I had the down-bars that go through
into the trunk area bent because of how the body is shaped. I was
thinking that if they were bent, it would make the installation easier
so they wouldn't interfere with the body. The one drawback is that you
loose a lot of strength by bending them. I was told by an NHRA tech guy
that I was okay to bend them up to 30 degrees so this is what I had them
bent to. I started by using a piece of welding rod and bending it at
the same angle the tube was so I could get a good idea of how big of a
hole I needed to make through the bulkhead. I ended up bending four different
pieces of welding rod with the same bend but different lengths to
simulate the tube being cut to different lengths. I drilled a 1/4"
hole in the bulkhead to poke the welding rod through in the place I
thought that would work. After placing the welding rod through the hole,
I needed to drill in a different place and tried the fit again. I now
thought I had the starting place and used a 1 3/4" hole-saw and did
some cutting. The reason for the 1/4" hole to begin with is because
this is the size of the pilot drill in the hole-saw. If you've ever tried to
use a hole-saw without the 1/4" pilot drill, you'll know why I did this
because it will jump around all over the place and not let you cut.
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After some trial fitting with the
welding rod, I didn't like the way it was going to fit so I tried a
straight piece to see how it looked. The NHRA rule book says that you
can have the down-bars a maximum of 5" below the main hoop to start
the trip back into the trunk area. The straight piece looked like it was
going to work and I didn't think they would which is why I had them bent in
the first place. I cut a piece at 39" and started grinding it to
fit the main hoop.
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After making a hole in the bulkhead
large enough for the bent piece, then switching over the the straight
one, I had an opening way larger than I needed or wanted. The good news
is that the straight piece is going to work which means it will have
much more strength. The one thing I had to make sure of is to have the
down-bar clear my upholstery that was already finished in the trunk area. The
bar is going to be very close to one panel but I think it will work. I
have a clamp holding the tube from falling through the hole I made in
the floor of the trunk so I can see how long I need to cut it off
at.
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To help me hold the tube in place, I
used my old friend blue masking tape. This stuff works great for a third
hand if you ever need to hold something for short periods of time. In
this shot, you can see how it's not at the top of the main hoop. I
marked a spot five inches down from the top and started fitting the
down-bar in that location. You can also see how large the opening for
the tube is.....yikes!! The other side will be much smaller now that I
know what I'm using.
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