I'm putting together a hoop style light bar, anyone have an idea for a good quick release attachment I can make with a hacksaw, drill and welder?

Is this a vertical halo under the light, over the lights, or a horizontal one? Where/what are you mounting to? Bumper? Hood?

Mark B.

I just built a light bar for my daily driver (i.e., inherited) KIA. Takes about a minute to remove.

Base sockets:


Base socket attached, light bar inserted:


Feeds through the grill:


Installed:

Just use some duct tape, bailing wire and hose clamps. They're going to end up like that anyway...

If you can get up here a day early I'll bend you up a mount.

Bob,
Don't those shake like a bastard on rough roads?

bolt down technique, it was ok, eventually I made a bracket with two 17mm bolts that we just bolted the light bar to, worked really well.


stay rods to minimize shake



newer, better attachment here on the front bumper (you can see the bolts and the small brackets)

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-Tom
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/23/2011 12:47PM by Tom B.

Quote
Morison
Bob,
Don't those shake like a bastard on rough roads?

I thought it would shake a bit, but it is actually pretty darn stable. I was going to add a central brace to the license plate mounts but decided it doesn't need it once I started driving with it.

Then again, it's a street car, not a rally car.

Since you have access to the metal bumper on a vintage volvo (don't you?) Don's idea would be perfect and would still allow access to the mounting bolts to make aiming easier.

Nice stuff, thanks you guys.

Tom that looks like what I had in mind, but with a second bar over the top to attach supports to the lights. Good to see pics of the old car, it was the first rallycar my kid saw, she was 3 and the teeth made a deep impression, she still remembers it.


Yeah the volvo still has the big ol' aluminum bumpers, plenty to bolt to there.


Thanks for the offer Gene. I'm hoping to get it all together before we leave, BUT I was hoping I could get one of those 2.5 in. cats form you, still got any?

If you weld braced tabs onto the bar, then top supports are not needed for keeping the light stable, in my experience. Unsupported mounting tabs on a bar will eventually break off; that's OK if you like losing lights!

Hey Bob, I suspect your cantilevered bar will vibrate like crazy on a stage with any roughness, especially when you are trying to peer down the road 1000'+ at high speed.

Nice to have flat topped bumper to mount to. Our Starion bar is made from 2 each of 2"x1/8" angle steel 'L's, cut and welded at about 90 degrees and bending up to support a light tube across the front. The horizontal legs of the 'L's reach back under the front, and bolt onto the vertical, outside flat surfaces of the subframe carrying the skid plate's front edge. Takes about 2-3 minutes to mount. Very stable due to being essentially directly bolted the car's chassis. No top supports needed.

Mark B.

if you follow Don's idea and attach directly to your bumper, I seriously doubt you'll need additional supports above the lights.

I don't have any pictures but what I did on my Omni was dead simple. A couple of square tubing receptacles bolted to the top of the bumper that the light bar (made of slightly smaller square tubing so that if fit perfectly) slid into. Then a couple of quick release pins through the holes that lined up and you were done. No bolting required. It was very stable and required no stays on the PIAA lights. I did a similar arrangement on John Lane's Volvo but the receptacles were mounted inside the bumper and the retaining pins poke down through the top of the bumper.

I am with the bolt it to the commando bumper crowd. To simplify things further. The light bar we used on the fx was a VW beatle roof bar with the feet that were to go into the gutter rails hammered flat and through bolted to the bumper. Didn't shake a bit.

Light bar? Wuss.

Quote
NoCoast
Light bar? Wuss.

mmm, are you suggesting I man up and go "pod" or just make JVL hold a flashlight out the window?