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Let Us Count the Ways


johnc

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ERW seamed tubing.

.063" wall.

Crush bends.

Crimped joint fitup (tubes not fsh mouthed, just crimped and pounded into shape).

Large joint gaps filled with weld.

Joints not welded 360 degrees.

Never painted or rust proofed.

 

What you can't see is that the main hoop had 8 crush bends and was made of three peices of tubing butt welded together. The mounting plates are .063" steel sheet and tack welded to the body. Just for the hell of it I hit the driver's side door bar (it was a NHRA style 6 point roll bar) with a 5 lb. sledge hammer and bent it in about 3".

 

This car was raced for a while, somewhere. Luckily it never got in a big wreck.

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Wow, I thought it looked like exhaust tubing! 0.063 wall...not for me!

 

I once had occasion (and believe I may have it on a VIDEO someplace) of seeing a Jeep CJ3B that went airborne, inverted, and landed on what LOOKED to be a substantial rool hoop. In fact, it was cast drain piping that was butt-welded from straight sections and elbows. Shattered on impact, pinning the driver under the vehicle. From all outward appearances it looked just like a brand-name commercially produced roll hoop. To think people do this kind of stuff is scary. Ignorance / Stupidity is one thing, but to do it intentionally whatever the reason is criminal. I hope nobody actually charged to do that job, and it was just some misinformed homebased hobby-builder who didn't know any better.

 

I have teched some stuff where it was obvious someone welded washers into thinner tubing to give the appearance that the tubing used was 'specification'...that was a short tech session.

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It was common for people to use the exhaust tubing, and spotweld a washer inside so when they drilled the inspection hole that shows what thickness the piping is, it looks thicker than what it really is!

 

Usually they did a bad job, and you could see the seam between the two. But some guys were pretty good at brazing, soldering, or simply painting it good enough to cover it up and make it look 'thick'.

 

Once enough people were doing it, the inspection hole was to be drilled by the inspector at a point of his choice. That stopped the B.S. Straightaway. Holes for venting so you didn't get blowout when welding were to be drilled in the mounting plates...yeah that was the nezxt excuse to dodge the rules.

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