Rollcage "petty bar", Have to remove it - advice needed Options

[campbellcj]

POC has a rule against passengers (instructors/students) riding in the car if there is a cage tube crossing their 'space'. Apparently there was a fatal crash years ago where contact with this type of bar was deemed to be a factor, so they are not at all flexible on this rule.

Sooo...my choices are to either make it removable, or just ditch it entirely.

Will making it removable negate the extra stiffness added by this bar? If so then I wouldn't bother. In that case, what is the best way to remove a welded bar like this? I sure don't want to have to redo a significant portion of the cage. Is it OK to just cut it out and then grind down the welds?

I am kind of inclined to just ditch this bar and perhaps add some more tubing to the chassis & pickup points to add more stiffness. In the POC points-based classification system this is only 1 pt IIRC and I think I can 'afford' it class-wise.

Any advice appreciated.

[campbellcj]

QUOTE (trekkor @ Feb 12 2006, 10:09 AM)

I would like to ADD a removable petty bar. Can you leave a couple of inches in the car on each end and weld on thick mounting tabs? Then do the same on the sectioned piece once it's fitted to the tabs. What tube stock should be used for an add on? KT

TonyC has some "trick" tube connectors that I remember seeing a couple years ago; maybe he or Brad posted a pic here.

I figure the POC tech weenies might not like the protruding stubs when the petty bar is out. I'm just gonna ditch the bar...thanks Chris for confirming it's OK to cut/grind it out as long as I'm careful not to damage the remaining tubes.