Roll bar mounting holes

Hi Mike, Check Jegs,

they have roll bar gussets and parts to do exactly what you need with the nut idea. Spitzer Race cars also has them in stock. Just make sure your roll bar is the real deal and not factory "good looks" type. If you roll. you die. And the belts could be a huge problem if in the event of an accident it were to move and the seat did not. Also, Spitzer has a tech line you can call during business hours and they are a lot of help. ( I hope some of this is of value. I'd give them a ring and see what they say. I fully trust them, I have two funny cars made by them and I totaled my first and walked away. They are really good engineers and welders.

All the best,

Rob Fraser

Fraser Competition Engines Chicago, IL.

Strongest way would be the steel sleeve and through bolt, since the welding makes it one piece with the bar, and the bolt and washer spread the stress to both sides.

The factory may have used a riv-nut, but that does weaken the roll bar at the hole and relies on strength from only one side. In a crash the forces don't last long (milliseconds), but they are huge.

Then again, if you are stressing the bar that much, you are already in deep deep trouble...

If you still want to use the "stock" shoulder bolt, you could have a sleeve machined with the 7/16"-20 threads inside, or weld two barrel nuts end-to-end over a chunk of threaded rod to get the needed length. Weld it into the roll bar, clean up the ends with a grinder, and then chase out the threads with a 7/16"-20 tap before final assembly.

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Rob and Bruce, thanks for the good information. ...Mike DeAngelis