Im finally gonna be able to get back to work on the baja. I want to get some opinions about how I plan to fix a couple of things you guys mentioned as well as a new concern I have had about the roof.

Heres how I plan to fix the door area you guys mentioned before.


My biggest concern is wether or not the roof section will be able to handle a rollover. Im worried about the top section folding over or twisting. I think this idea will do the trick but I wanted to get more opinions. I plan on going from the top where the roof section connects to the main hoop - down to the torsion housing - on both sides. Unless you think it would be fine with just one crossbar.

That ought to work fine. Its called x-bracing the roll bars in a rail. I think it is strongest to butt the x-braces together where they intersect, instead of them bypassing each other. One bar the full length, and the other butting into the full one. Plus it saves a little room. Tell me to shut up if I'm being MR. OBVIOUS.! Your roof appears to be short enough that you'd probably be ok w/o it, especially with the x-bracing in the roof itself. If you put enough bars in one to make it so strong that it wont even tweak a little in a rollover, it could become bad heavy.

That thing is too damn cool!

Larry

Thanks. Its good that you think I may not need the Xbracing because my idea looked better on paper I guess you can say. Braces would interfear with the battery tray as well as both seats. So I either need to find a different solution or just say screw it Braces along the seats wont work either unless I cut out a grove in my door because the seats are too close to the door.

It looks like you used 1 1/2" for the main bars and 1 " for your braces. As long as your 1 1/2 is at least .095 wall, and the 1" is at least .065 wall , even if its mild steel "buggy pipe" ( not even DOM or chromoly) , I THINK you will be fine the way it is now. I read that you had a professional to weld it all up ( samba forums, maybe?), so as far as the roof goes, you are in good shape.

The big opening at the doors would concern me though. Not necessarily for a rollover, but more for some jackass slamming into the side of you. Could you run a piece of pipe sort of horizontally inside your door? Weld it to the heavier steel at the hinge mounting points at the front inside,and to the latch area of the inside of the door at the rear? Just like an intrusion beam in modern cars. Even if you can only fit 1" pipe in there, it will be way better than stock! .095 1" is surprisingly strong. Or go ahead and notch the inside of the door. I think a piece running from where your dash bar and windshield bars intersect, horizontally back to your "roll bar" (main rear vertical hoop) would be the safest. ( might be a p.i.t.a. to get in n out of, but most buggies kinda are anyways. Get one those "swing bar kits" like they put in door drag cars, if you got the room). Even if you have to cut the whole inner skin out of the door to get some real steel in there, you'd be better off because that door may as well not be there if another buggy looses its brakes and puts its front end in the car with you Especially with your quarters just being kinda hung to your bars and having no lower cowl at the front of the opening, welded or not.

Larry

All the steel that I added is DOM .120 wall thickness (1 1/2 and 1 inch). The only stuff smaller is the rear cage area leftover from the buggy frame that is .095

I see your point with the door openings. I really never thought about someone (or something) coming through there. I really dont want to notch out my door panels (just bought new ones) so I will see about moving my seats in a little bit to make room for the side braces. I guess I will have to make it higher than my previous idea to give me any sort of protection from a side impact. Now hopefully I can find an area to mount them so I can still get in and out of it.

If the damn thing didnt look so cool I would probably just say screw it and buy another buggy frame and be done

.120 DOM! I dont hink you will have ANY strength problems.

Maybe something like this could help you get in and out of the car.:
http://chassisengineering.com/shopDetai ... uctId=1456

Man, ANYbody could just buy a frame. You got something unique there . Stick it out. It'll be worth it when you're done.

Larry