Griffith Roll Bar
Discussion
I'm picking up my Tower/Rollcentre bar tomorrow (having had it covered in leather) and will be attempting to fit it myself this w/end or next. Tower tell me it is really simple, the difficult bit is being careful with the trim. If this turns out to be true then I expect anyone who is reasonably handy could fit it for you if you don't fancy it yourself.
I will be pleased to. I don't know how to post pics but will be happy to email them to someone who can when the deed is done.
Just collected the bar. Upholsterer asked why one leg of the roll bar was longer than the other... something tells me "really easy to fit" may be a little optimistic!!
Just collected the bar. Upholsterer asked why one leg of the roll bar was longer than the other... something tells me "really easy to fit" may be a little optimistic!!
If someone who can post pic's back onto this thread would like to contact me through my profile, I'll email pic's of fixing points of roll bar. I can then provide an explanation of anything that may not be clear.
I have to say, the fitting took me longer than I thought it would (isn't that always the case?) and did involve some head scratching but wasn't exactly difficult. The worst part is having to trim and refit the central console which really doesn't want to slide home with the roll bar in the way.
I will have to take some more pic's of the car with carpet replaced and cling film removed from the leather covered bar etc. I am not a fan of roll bars from an aesthetic POV but I am pleased to say I think this bar neither adds to nor takes away from the look of the car.
What it does do is give me peace of mind that I have done my bit for my personal safety and the side benefit of a very noticeable stiffening of the chassis (first noticed when taking the car off axle stands - a major change - and second the next day when screaming around Castle Combe). Willans harnesses finish it off - driving on the track is so much more fun and "understandable" in that you can really feel the car moving about under the seat rather than the other way around!
I have to say, the fitting took me longer than I thought it would (isn't that always the case?) and did involve some head scratching but wasn't exactly difficult. The worst part is having to trim and refit the central console which really doesn't want to slide home with the roll bar in the way.
I will have to take some more pic's of the car with carpet replaced and cling film removed from the leather covered bar etc. I am not a fan of roll bars from an aesthetic POV but I am pleased to say I think this bar neither adds to nor takes away from the look of the car.
What it does do is give me peace of mind that I have done my bit for my personal safety and the side benefit of a very noticeable stiffening of the chassis (first noticed when taking the car off axle stands - a major change - and second the next day when screaming around Castle Combe). Willans harnesses finish it off - driving on the track is so much more fun and "understandable" in that you can really feel the car moving about under the seat rather than the other way around!
SRAPUBLIC said:
I see that t-v-r-services.co.uk fit the Martin Short internal rollbar. Is there anywhere else south east that can fit the same or similar to a Griff ?
Offord (www.offord.com/location.htm) have fitted one to my chim. see earlier thread www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=13&h=&t=28193
Thanks for posting the pics BB.
Yes, these are photo's of work in progress (and yes, Steve, I'd be happy for Tower View to use them).
In fact, after these pic's were taken I had to undo everything. It had been in the back of my mind that replacing the centre console would be tricky and sure enough there was no way it was going back. A quick call to Tower View confirmed that in "some cases" it was necessary to undo everything and "wiggle it" until it all went back (having previously trimmed the fibreglass and retrimmed the leather on the console).
Where you can see I have cut out the foam around the holes, you place a rubber pad. Both pad and foam are 5mm thick so it fits perfectly. Then you silicon seal the rubber pad down and then seal around the edges of the hole both above and below.
I drove back from from Castle Combe at the w/e in a thunderstorm for a short while and no leaks. In fact no squeeks, leaks, whistles, vibration or knocking is transmitted by the bar. I couldn't discern any increase in road noise either, having cut holes in the floor, so the rubber pad and silicon method clearly works.
I filled the bar with expanding foam before fitting and of course it's covered in leather, both of which help. Also, I was very careful to ensure that no part of the bar touches the body. You may see that I slipped a piece of leather on one side to keep bar and body apart. As it happened when I had taken it apart and put it back together again, this wasn't needed (spooky!).
I'll post later re cost etc.
