Ok Ladies and Gentlmen, please keep an open mind on this one. I personally
dislike the looks of roll bars in Tigers but I also feel strongly that the
pax is vulnerable in a roll over (say something breaks in the front
suspension in a fast sweeping turn.)
How about mounting two vertical bars (which would act as columns) from the
floor to each of the upper corners of the front window frame? Each bar
would have a flange at the top which would be bolted to the upper window
frame and of course a flange for mounting at the floor near the sill. In
this configuration, the bars could be sized to withstand 2 or 3x the weight
of the car (dynamic loads). Side loads would be distrubuted between the
bars through the upper window frame.
Benefits:
- It may not be as noticeable as a rear roll bar
- No head butts from the rear roll bar in collisions
- One size fits all drivers
- Soft/Hard tops fit normally
- Higher roll bar protection than rear roll bar can offer
- Less weight
- Some side impact protection
Drawbacks:
- One needs to step around the bar a bit when entering the car.
- It will block some vision in that direction
- It may be butt ugly
- Holes have to be drilled in a Tiger
- Not adaptable to sholder harnesses like rear roll bar
I don't know if this concept has been tried before but I would like
comments. I don't have access to my Tiger right now so I may have
overlooked some obvious physical improbability.
Ed
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