Sickness91Z28

iTrader: (1)

Hey Guys, I got my "AutoPower" roll bar today. The instructions pretty much say bolt it in and good luck. It looks pretty straight forward excecpt for one thing. The 2 rear post's mount to the rear fender wheels....but how am I going to make it look good...because they will have to go through the plastic....and everything will have to line up perfect...or there will be gaps everywhere. Here are a few pictures....let me know if you have any ideas on how the best wway would go about doing this. Thanks alot

Sickness91Z28

iTrader: (1)

another...

Sickness91Z28

iTrader: (1)

....

MrDude_1

hmm.

well how i would do it is to remove the plastic panels... install the bar.

then measure VERY carfully where the bars go thru the plastic and at what angle.

use a hole saw, at a angle, to cut the plastic circle just right

clean up the edges of the hole with a exacto knife (or razor or somthing sharp)

cut a thin line thru the plastic from the hole to the edge... where its the least noticable.



when you goto put it on, flex the plastic over the bar until it clears.. it should JUST fit the hole.... then bolt it on.



will take some time, but look nice if done right.

Sickness91Z28

iTrader: (1)

that's what I was worried about.. I really don't want to cut a big line through the plastic. Here is a link: https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...Four+point+bar

There is a guy that has an autopower roll bar installed...but he didn't install it. It looks like a very clean installation...

josh1988

Any particular reason why you went with a bolt in? im considering one of these myself, my car is gutted and if nothing else, i think it would look cool. But i just dont know if i wanna hear the **** im prolly gonna take for getting one(not certified, not a weld in ect.).... i dunno, i like your car, its sick, so i have respect for your opinion and all, so that's why im asking.... errr something.

Sickness91Z28

iTrader: (1)

Thanks man. Well, I don't race my car...even though I do have some pretty descent mods. I basically went for a bolt in because it does look good and I didn't want to completely rip my carpet up to weld one in. Basically for looks though and for show.

Anyhow, I just went out and looked at the bars...and held them in place. I guess it really wouldn't be that noticable if I had to cut a thin line.... And I could always make maybe a rubber gasket to fit around the cuts, so the bar would be nice and tight.

MrDude_1

for your "rubber gasket" idea, id get some silicone hose..

goto a hobby shop and see if you can get some black silicone hose ment for nitro RC fuel lines.... cut a straight slit down it, and it would make a nice little gasket/trim piece to go around the cut marks

raffi4

iTrader: (2)

Where did you get it? How much? i want one just like that already welded but you put it in the car like that i thought it had to be put together inside the car?

Sickness91Z28

iTrader: (1)

Here is the site I got it from:

http://www.livermoreperformance.com/...%20Safety.html

It cost me $235+$101.65 for shipping (freight) It comes in 3 pieces, the main bar and the 2 back bars, it all bolt together and bolts to the floor pans and to the rear wheel wells. Install the main bar, then install the 2 other bars. It comes gloss black, but I just got done sanding it down and sprayed it with a textured graphite metallic spray, looks great.

raffi4

iTrader: (2)

yea i cant wait to see it installed good price and would look great in my car.

BOTTLEDZ28

iTrader: (9)

if the rear bars will unbolt from the main hoop then try and mock fitting the cage in and scribe a mark where the rear bars will bolt to and then remove the the cage. then drill a hole in RIGHT place on the plastic and slid it over the bar. bolt the bars in place and then bolt them to the main hoop. Now I know what saying, how the heck am I gonna know where to drill the hole. Well, it wont be easy. It would be real nice if the rear bars where in 2 pieces and the end flange unbolted a few inches up from the flange, that way there you could drill a small hole in the plastic and look for the flange that would be bolted down already and slowly enlarge the hole so it lines up with the stub of the bar sticking up from the flange.


OR, if you wanted a REAL pro look, then get a crappy pair of panels and mock them up and take measurments off them and transfer them to your panels and make the correct hole.

Justins86bird

You could put some carpet on those panels like the factory did on some cars. That would give you a little room for error when cutting the hole. Cut the hole in the panel, then cut a smaller hole in the carpet and slide the tubing thru.

Sickness91Z28

iTrader: (1)

well, I got to looking at it..and it looks like this would probably be the best possible way. If I did it like this....I probably wouldn't even need to take my plastic out...that would save alot of time....

Sickness91Z28

iTrader: (1)

it would look kind of like this....you think this would look tacky or anything? I think it would be cool to rush maybe "brushed aluminum" to cover the hole with....but..I dunno...black rubber would be much easier to work with...

MrDude_1

yea.. it would look tacky in my opinion..

not bad enough to be a hack job, but not good looking either.
its one of thoes detail things that takes a lil extra effort.

Trans_AM_88

if done right, hell no. if you take a close look at the link that you posted to another tgo thread, you'lll see that's the same thing he did. it looks good if it's done right

CaptPicardsZ28

I think it will look just fine!!

