Jay Laifman wrote:
>Yikes! Where did the other end of those bolts
>go? Previously I carefully measured and placed
>my roll bar and drilled through the holes into the
>deck. I pushed through the bolts. This weekend,
>I finally went underneath to attach the plates and
>nuts. I was able to get everything on except the
>front bolt which disappeared inside a boxed section
>of the body. There are oblong holes through which
>I can see the bolt. But, they are not in the right place,
>to push up a socket with the nut on it. What do people
>do?
Cuss a lot, mostly. :^) Jay, I'll just about _guarantee_ my roll bar
is different than yours, but 2-1/2 years on, I _still_ remember the
afternoon spent under the car messing around with those bolts. I got 'em in
with a wee bit 'o tape on a combination wrench to hold the nut in place,
something like 10-12 attempts per bolt before they were installed. This is
one place I could see the value of those double-box-end wrenches that are
bent like a boomerang; I don't recall their correct name, but this is
perfect justification for adding a set to your toolbox. :^) Jay, no matter
what, it'll be though, but do-able.
I have no backing plates on the three mounting points for my bar.
The plates _above_ the sheetmetal, where the roll bar attaches, are quite
large, about 35-40 square inches each, to spread out compression loads in
case the unthinkable happens. I cannot conceive of a situation that would
put tension loads on the bolts and perhaps "pull them through", unless I
actually were to suspend the car from the roll bar (?). Mebbe I'm deceiving
myself, but I'm not yet convinced. I guess that, during a roll, the bar
could be subjected to side loads at the point one corner first contacts the
pavement, but that would still be shear loads, eh? I did manage to use
oversize washers, like 'fender washers' only thicker, where practical.
The inverted bolt trick sounds interesting; the only downside would
be interference with any carpeting or other interior trim.
Lawrence R. Wright
( Just spent some time scrolling through a looooong Digest where several
_entire_ threads were re-posted. PLEASE avoid that if possible. TIA.)
PS: I just shoveled a ton or so of this funny white stuff onto the part of
my driveway directly in front of the garage bay where the GQ is parked;
betcha it's not going anywhere for a week or two.
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