[Ron Sutton]

Originally Posted by Chassisworks

Hi Ron,
My instinct is to say 'no' but it would really depend on the wall thickness.

We don't have a mandrel to bend 1-3/4 x .083 and therefore don't stock the material. If a different wall thickness was required, say .120, then we could probably make it. This is one of those 'anything is possible if you're willing to pay for it' situations.

If you have a specific project in mind, use the Batphone and talk to Chris.

My Batphone is out for repair.
I enjoyed talking to Chris the other day & catching up. You guys have some cool stuff going on.


I asked ... because I feel more safety is needed in the PT world. Like I said in post #10 of this thread ...

In race cars, I’ve been on fire, been upside down at 177 mph, hit walls so hard I’m lucky to be alive & broke my back in 1991 … almost didn’t walk again. This stuff is serious.

If guys are building PT cars to be like race cars … and drive them hard in race situations … then they need plan for race level safety measures. The sport of Pro Touring … where drivers compete on some fast AutoX tracks other than GG, fast 2+ mile road courses & high speed events like the Silver State Challenge … are just asking for someone to get killed or disabled … because there are less rules.

Don’t let the lack of rules guide your safety decisions.

I'm not in my car. I don't care what the rules are. I designed it to protect me, my buddies Mike Maier & Benny Moon that will compete in it some and my daughter Nikki when she & I run Silver State.

The PT car I'm building for myself has a full roll cage out of 1-3/4" x .095" 4130 Chromoly ... fitted out tight to body for max protection ... with several main hoop supports & a roof bar. The door bars are the same 1-3/4x.095 4130 chromoly ... braced two ways ... because I'm not fond of stuff (telephone poles, other cars, concrete barriers) coming in through a thin door skin.

The front & back cage bars are made of DOM mild steel tubing ... in different diameters & wall thicknesses ... just strong enough to achieve my chassis rigidity goals ... but designed to crush digressively in a front or rear impact.

For the record, we can build anything in our shop but I do not want to be in the roll bar or cage business.

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Guys are installing 4-point roll bars welded to sheet metal ... and going 130mph on the sweeping corners of Haulin' Ass America Speedway ... with a false sense of security. People die in wrecks at slower speeds than that.

I've known Chris Alston since 1979, consider him a good friend & the best designer of drag race cars, cages, suspensions, etc. He an innovator & taught me a lot. If guys were putting full 12-point cages in their cars, I wouldn't have as much concern.

But many guys struggle with the decision on putting a 4-point or 6-point roll bar into these cool, bad ass, high powered, G-pulling, mean machines.
My thoughts are ...if PT guys were educated on this stuff ... and there was a strong, lightweight, effective roll bar available, the smart guys would buy it.

I think the 4/6 point roll bar needs to be:
a. All 1-3/4" x .095" 4130 Chromoly tubing
b. Tight fitting to the body as Chassisworks does
c. Have a cross bar tube behind the seats
d. Two tubes to the rear subframe (not floor)
e. Main hoop weld to plates that weld to the floor of unibody cars & the frame of full frame cars.
f. With two tubes that meet at the intersection of the main hoop & cross bar, welded to the the subframe connectors on unibody cars. Just like Chris designed over 30 years ago.


The better, stronger, safer, less chassis flex version, would be a 6/8 point roll bar ... same as above ... plus:
g. Two door bars, tight fitting to the door for increased cockpit & driver room, that run from the main hoop to as far forward as they can.

Guys ... Chassisworks makes the strongest hinged door bar for easy access. But I suggest you go solid & weld the door bars in. If you can't get your fat ass over the door bar ... Beau Duke ... maybe you shouldn't be driving 120+mph on race tracks.

Place the door bar high enough that it protects you ... and the passenger you're responsible for ... in case of a side impact. Refer to the photo below to see what I mean about height.


The best "roll bar" would include:
h. Two more tubes, forming an X-brace behind the main hoop to add a TON of strength & crush resistance to the main hoop ... for better driver & passenger protection in a roll over crash.

Guys ... look at the blue mustang below & see where the roll bar pushed through the sheetmetal floor ... and the roof & roll bar crushed. I'm starting to like you guys & don't want this happening to you. The added chassis rigidity would pay performance dividends too, making the car more responsive to tuning changes, react quicker, & utilize the car's power & speed better.


Carl, I can not say with any certainty that PT guys would buy a stronger roll bar made out of 1-3/4" x .095" 4130 Chromoly ... but I know that is what I would sell & recommend.