Sickness91Z28

iTrader: (1)

alright, here it is. I absolutely had to cut the plastic...I hated to do it...but it was definently necessary. The installationa bear...me and my dad to get it in...and twist and turn everything...I thought I was going to bend the top...but...didn't. Now....I just have to work on making those panels...(if anyone has any ideas, shoot'em my way)...and I have to cut my rear floor mats to cover up the plates. I think it looks great though

MrDude_1

any close ups of where you cut?

pasky

Damn, thats a pretty good job their custom. You can always take it to a body shop and they could make something for ya easy, probably wouldn't cost you more than $50 either. Im not too great when it comes to fabricating something to look good to, so thats what I would do, im sure you have more skill than I do. Anyways, I need to grab me one of those, I got 2 new leather racing seats in my car and I wanna put some 4 point harnesses in it.

BOTTLEDZ28

iTrader: (9)

nice job. Guess thats a whole lot easier then my way but hey, its done and im sure you like it.

89 Iroc Z

84customZ28,
When you installed the cage was there anyway to move it back some so it won’t be showing in front of the door. I was thinking about getting an autopower cage but I don’t want a cage that I could smash my head against if I got in an accident. Can you take a picture of the seat far back to show if that would be a problem.

Sickness91Z28

iTrader: (1)

I see what your saying...and I actually never thought about that. But to answer your question..I really don't think you can move it back much more. Everything is in line...and it won't budge on inch....in any direction. It is in there soooooo tight it's crazy. Your best bet would to have one made...or something like that. Another thing I'm going to have to do is cut up my rear floor mats...because the mats won't fit with the bar in place...so..I'll have to make a few templates..to see if I can make the floor mats fit around the bar. And I'm still trying to figure out waht to use for the material to put on my wheel wells...I don't even know where to get a small sheet of black rubber...or something I can use that is flexible..and will take shape easily.

Charlie's87

Like someone mentioned, some cars came with carpet on those panels. Maybe you could get a piece of matching carpet, or seat cover material, and use a cloth tape (the kind for measuring clothes) , and take the exact measurements of the hole location. Then cut out a hole that matches the diameter of your tube in the new fabric, in the measured location. Unbolt the back bar at the top and slide the material with the hole in it down the tube until it's in position, then glue it to the plastic. Should look nice that way. Just a suggestion, there are probably a lot of different things you could do.

The install looks good tho, looks like there's not too much space taken up. Something else to add to my "To Do" list =)

One question, have you noticed a significant improvement in how your car handles? Does that bar stiffen the chassis up dramatically?

Sickness91Z28

iTrader: (1)

well, I haven't gotten a chance to drive it yet...so I'm not real sure. I doubt that it will feel much different since it's a 4 point and dosen't have a brace going from one side to the other. I thought about your suggestion about the panel...but the thing is...it's fits sooooo tight in there....I'm unable to take the bars apart..it's in there for good now. So, what I'll have to do is...I'll have to cut a thin line, the cut the hole, so I can just slip it on.

Kandied91z

iTrader: (7)

my 6pt made a huge difference........looks good. unfortunately working with plastic around a cage is a pita. luckily for you the cage is much further away from the wall then my own. mine is really hard to work with.

grngryoutmyway

iTrader: (1)

Get some junk panels and cut out the whole recessed area on the plastic panel piece then cut out your hole and cover it with your choice of material, headliner or material like the speaker cover would look best in that spot IMO or you could just make a little bracket to cover the hole, I would go with some sort of metal and paint it to match the interior but the plastic might work out ok Good Job, that was a quick install there :hail:

josh1988

Big difference in handling I assume you mean? correct? What brand did you buy? How much was it, and did you weld it in? lol, thanks man.

MrDude_1

yea thats what he means.

he had one custom made from chromoly... theres a TON of pics of it.. just do a search and you'll find what you need.

im sure it cost a pretty penny... he had it tucked in really tight to the car... and yea, like all real rollbars, its welded in.

Kandied91z

iTrader: (7)

yes it really helped with the car in alot of ways, made it heavier too though....the CM was very expensive. don't think i'd do it again if i had to but it allowed me to have the tubing smaller so it could be hidden easier which was what i wanted. i wasn't going for anything that would be legal at a track, just something that worked and didn't get in the way.

Sickness91Z28

iTrader: (1)

went to the hobby store and bought a few sheets of black rubber foam. Made a pattern, cut it, installed it in place. What'cha think? It's really the only thing that could be done....

CaptPicardsZ28

Looks great! Good job!

Nate86

That looks absolutely fine. Great job.

megaracerx

do you have to drill holes in the floor boards? i cant think of any holes that are there to start... i would love one but i really dont wanna drill the floors myself...how much to get them installed..?

Sickness91Z28

iTrader: (1)

yes, holes have to be drilled in the floor pans for the front bars to mount. 8 holes total, and then backing plates go on the other side....very very simple. If anyone decides to get one, make sure to have alteast one other person help...because it's such a tight fit...and because of the shape of it..it's hard to handle.