
03-20-2003, 08:45 AM
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Re: Info / How to .. Jegs Roll Bar Install - Long... Good write up. Glad you had better luck with yours than me.
When I ordered mine the salesman at Jegs said they make theirs themselves in their "shop?"
When I ordered mine the salesman at Jegs said they make theirs themselves in their "shop?"
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03-27-2003, 08:34 PM
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Re: Info / How to .. Jegs Roll Bar Install - Long... Sweet congrats on the install !! Sounds like like the car is coming along good. Hopefully we can meet up at a Outlaw day at Moroso <img border="0" alt="[cheers]" title="" src="graemlins/gr_cheers.gif" />
