it fits....

[E30-323ti]

Good score.

I presume you went this way to save costs over getting a cage built???
Not something I'd do.

Ideally you'd want the B-pillars tied into the cage (welded or bolted to the pillar), and the hoop sitting pretty snuggly against the roof.

[DanGillan]

Good score.

I presume you went this way to save costs over getting a cage built???
Not something I'd do.

Ideally you'd want the B-pillars tied into the cage (welded or bolted to the pillar), and the hoop sitting pretty snuggly against the roof.

i went this way becuase i dont need something crazy like a full cage, i just need this for track safety and to safely run harnesses. if i was fender to fender racing i would have a full cage built, but this is mostly for drivers schools and adss and com (corvettes of massachusetts who require a roll bar) stuff like that. and it is snug against the roof, only about an inch of clearance (if that) between it and the roof.

[Stu]

Cool stuff Dan.

Got any closeup pics of where it bolts to the floor/wheel well?

[DanGillan]

Cool stuff Dan.

Got any closeup pics of where it bolts to the floor/wheel well?

im gonna finish refinishing it this weekend, there used to be a full cage welded to it, and i cut off all the old welds and grinded them off today, im gonna sand and paint it this weekend, and when i have it welded in, ill be sure to take pics, im actually adding 3 more bars to it, so ill take pics of the finished product, and the closeups for ya;

[e30 gangsta]

its the race roll bar with options... off a e30 m3???

[DanGillan]

it was off an e30 m3 that had a full roll cage welded to this bar, then cut off and saved the bar with options, then i grinded off where all the old welds were and its like new, and im adding 3 bars to it, it will be done next week

[e30 gangsta]

yeah so basically get that bar with all the options from autopower and it will fit...

[DanGillan]

i guess, im ont sure what it's technically called, but it doesnt look like any of the bars on their site, i'd call them. i can snap another pic for you later if you need it, its out of the car right now, i've been working on it all day

[ydubbs4]

Why are you adding 3 additional bars to it? And where are these bars running to and from?

As far as welding versus bolting, I would definitely go with bolting. The chassis stiffening you are talking about (torsional loads I presume) wont be all that great as you are only tieing in the rear half of the car. That being the case, the miniscule gains of welding don't outweigh the ability to take the bar out of the car at a later date, at least not in my opinion.

If the long range plan is to go with a full cage anyway, than I would build that from the ground up and ditch the autopower bar anyhow.

Just my $.02.

Will

[MR 325]

Why would you ditch the bat for a full cage as opposed to adding the rest of the cage to it? In my opinion it provides a great starting point for a full roll cage and for someone like Dan who already has the roll bar, why remove it for something else that's really the same thing? Know what I mean?

[ydubbs4]

If he runs stock class, thats fine. It he goes anything else, SCCA, BMWCCA Prepared or Mod, than what he has is far from optimal as it ties into the car within the cabin. With a regular 3-er, KP is the way to go in BMWCCA racing and building a cage from the ground up is safer, stronger, and more advantageous dynamically. Can you do it? Sure, but if you are going to do it, why not do it right?

Will

[DanGillan]

the 3 additional bars (from tips from the all knowing peter rowell)

-~3ft diagonal from the top of the main hoop (drivers side curve at the top) to the rear passenger bar that attaches to the wheel well, basically a diagonal across the whole bar.

- the other 2 are attaching at the base of the main hoop on each side and going back to the rear bars on each wheel well


also with the option between welding and bolting.... if you ever want to take out the welded bar, all i have to do it hit it with a cutting wheel, no biggie at all, leave the plates welded to the car, then re weld plates back to the bar, its essentially easy, but yea, a little more of a pain, so, ill go with the welding. also, this bar was once a full cage in one of the cars mario worked on, they cut the cage off of it, and removed the bar, then i grinded off the ends of the bars and welds there the full cage was attached, therefore, if i ever wanted to make it into a full cage, it would be more than sufficiant, at least i think if mario did it, it's more then sufficiant, but i most likely will never make it a full cage, and if i do, i will cut this out and start over, but thanks for the words of wisdom man, i do appreciate it, but i kinda already planned this out and im sticking to my plan. thanks man,

Dan

[DanGillan]

step 2 - refinishing, and partial attachment and cover up, step 3 comes in the coming month (more bars, and final welding in)

here are more pics of step 2...

[rwh11385]

I thought you were removing the back seat you don't have a use for really.

The little girlies will enjoy playing on the monkey bars......or you could use them for more leverage.

[Rob]

Is that euro plate mounted right there? really fucking gay if it is