Autopower rollbar mounting tips

[bmwpower]

I bought a used Autopower rollbar today for my car. It didn't come with instructions.

Does anyone have any tips for going about mounting it?

[JGood]

I bought a used Autopower rollbar today for my car. It didn't come with instructions.

Does anyone have any tips for going about mounting it?

Not too much to it, just put it in place and drill the holes. Be sure to have someone help you with the drivers side so you don't drill through the fuel lines. I didn't, so I pulled the lines out of the brackets and put a 2x4 between them and the body.

If you aren't sure what hardware you have, ditch it and get grade 8 stuff. I think Autopower gives grade 5 with their kits.

[kishg]

might be a good idea to add re-inforcement plates where you drill through.

[bmwpower]

Not too much to it, just put it in place and drill the holes. Be sure to have someone help you with the drivers side so you don't drill through the fuel lines. I didn't, so I pulled the lines out of the brackets and put a 2x4 between them and the body.

If you aren't sure what hardware you have, ditch it and get grade 8 stuff. I think Autopower gives grade 5 with their kits.

Cool. Yea, it's missing the bolts to bolt it to the body so I was going to get some of those. Not sure how long I need so I'm gonna drill first (using your technique since no friends are around) then measure. Thanks...

might be a good idea to add re-inforcement plates where you drill through.

Did these originally come with the rollbar? Or are they usually "make your own"?

Yea it came with plates, 2 on passenger side (?) and 1 on the driver's side. Not sure why there are 2 for the passenger side. They're kinda rusty so I'm not sure if I'm gonna clean them up or just replace.

If these are usually "make your own", how thick should they be? Match the baseplate thickness?

[JGood]

I think they are supposed to come with the kit. Mine are just identical to the base plates, so they would be relatively easy to make since you have a template. I'm not sure what's desired, but that's what I used. It gets tricky on the drivers side as the car isn't flat, there are brackets in the way. Grind it all flat and reroute stuff as needed, you want that plate flat against the body.

[bmwpower]

Did you guys just remove the carpet and get it over with? Or did you cut holes to enable the rollbar to attach directly to the body?

[Yeee30]

i cut holes in my carpet. but only do that if your really good and meticulous about your work or someone else's work.

if i could do it again, i'd just mount it right over the carpet.

another thing about hardware, if you get grade 8 bolts. just make sure you double nut the other end of the bolt.
autopower usually provides hardware with the cage but since you didn't get any they usually provide twice as many nuts so you can double nut the bolt.

[E30Idea]

weld it in on 6x6 plates

[JGood]

if i could do it again, i'd just mount it right over the carpet.

I'm fairly certain you're not supposed to do that. Then you end up with play between the surfaces under extreme forces.

I cut holes, but then eventually removed the carpet. The amount of holes you need when you mount seat brackets, harnesses, etc... makes your carpet look like swiss cheese, so you might as well just remove it and sell it before butchering it.

[UNHCLL]

You should have 4 backing plates, that mount outside the car.
(1 in each rear wheel well, 1 under each pillar)

[Van Westervelt]

Oh and be smart, dont drill all your holes then put in the bolts. Drill the holes at one base, set in the bolts and start to tighten them before moving onto and drilling the next leg's holes.

Grade 8 hardware, double nutted.

Should have a plate for all 4 or 6 legs. (depending on what bar you got)

DO NOT leave carpet between the bar and the car. Cut a circle out, and the bar will fit right in.

Do you have padding?

[JGood]

Do you have padding?

Good call. SFI 45.1, at least (2) 3 foot sections. Don't skimp!

[bmwpower]

You should have 4 backing plates, that mount outside the car.
(1 in each rear wheel well, 1 under each pillar)

Oh and be smart, dont drill all your holes then put in the bolts. Drill the holes at one base, set in the bolts and start to tighten them before moving onto and drilling the next leg's holes.

Grade 8 hardware, double nutted.

Should have a plate for all 4 or 6 legs. (depending on what bar you got)

DO NOT leave carpet between the bar and the car. Cut a circle out, and the bar will fit right in.

Do you have padding?

I have 5 plates for some reason - one for each corner plus an extra for the hoop passenger side.

No I don't have padding yet. I have to buy some. I need to do a search for a source...unless you would be so kind as to supply one? :)

I'm wondering if I should just remove the carpet completely. That way I can sell it. I'd hate to cut it since it's in pretty nice shape (to sell).

Again, track only car.

[blueapplesoda]

i used silicone rubber caulk between the backing plate and the chassis on the outside of the car

you can buy padding from summit

[kishg]

will you be driving this car to the track or trailering it? if driving, keep in mind that removing the carpet will substantially increase the road noise and make the car harder to tolerate for long distances. it will be bad enough with the back seat out as-is. padding can be purchased from many sources, apex performance, safe racer, solo racer, ioport, summit, pegasus, they all sell it. just do a search for sfi rated padding.