>> Edited by GarryM on Tuesday 24th June 09:24
Yes, these are photo's of work in progress (and yes, Steve, I'd be happy for Tower View to use them).
In fact, after these pic's were taken I had to undo everything. It had been in the back of my mind that replacing the centre console would be tricky and sure enough there was no way it was going back. A quick call to Tower View confirmed that in "some cases" it was necessary to undo everything and "wiggle it" until it all went back (having previously trimmed the fibreglass and retrimmed the leather on the console).
Where you can see I have cut out the foam around the holes, you place a rubber pad. Both pad and foam are 5mm thick so it fits perfectly. Then you silicon seal the rubber pad down and then seal around the edges of the hole both above and below.
I drove back from from Castle Combe at the w/e in a thunderstorm for a short while and no leaks. In fact no squeeks, leaks, whistles, vibration or knocking is transmitted by the bar. I couldn't discern any increase in road noise either, having cut holes in the floor, so the rubber pad and silicon method clearly works.
I filled the bar with expanding foam before fitting and of course it's covered in leather, both of which help. Also, I was very careful to ensure that no part of the bar touches the body. You may see that I slipped a piece of leather on one side to keep bar and body apart. As it happened when I had taken it apart and put it back together again, this wasn't needed (spooky!).
I'll post later re cost etc.
>> Edited by GarryM on Tuesday 24th June 09:24
The cost for everything was as follows:
Bar £330
Rubber pads £5
Leather £120
Harnesses £120
VAT on above £100
Postage £40
Upholsterer £80
Total £795
With the silicon I guess it just about hits £800. Ouch!! I had put off working it out and now I know why!
I would say having spent all of that, that the car feels so much better to drive due to the stiffened chassis. I really didn’t expect to feel such a difference but I can - it feels much as I would expect a upgrade in suspension to feel like.
If anyone is seriously contemplating doing this themselves, the procedure I followed was basically this:
1. Put rear of car on axle stands and remove wheels
2. Remove seats
3. Raise centre console (it took me a while to find handbrake adjuster - on mine it was by rear suspension whereas others describe it as in the transmission tunnel - which I take to mean in the centre of the car)
4. Peel back carpet on rear shelf leaving the foam underlay in place (stuck to fibreglass)
5. Overlay Tower View template but do not cut holes as shown on template.
6. Drill test holes to ensure you are in the right place then enlarge to enable bar to fit. I used a series of small drill holes to outline the desired shape, cut with hacksaw blade and then filed smooth (this took me some time as I was keen for the holes to be as small as possible). Ensure as best you can that the bar does not touch the fibreglass anywhere.
7. Install bar into front hoop brackets (boots) and very loosely attach rear struts to chassis.
8. Test fit of roof over bar. On mine the roll bar was v. slightly twisted which combined with an inconsistent gap between chassis and body, meant I had to apply a fair amount of pressure to get the bar even. Having fixed one side, I sat on the bar and got a friend to fix the other side.
9. Cut and remove foam underlay around holes cut in fibreglass (as shown in pic’s) and first make a template then shape a rubber pad to fit (as big as possible to help adhesion). The rubber pad has to fit around the bar so will need to be cut with a stanley knife. I tried to super glue this back together again after fitting but it didn’t seem to take so applied a thin layer of silicon which worked fine. This is very easy around the rear struts but not so easy around the front hoop as there is very little room and the hole is right by the edge of the rear shelf behind the seat. It takes a fair bit of trial and error (well it did for me!) to get the pads absolutely right.
10. Using the fixing points behind the seats for the centre console, make a template. Peel back the leather trim on centre console and cut fibreglass. This is the one situation where you can afford to cut on the large side as you do not want to replace the console more times than you really need to. Ask me how I know this! When suitably trimmed, re-glue the leather.
11. Loosen off all fixings (take out the fixings holding main hoop in the boots) This was a pain for me as the whole thing was under tension.
12. Apply fairly silly amounts of force to get the console back in being mindful of the earthing bolts that can catch both front edges of the centre console. Be mindful also that the centre console is fairly thin fibreglass and due to its shape will not put up with much bending or it will craze. I should point out that Tower View often get the centre console back in without all this hassle so it will depend on the car. The leather covering may also have made it worse as I was keen not to damage it.
