[TR] roll bars

[Tim Gaines]

I've decided that I have been pushing my luck driving my TR6 without a roll
bar.  From what I have read on archived forums, there really is very little
added safety from roll bars that aren't bolted or welded to the frame.  One of
my Miata friends tells me that his Hard Dog bar is just that, but Hard Dog
doesn't make one for the TR6, and I'm not finding any other one that I can
afford.  I like the "looks" of the Boss Frog bar; it looks pretty sturdy with
a single loop spanning both seats with bracing that provides four mounting
feet and two additional diagonal braces.  It looks just like the one Moss
sells.  Trouble is, the feet simply bolt through the floor panel to heavy-duty
back plates with no frame mounting.  I'm wondering if the back plates under
the main (front) feet, which are pretty close to a frame member, could
actually be connected to the frame by welding them to flanges.  I had a local
welding shop fabricate and weld support flanges for my differential mount
early on, and it doesn't seem that these back plates would be all that
different a job.  Maybe I could even work out a template for new back plates
that actually have a flange that could be welded to the frame.  So, my
question is, has anyone actually done something like this, or is it a hair
brained idea?  I'm also worried that mounting just the front two feet rather
than all four this way may not give enough strength.  What do you think?

Tim Gaines
Clinton, SC
1974 TR6
1980 Spitfire