Aero Roll-Over Bar - yes or no?

[Bumpa]

The roadster I am restoring has an aero roll-over bar, and I don't know whether to keep it or remove it. It is a fairly substantial item that bolts with two bolts each side at the back of the wheel arch, and a further two bolts each side at the vertical front of the arch. The way the bar sits means that any downward loading of it would be passed to the top of the curved chassis rail that runs along the inner edge of the arch. The ordinary soft top can fit over it without trouble.

I have read all sorts of opinions from our American friends on the internet and most seem think it a bad idea as it isn't tall enough to protect the head properly, might collapse forward in a roll-over, and also presents a hazard to the back of the head if the car was rear-ended.

What is the opinion of the worthy readers of this board?

EDIT: Oh yes, the other issue is that the standard seat belt mount is hidden so has had to be moved further back on the side of the arch.

Aero bar.jpg (3.76 KiB) Viewed 4446 times

[Statler]

I have the Moss Aero bar in the Midget.
It’s a pretty well put together item and has been in there for 20 odd years.

You don’t see many Bs with a hoop, so it depends if you want to be different.

I always look at the something is better than nothing side of the protection it offers.
I would not want to be in either should they overturn.

[Ian F]

Mike, my opinion for what it's worth:

If these bars do not offer protection to a standard deemed acceptable for Motorsport use (I don't think they do) then I would regard them as "patter", as my old bike racing friends would say (translation for non-Scots would be "something for show rather than function).

Hope that might raise a Sunday morning smile.

Put a proper roll bar on if you want such a thing, a good insurance policy.

Ian F

[Bumpa]

I am inclined to remove it for three reasons.

Firstly, as Ian said, it is not regarded as effective protection by the motorsports authority, partly because it could be pushed flat and also because it isn't tall enough. If it was tall enough you wouldn't be able to get the hood on.

Secondly, since roll-over accidents are actually rare, the bigger danger seems to be splitting the back of your skull on it in a whiplash type collision. I sat in the car last night and I didn't have to lean back far to contact my head on the bar. The head rests on these older cars won't help as they too low.

Thirdly, I think it spoils the look of the car.

Rolling any old car is to be avoided at all costs. Even the metal roof on an old saloon or coupe doesn't offer that much protection. Driving old cars is a risk whichever way you look at it.

[Ian F]

Hi Mike. I think if you want some roll-over protection it must surely be possible to get a bar which would fit under the hood?(unless you are exceptionally tall perhaps?).

I had a motorsport roll bar in my TR2, and there must be many MGB Tourers competing in motorsport which have them fitted. The main niggle with my TR2 was that it was impossible to get a watertight seal around the bar with a tonneau fitted - rain always found a way in (I found that driving in the rain with the tonneau was fine for the driver as long as you were going fast enough).

Ian F

[Bumpa]

Ian, the way I understand it, the motorsport regs say the bar must be 2 inches above the head. The top of my head is above the bar on my car, and also above the top of the windscreen. You can just about see that on this old photo taken during my previous ownership of this car. Here's another photo showing the lowness of the bar relative to the screen.

[Ian F]

Thanks Mike. I think you must be a bit taller than me! Your only option might be to engineer a much lower seat base.
Having said all this, I don't have a roll bar on my Midget, but I do sometimes experience a bit of a chill when I think of the consequences of turning it over........

Ian F

[Bumpa]

I'm only 5' 8" but that height is in my back. My legs are short, just like my 5' 2" mum's were. As I say, driving any old car is a risk on today's roads, especially since modern cars are so tall and have generally poor visibility due to restricted window space. But then the whole of life is a risk. You have to consider what level of risk you can live with. You may feel safer in your BGT but it's an illusion because you are enclosed within it. I think the roll-over bar on my car, while providing only marginal roll-over protection, is more likely to injure me in a whiplash scenario. And a tail end crash is far more likely than a roll-over accident. A cheery topic!