13. Re-fit the bar and tighten everything up again.
14. At this point I would take the car for a drive to see if it squeaks (it was nearly 10pm the day before Castle Combe for me so I didn’t have time!)
15. Fit rubber pads with silicon - I used the black automotive stuff available from decorating direct (posted on here before by a helpful Pher). After sticking pad down I placed a bead of silicon around the bar to seal it to the pad - above and below - and between body and pad below.
16. Trim and replace carpet.
17. Replace seats (recommend swapping to even out wear)
I hope the above is useful to someone!
Bar £330
Rubber pads £5
Leather £120
Harnesses £120
VAT on above £100
Postage £40
Upholsterer £80
Total £795
With the silicon I guess it just about hits £800. Ouch!! I had put off working it out and now I know why!
I would say having spent all of that, that the car feels so much better to drive due to the stiffened chassis. I really didn’t expect to feel such a difference but I can - it feels much as I would expect a upgrade in suspension to feel like.
If anyone is seriously contemplating doing this themselves, the procedure I followed was basically this:
1. Put rear of car on axle stands and remove wheels
2. Remove seats
3. Raise centre console (it took me a while to find handbrake adjuster - on mine it was by rear suspension whereas others describe it as in the transmission tunnel - which I take to mean in the centre of the car)
4. Peel back carpet on rear shelf leaving the foam underlay in place (stuck to fibreglass)
5. Overlay Tower View template but do not cut holes as shown on template.
6. Drill test holes to ensure you are in the right place then enlarge to enable bar to fit. I used a series of small drill holes to outline the desired shape, cut with hacksaw blade and then filed smooth (this took me some time as I was keen for the holes to be as small as possible). Ensure as best you can that the bar does not touch the fibreglass anywhere.
7. Install bar into front hoop brackets (boots) and very loosely attach rear struts to chassis.
8. Test fit of roof over bar. On mine the roll bar was v. slightly twisted which combined with an inconsistent gap between chassis and body, meant I had to apply a fair amount of pressure to get the bar even. Having fixed one side, I sat on the bar and got a friend to fix the other side.
9. Cut and remove foam underlay around holes cut in fibreglass (as shown in pic’s) and first make a template then shape a rubber pad to fit (as big as possible to help adhesion). The rubber pad has to fit around the bar so will need to be cut with a stanley knife. I tried to super glue this back together again after fitting but it didn’t seem to take so applied a thin layer of silicon which worked fine. This is very easy around the rear struts but not so easy around the front hoop as there is very little room and the hole is right by the edge of the rear shelf behind the seat. It takes a fair bit of trial and error (well it did for me!) to get the pads absolutely right.
10. Using the fixing points behind the seats for the centre console, make a template. Peel back the leather trim on centre console and cut fibreglass. This is the one situation where you can afford to cut on the large side as you do not want to replace the console more times than you really need to. Ask me how I know this! When suitably trimmed, re-glue the leather.
11. Loosen off all fixings (take out the fixings holding main hoop in the boots) This was a pain for me as the whole thing was under tension.
12. Apply fairly silly amounts of force to get the console back in being mindful of the earthing bolts that can catch both front edges of the centre console. Be mindful also that the centre console is fairly thin fibreglass and due to its shape will not put up with much bending or it will craze. I should point out that Tower View often get the centre console back in without all this hassle so it will depend on the car. The leather covering may also have made it worse as I was keen not to damage it.
13. Re-fit the bar and tighten everything up again.
14. At this point I would take the car for a drive to see if it squeaks (it was nearly 10pm the day before Castle Combe for me so I didn’t have time!)
15. Fit rubber pads with silicon - I used the black automotive stuff available from decorating direct (posted on here before by a helpful Pher). After sticking pad down I placed a bead of silicon around the bar to seal it to the pad - above and below - and between body and pad below.
16. Trim and replace carpet.
17. Replace seats (recommend swapping to even out wear)
I hope the above is useful to someone!
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