Just Jim Posted June 23, 2006 Share Posted June 23, 2006 I'm getting ready to order a S&W 8point roll bar kit for my '72 240. Has anybody sucessfully installed one?It seems like the straight cross bar that goes behind the seats will need to have some bends added to allow the seat to go back further.Can the rear support bars that attach to the main hoop and go to the rear of the car can be welded to the main hoop prior to installing it in to the car.Sure would make things easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted June 23, 2006 Share Posted June 23, 2006 There are a bunch of threads on the S&W roll bars/cages. Search and you'll find lots of info. I really like what Austin (240hoke) did on his S&W. He didn't follow the directions, but he came up with something a lot better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jim Posted June 24, 2006 Author Share Posted June 24, 2006 Thanks,Jon. My original search of just this section didn't turn up as much info as a search of the entire forum did.I still would like to know if it is possible to tack the support bars to the main hoop then remove it for final welding before reinstalling it. Also wondering if those Harbor Freight tube notchers are any good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted June 24, 2006 Share Posted June 24, 2006 Yes and yes. You can tack the bar together, lean it forward and weld it right there, or you can pull the doors off and take it completely out and weld it outside of the car. At least the main hoop and the rear facing supports can be welded this way. I have the HF tubing notcher. My only complaint was that when I first got it the hole saw didn't go directly through the middle of the tube. I had to shim it out with a super thin washer. Other than that, works great. This thread may help too: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=102715 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J__ Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 i ordered 2 cages from s&w and highly recommend it. sales rep that helped me was Lee, he's a great guy and very quick with emails and calls regarding the products. got a 8 point one for my 280z and my buddy got a 10point for his ae86. he welded in the 8 point for me (we left out the 2 points to the tranny tunnel) and the fitment was pretty much perfect for the Z. of course we had to cut down the 2 points to length going into the rear frame. only thing is that the door bars arent bent, its straight so it has some clearance issues with the seats. we left it out for now until the car's done then gonna take it to a shop with tube benders to bend it to fit the seats. but all in all a great cage for the price! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240zwannabe Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 J_, do you have the straight crossbar behind the seat? i have an S&W 8 point cage as well but i haven't installed it yet, i still need to put in the fuel cell and the rest of the floor pans so let me know. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 Be careful with a straight bar behind the seat, unless you're 5'8" or less you might not have a comfortable seat position after it's installed. Most guys use a bar that is curved back to allow more adjustment on the seat. You can refer to 240hoke's website to see his curved bar on his S&W cage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedNeckZ Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 Yes, I got the eight point rollbar for my 71 Z. We made some changes to it. The first one, we did was to bend the main loop out some so it would fit up next to the wheel wells (before it was bent to fit in the seatbelt wells) and cut it to fit. We mounted it on plates and had it leaning to the rear. I am 5'8" tall so I did the rest for my height. We mount the bar across the loop with out the bend (adding a flaming river adjustable steering column later). I strongly recommend that you bend this pole to give you more room for your seats. Also added the cross brace as required by the SCCA. The rear braces were cut to fit to the top of the strut towers and mounted with plates. I have not added the forward brace yet. I am looking at putting in the front roll cage soon and will add them then. We also added the small side braces that go from the side of the loop to the transmission tunnel. I liked the kit and haven't had any problems with it. Good Luck, Rich. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J__ Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 J_, do you have the straight crossbar behind the seat? i have an S&W 8 point cage as well but i haven't installed it yet, i still need to put in the fuel cell and the rest of the floor pans so let me know. thanks yup i have the straight bar welded. i had no problems with fitting the seat. just test fit the seat before u weld everything dead... the bottom of my hoop went in where the seat belt coil was. kinda like a box thing. i welded the round tube to that. then boxed it in with the 6 inch plate that came with it about 2 inches up from the bottom. had to hammer the heck outta the plate with a 2 pound sledge to make it fit the curves. that makes it super stable because its welded at 2 points and boxed in. the cage on my buddy's ae86 was welded at the end of the tubing without boxing it in and when u shake the hoop u can see it move about back and forth. he had to fab a connecting piece to the b pillar to further secure teh cage to teh car shell. i'm 5'10" with a sparco sprint seat and theres plenty of room between the back of my seat and the hoop. my friend's 6'2" and he still fits comfortably with the seat back against it. but my main hoop is tilted back approx 15 degrees. i dunno if that meets regulation for some events or not where they might requrie ur main hoop to be right angle up... ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J__ Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Yes, I got the eight point rollbar for my 71 Z. We made some changes to it. The first one, we did was to bend the main loop out some so it would fit up next to the wheel wells (before it was bent to fit in the seatbelt wells) and cut it to fit. We mounted it on plates and had it leaning to the rear. I am 5'8" tall so I did the rest for my height. We mount the bar across the loop with out the bend (adding a flaming river adjustable steering column later). I strongly recommend that you bend this pole to give you more room for your seats. Also added the cross brace as required by the SCCA. The rear braces were cut to fit to the top of the strut towers and mounted with plates. I have not added the forward brace yet. I am looking at putting in the front roll cage soon and will add them then. We also added the small side braces that go from the side of the loop to the transmission tunnel. I liked the kit and haven't had any problems with it. Good Luck, Rich. if u put in the cage up there AND tilted it back, wouldnt that leave u lots of room between ur seats and the bar? ur 5'8" i cant imagine u have 4 feet long legs... my friend is 6'2" and with the seat him is "comfortable" position, i'd have to tip toe almost to fully depress the clutch and in that position, the rear of the seat is 2-3 inches from the hoop in my situation where i put it in the seatbelt wells. as i remembered correctly isnt there a rule where the main hoop must be within 6 inches from ur helmut somewhere? not too sure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 I don't think there is a "hemet must be within x inches" rule. The farther your head is from the cage the safer you are. As far as the hoop placement goes, mine is just about touching the rear wheelwell, there is only maybe 1/2" clearance. It is leaned back. I am 6'00" and do not have extremely long legs, and I will definitely need a curved bar around the back of the seat. It is a 10 degree layback seat, not a 20 degree, so it is more upright than some other race seats. I think the main difference is the seat dimension. I think the rule of thumb should be DO NOT WELD IN THE HOOP UNLESS THE SEAT HAS BEEN TESTED FOR FITMENT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jim Posted July 26, 2006 Author Share Posted July 26, 2006 The NHRA rules require the hoop to be a maximum of 6 inches from the drivers helmet. Not sure about the SCCA rules though. Good info being posted on the S&W rollbar.One thing for sure it seems to require a curved crossbar to allow the seat to move back far enough. With enough requests for the curved bar maybe S&W will include it in the kit or at least offer it as an option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Interesting about the NHRA rule. So what do you do if you're 5' tall? I guess you have the main hoop in the doorway... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J__ Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 The NHRA rules require the hoop to be a maximum of 6 inches from the drivers helmet. Not sure about the SCCA rules though. Good info being posted on the S&W rollbar.One thing for sure it seems to require a curved crossbar to allow the seat to move back far enough. With enough requests for the curved bar maybe S&W will include it in the kit or at least offer it as an option. yea thats what i remembered too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icewtr Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 I have my cage in my car and it is crtified by NHRA to 8.99 and the helmet must be a minimum of 5 inches away from the bar .... they don't care how far away from it ya are ... and any place near the head or helmet of the driver it must be padded... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jim Posted July 29, 2006 Author Share Posted July 29, 2006 I have my cage in my car and it is crtified by NHRA to 8.99 and the helmet must be a minimum of 5 inches away from the bar .... they don't care how far away from it ya are ... and any place near the head or helmet of the driver it must be padded... My 1998 NHRA rule book says 6 inches but it's no big deal. Do you ever race at Irwindale? If you look close the padding can be seen near my white helmet. http://bowtie0069.fotki.com/102705_irwindale_pix/img_5327.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dosquattro Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 I got the 8pt and if I ever sell my 280z the next person is gonna have to be pretty short since I'm just a little guy at 5'5". I have a Buddy Club bucket seat in my car and can't see how I'd get the side door bars in without taking some material out of the door frame. Since the seat is like just barely touching the door just millimeters. I still have to install my rear x-bar also. I may pick up the tube notcher at HF or just use my angle grinder. I also had to install a tube that goes from the harness bar to rear support bar for the mainhoop otherwise my mounting point for my harness would of been a 90 degree angle coming out of the seat. Now it comes out at like a 30-40 degree angle so I don't have to worry about compressing my spine if I mounted it to the harness bar. For the price though you can't beat it unless you have free access to a tube bender and make your own. Hell I think their even 10% off right now till the end of August. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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