Roll Bar placement

Hello, would any of you know the proper placement of a roll bar for a 1968-69 CJ5? My CJ5 did not have one when I bought it and the rear fenderwells have holes that do not line up with the roll bar(hoop style)that I have. I am looking for the distance from the front/edge of fenderwell to the front/bottom edge of roll bar( or front of angle base to fender edge). Hope I didn't confuse anyone!
Thanks.

 

Sleek77,

Pictures here would be really helpful.

Also, a lot of folks here believe in ensuring that your roll system is tied to the frame (a bit more sturdy than the old sheet metal). Food for thought.

D

 

As I recall, the roll bar has to be sprung between the bed rails. Put one side in, and bounce against the other side to pop it in. Or put a ratchet strap between the down legs to squeeze it so it will go in. Once in, it's located as far forward as possible, hard against the bow tubes in the rails.

Realize that there is more than one manufacturer of roll bars, and the holes from one surely will not match the holes from another.

Did anything come with the roll bar? There are bolts going down into the wheel houses and bolts through the side rails. Pretty sure there are spacers that go between the side rails and the roll bar, to keep from crushing the side rails when you tighten those bolts. You put the bolts through the side rails first, to spread the roll bar tight against the side rails. Then you bolt down through the wheel houses.

 

Placement is going to depend on the design of the rollbar you have. Without knowing what you have (picture is helpful with this) it's very difficult to help with this. As Timgr noted there are and were lots of rollbar manufacturers over the years and they all mounted a little different and the designs were a little different.

 

Well, I'm sure the roll bar manufacturers gave instructions about placement. I'm most familiar with the "Jeep approved special equipment" bars (Whitco?) for the early and intermediate, and they were mounted all the way forward against the top bow tubes.

Maybe someone has an original instruction sheet?

This thread may be of interest - Whitco Roll Bar? | EarlyCJ5.com

 

This is the roll bar I have.

I do plan on reinforcing it to frame. But it sounds like there is no set placement from what I am hearing.
So the distance from the front of the hoop of the roll bar, to the top front edge of the wheel well is not a set distance? If not, what is the distance for you who have a similar set up?

Thanks.

 

Here's where mine sits.
FWIW, this Jeep was rolled at freeway speed-the po hit an icy bridge and got sideways-with a bar just like this just bolted on the fender wells. Rolled twice, destroyed the hood and fenders and windshield, and the driver Wales away.

 

I'm in the process of adding a rear seat. Sitting in the back, it seems like if you put the jeep gently on its top, the weight of the engine and the geometry of where the bar is, the jeep will tip to the front, thus protecting the rear passengers heads. But if it's bouncing, pooping, spinning, etc, like in an accident or rolling down a hill, I would think you need the rear brace to come to the back at the same (or close to) height as the front to give adequate rear passenger protection. But I'm not an engineer. Thoughts before I go talk to a fabricator?

 

Passengers in the rear sit the height of the rear seat above the front passengers, you know.

 

But they fit under the softtop so I'm thinking keep it a little below that.

 

Re the frame thing, the roll bar will protect you without a lot of extra structure. The steel body need to be in good condition, and depending on the speed of the roll-over, the wheel houses will be bent. In a slow roll on the trail, most of the damage will be to the hood and windshield (if up) and whatever top is on. There has been a lot of user testing of these bars.

Just me - I would focus on a front bar mounted to the floor before I worried about some fancy tie-in to the frame. The body won't separate from the frame unless you have a lot of body lift, and if you use the recommended plates on the backside of the mounting, the bar won't pull off. If you want to add something more, I believe that a front bar is especially important to protect the occupants from the collapsing windshield - BTDT.Any roll-over is going to cause scrapes and dents, but I think you'll also have less damage with the front bar installed.

Just a comment - in the '70s I saw dozens of these bars installed at one of the nations largest Jeep dealers, as a part of new car delivery. As I recall, they were always moved all the way forward against the bow pockets. Doug's install is maybe 4" further back than this 'nominal' position, but it seemed not to change the protection from the bar.

 

If you are going to have back seat passengers, take a look at designs for the "family" cage.
Jeep CJ family cage - Google Search

 

When the cages come to the front and go down to the floor next to the windshield, how does this affect getting in and out, especially the drivers side?

 

colojeepguy- Thanks, that is what I am looking for. I can estimate the distance from that pic.

 

Just wondering - did you get your rollbar used or did you order it from someone?

 

The original roll bar in my Jeep was a dealer install in 1970 (the original owner is a family friend so I know the history of the jeep since day 1)
The bar I bought to replace it bolted up in the same location....I didn't have to drill any holes. It's a Smittybilt bar, from 20 years ago when they made actual hard core Jeep stuff instead of Chinese junk.

 

Makes it easier for me to get in and out. Something really substantial to grab onto.

 

Possible head bumping hazard.