From: Phil Roettjer
"I am looking for a rollbar for my 67 +4 and wonder if anyone has any suggestions for sources? I want something that is solid enough to have reasonable confidence on the track, but would still leave enough room to hoist up the hood if needed. I believe the factory rollbar has two mounting points on the chassis and two points on the rear wheel well. Is that bar solid enough for the track? Any comments would be welcomed."
Thanks,
If the factory roll bar is high enough for you, then with the diagonal rear brace installed it meets FIA requirements and will be strong enough as long as the wheel arches are solid.
You may need to have longer hood sticks fabricated and a slightly larger top to cover the roll bar - our early cars, ca. 1975 +8's, had tops which would fit over the top of the roll bar so Morgan may be able to supply longer hood sticks to fit over their standard factory roll bar.
Bill
Dear Phil,
If you are planning a roll bar for your '67 Morgan then
do it right or you could end up wearing it for a neck tie! "Right" would
be to go by the USA Sports Car Club of America General Competition Rules.
They specify design, tube diameter and wall thickness as applied to weight
of marque as well as design. You can also go to a true competition car
builder for good work. A proper bar to do the job will not work well
for daily use but you can get around that with removable side support bars
(door bars). Your lateral support bar can also be made to be removed for
street use. It is better to have a correct bar rather than a bar that will
hurt you. What you want is a compromise between race track safety without
completely restricting your road use. So do it right... with experts.
Sincerely, John H. Sheally II
Kerry is correct about the roll bar height. When
I designed the roll bar for my car some years ago, the criteria that is
used were:
1. It had to do the job if the car got upside down,
2. I wanted it to be removable,
3. It could not interfere with having a passenger in
the car,
4. It should conform with the SCCA roll bar construction
rules in effect at that time,
5. It should look good.
6. Other than drilling some holes, I did not want to
have to make any permanent modifications to the car.
To be as close behind the drivers head as possible without being a contact hazard for the helmet and to be 2 inches above the top of my helmet when I sit in the car makes it impossible to fit the top while the roll bar is in place.
The design that I came up with was to move the angle iron support for the battery support boards 4 inches toward the rear of the car to make room to install a bolt in, square tube cross member just behind the nearly vertical board that is just behind the seat back. This cross member stays in place and the main hoop bolts to two flat steel plates that are welded to the top of the cross member. Then I placed two fore-aft supports that attach to each side of the top of the main hoop and go down through the luggage boot floor opening and bend slightly so they can sit on the top of the frame rails just behind the rear axle, where they are bolted down with 4 3/8 inch bolts.
This design is completely attached to the fame and not the woodwork of the car, strengthens the frame from the crossmember just behind the seats where the seat belts attach back to the area just in front of the gas tank, without stiffening the front of the chassis which I believe must be allowed to flex to give a Morgan its good handling qualities. According to the SCCA rules for a car of 1900 lbs., which my steel +4 weighs, the tubing must be 1 3/4 inch X.120" wall DOM mild steel tubing. If the bar is made of chrome moly, it can be .090 wall 1 1/2" but must be certified material, welded by a certified welder and oven stress relieved after welding, an awful lot of trouble for not much weight saviings.
We have sold and installed these bars in Richard Freshman's
Baby Doll IV, Dick Delafield's 4 seater, Wendell Bain's +4, the car that
Doug Sallen is now racing, a Super Sport replica, and a few others.
I don't believe that any of them have been tested, but I am sure that they
are strong enough to do the job.
Regards, Greg Solow
In the UK Rollbars used on the Track have to pass FIA scrutineering and therefore have to be FIA approved...they are certainly strong enough! The manufacturer of FIA approved rollbars for Morgans is a company called;
"Safety Devices" in Soham, Cambridgeshire
TEL: 0044 1353 724203.
FAX: 0044 1353 724213.
You can purchase direct from or through their agents.
Rollbars are available from them for right or left hand drive; with a static
or removable diagonal bar . They also make extension hoops for tall drivers
(!!) as in the UK the car is scrutineered with the driver sitting in it!
Roll bars normally come with strengthening plates to put under the wheel
arch and sill board sections where they are fitted. I hope this helps.
Best wishes, JOHN WORRALL