Roll bars for Bundera?

Submitted: Thursday, Sep 11, 2003 at 09:03

ThreadID: 7167 Views:3832 Replies:4 FollowUps:6

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sas

Hi all, 19yo son has just invested in mid-1980’s Landcruiser Bundera – soft top. We’re wondering whether roll bars would be a good early Christmas present. Are they are necessary/desirable? Can anyone advise where (eastern Melbourne) we should start looking for them and roughly the $ involved? Thanks.

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Reply By: Member - Eric- Friday, Sep 12, 2003 at 07:52

Friday, Sep 12, 2003 at 07:52

it all depends on if you intend on going serious off roading . Anything is possible on the track. First find out how leagle it is to have a roll cage in a road registered vehicle . If you are not building a competition vehivle , the roll cage could what can cause injury sometimes ,I would hate to hit a roll bar with my head with no helmet . If you think the sponge will save you , good luck . I would sujest you spend the money on a good 4x4 tranning program , so he can learn about the capabilaties of his new 4x4.
If your roll cage isnt made and fitted by a pro , it could be very dangerous to the ocoupants of the vehicle . Its not a $500 or $900 job Craigs hut 2003

AnswerID: 30849

Follow Up By: sas - Friday, Sep 12, 2003 at 19:24

Friday, Sep 12, 2003 at 19:24

Hadn't thought about the legality of a roll bar - will look into that. A 4WD course sounds a good idea - if he knows his limitations he might be able to avoid trouble. Thanks for taking the time to share your advice.

FollowupID: 21895

Reply By: Tony - Friday, Sep 12, 2003 at 08:55

Friday, Sep 12, 2003 at 08:55

Milrord cargo barries or the like not only stop gear from getting into the front but to a certian extent act as a roll cage.
Worth looking into.

AnswerID: 30854

Follow Up By: sas - Friday, Sep 12, 2003 at 19:27

Friday, Sep 12, 2003 at 19:27

Thanks Tony, for another idea. We'll run them past the boy and see what response we get.

FollowupID: 21896

Reply By: Old Jack - Friday, Sep 12, 2003 at 11:17

Friday, Sep 12, 2003 at 11:17

I'm glad to see someone thinking of there kid's safety both on & off the road.
A correctly fitted 6 point roll could well save your son's life, the chances of a roll over on a short wheel base vehical like the bundera are greatly increase as any short narrow wheel base is inhearntly un stable. as a minimum a 4 pont roll over bar should be fitted to any soft top. havng been involved in varouse forms of motor sport including rallying even at relatively low speed people can geat killed at a recent off road event there was a drive killen in a rollover on a compition course that would have been at very low speed. you could be looking at $1,200 + dollars for a correclty desingned & installed 6 point bar 4 point ould be cheaper as it dosnt project into the drivers seating area could be from $500. they are usually built from T5 aircraft alloy and are light weight & extreemly strong. dont Know where to look in your area, would look in some of the hotted up car mag's for place that do roll cages

safe motoring.
jack

AnswerID: 30861

Follow Up By: Tony - Friday, Sep 12, 2003 at 11:41

Friday, Sep 12, 2003 at 11:41

The young bloke that was killed in that event in Victoria was the navigator and he was thrown out as the vehicle rolled, it then rolled on top of him.

A nasty state of affairs to have someone killed in such a way, or any death in the bush for that matter.

FollowupID: 21867

Follow Up By: sas - Friday, Sep 12, 2003 at 19:33

Friday, Sep 12, 2003 at 19:33

Thanks Tony, now we've got no worries at all!

He's got enough hotted up car mags from his "first car" days. Will see what we can see there and make some calls. The sooner the better after reading your response.

Do appreciate you responding at length - never used a forum before, and I think it's terrific that you take the time to help.

FollowupID: 21898

Follow Up By: Old Jack - Friday, Sep 12, 2003 at 21:40

Friday, Sep 12, 2003 at 21:40

Tony thanks for that info on the incident, It's sad to have something like that happen at any time, to be thrown out of a vehical two things would have to be way wrong; one the seat belt or more to the point the harness not fitted correctly and no window net. The organisers of this type of event will probably get roasted by a Coroners inquiry.
a 4wd is more likely to roll over than a rally car due to high centre of gravity, there is a lot to be said about a correctly fitted harness as opposed to an inertia real set belt here. it's really sad that this happend in the end the being thrown out of the vehical would have been preventable and tradjically another life has been needlessly lost.

With a rally event at club level roll cage, fire extinquisher, helments, gloves & overalls and depending on event type multi point racing harnesses fitted before you get to start. The side net is optional but would have in this case kept the guy inside the vehical.
I have witnessed first hand the effectiveness of the roll cages when a car went off the track in a forest & cleaned up a few trees sideways( as rally guy are 90% of the time) the datsun 1600 was a write off the front was ripped right off the thing but the guys wher sitting up in the multi point cage,with brusses, cuts from the glass and in need of a change of under wear. same crash with a normal car would have seen two guy probably dead.

FollowupID: 21910

Reply By: ross - Monday, Sep 15, 2003 at 20:41

Monday, Sep 15, 2003 at 20:41

I own a FJ 73 with a fibreglass roof that was sold in australia and found out recently that the roll cage is only fitted to australian models.Perhaps your sons was fitted with one new and was removed by the previous owner.If this is true there are a few bunderas for wrecking around Melbourne and you may be able to find an original rollcage which you could fit yourself and have something which suits the shape and ergonomics of the vehicle. Probably be a lot cheaper too.

AnswerID: 31161