TheRecklessEngineer Posted April 13, 2008 Share Posted April 13, 2008 My vapour build is slowly condensing now, and I'm starting to think about practical things like seat belts. It is (or will be) an 88" SIII with V8 power - nothing particularly special there. I plan on making it open top/rag top and have been pondering the upper seat belt mount. I would ideally like a simple roll hoop, but a little confused on how these attach to the chassis. As far as I can see from photos, they disappear just behind the bulkhead - what happens after that? So once you have this bar fitted, is there any reason why you cant bolt the bar to the rear tub, then remove the bulkhead, and rely on the stiffness of the bar to stop the rear tub from wobbling around? Edit: Just been looking at photos of NAS spec 90s. Am I right in thinking that the hoop section behind the seats just bolts to the capping? Is this really strong enough to cope with impact? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheeppimp Posted April 13, 2008 Share Posted April 13, 2008 Right these are part of an internal cage in my 80" but should be similar enough to give an idea I think. The legs terminate in plates which bolt down with 4 bolts each to brackets attached to the chassis and sandwich the floor - can see it easiest on the stay in the foreground. As for bolting the tub to this and removing the rear bulhead I suppose it could be done but the design of the rear hoop would need to be different from mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike4444244 Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 not to open the can of worms but if you just want it to provide a top mount for the seatbelts then your ok bolting through the tub with big spreader plates, it will still be far stronger than the factory top mounts, if you are wanting roll over protection then you must fix to the chassis, having said that 'owt is better than nowt' and a hoop bolted to the floor MAY save you if you roll it... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 I certainly agree with teh first part of what Mike said - If you're going to have a roll (whatever) make sure it's secured properly and won't move should the worst happen. Large bits of moving metal are not good if you have an accident Equally, if you're going to run with a rollcage (or hoop unless it's a long way back), drive with harnesses on - you move alot in an accident and the harnesses will keep you inplace and your head away from the bars. If you have no rollcage drive with seatbelts only - that way if the structure above your head comes in the seatbelts will allow your body to move sideways, if you're held upright it'll get messy. Have a look at newer csw Defenders, they have a bulkhead removal bar, there seems to be no reason why you can't build that type of thing into your structure... at least I hope not as that's what I'm planning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 I can't help with the roll bar aspect of the question, but the bulkhead removal bar is something I recently spent some time looking at. There are 2 options: 1. North Off Road - 3rd item down on the page. 2. MUD UK - what I went for. The North Off Road item is considerably more expensive than the MUD UK one, but it completely removes the bulkhead. The MUD one only lowers it. I found the MUD one better as it still gives a solid separator to hold stuff back in the load area. If you speak to North Off Road, they may be able to customize one to allow you to fix a harness to it.......you never know!! Hope that helps a little... Adrian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted April 15, 2008 Author Share Posted April 15, 2008 Hmmm...thanks chaps. I don't intend on doing serious off-road stuff with this, so roll protection isn't a priority. The major concern for me is having a decent seatbelt mount... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West4x4 Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 James i've a roll bar mounted to capping and then another bar runining across the tub at capping height for mounting harnesses to can take a pic tommrrow for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West4x4 Posted April 16, 2008 Share Posted April 16, 2008 Here you go James roll bar monted to the cappings and a bar running across for harnesses also means can chop bulkhead out to with out loosing to much strength i plan to chop mine MUD style not going to low just so can get bit more recline on the seats. Roll bar also has a place to put top mount for seatbelts to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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