Rollbar information

I'm trying to locate information about a particular type of rollbar so I can find one/buy it. I've seen a couple guys around (cj3bpage and here) with pictures of rollbars very similar to the Mitsubishi stock rollbar. They key component is that the rearward supports go horizontal for a bit, making a tad more room for sitting on the wheel wells with less head injury. In the Mitsu Jeeps there was a factory option for rear jump seats that eventually I'll locate as well. For now, I'm just trying to change out my current rollbar so I can push forward on replacing the worn out seat belts. I was thinking of just modifying the one I have, but since I have no welding skills, I figured that it might be more economical to find a suitable replacement.

My rollbar: (it's possibly stainless steel and is definitely a custom job)


Later model Mitsubishi with stock rollbar and jump seats:


Here's a US 3B with a type close enough to what I'm looking for:

 

The one you show in the last pic was built by Smittybilt iirc. The one you have emulates the stock Intermediates era bar. Just a little info to help in your search.

 

+1 on Smittybuilt.

I don't know when they started to tilt the bar back, but it was not before 1975 as I recall. The Kayline bars from the era are like what the black Jeep above has, except the hoop is vertical. Pretty sure the initial offering of factory roll bars (1974-75) was of this design.

 

Which part is the hoop?

It could be from an intermediate, but there are weld points near the bases that make it appear fabricated. The reason I'm thinking that it could be from an intermediate is that the front vertical tubing fits right up against the edge of the tub, as if it were originally on a wider tub. Which is another reason I'd like to replace or modify it, this makes it about 1" too wide for the soft top doors' horizontal and vertical supports to slip around it without being a pain).

So it seems like I need to search for pre-74 non-Kayline, or Smittybilt CJ rollbar. Thanks guys :tu About how much do you think a rollbar like that would go for?

Also, any idea how much my current rollbar might be worth? In the areas where the black has rubbed off stainless steel shows, but it'd need to be polished.

Using the Smittybilt lead I found this: Spot on!

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f8/searching-cj-5-roll-bar-1116188/

 

The hoop is the part that's on the ground when the Jeep rolls over!

You want the Kayline bar, if you can find it. Anything before 1974 is not factory and likely Kayline or Smittybuilt. Before 1974, there were only owner or dealer installed roll bars. The main difference in Kayline and Smittybuilt is the shape and location of the side tubes - the hoop is basically the same for both.

 

This is true of stock standard CJ's only and not the optional stock CJ's.
What I prefer to call the "Renegade Roll Bar" was the very first available from the factory and it was made by Jeep corporation.
It was produced as early as late 1969 and used on the Renegades beginning with "RENEGADE I".
The Renegade roll bar is listed under...... Group 35.100 Roll Bar Kit

 

I'm a tad confused. I thought the Kayline has straight side tubes, like in this picture (except its hoop is vertical). I'm looking for side tubes with a horizontal section. (Although the key component is that the side tubes mount as close to the side of the tub as possible and not pass through the head space of someone in a jump seat).

Any pictures or examples? Image searches didn't turn up anything.

edit: I did find this that says Renegade in there, this rollbar is very close to my current one I'm trying to move away from:

 

Yes the rollbar on the 3B certainly appears to be the original Jeep manufactured rollbar.
This is the one I like to call the " Renegade rollbar " because it came out as standard equipment with the Renegade I package.

 

Anyone have any experiences with the Kayline or Smittybilt being too wide for the softtop (Bestop Tiger Top)? What I mean is when you go to put the door's horizontal and vertical supports forward of the hoop do you have to finagle them past it?

I have to lightly jam one side halfway past the hoop, then go to the other side and do the same, then back and forth a few times as assuredly the other side slipped rearward. It's like a Charlie Chaplin routine...

 

For some reason my post disappeared or didn't take.
Anyway, I've never had an issue with Smittybilt, R&L, or Kayline rollbars clearing a Bestop soft top of any type unless the rollbar had been modified or moved to an unusual location. If you are having these issues I'd think this was the case or the tub had some dimensional differences causing the problem. Your screen name implies you have a Mitsubishi so there could be something there...

 

Thanks nickmil. It's great to know that if I find one, then it'll work.

My J54 is identical to US 3Bs (I measured it once. TMI but for the record, midyear 1977 Mitsubishi modified their Jeeps' dimensions, before that they are the same as 3Bs).

The problem is that my rollbar is custom. The fabricators way-back-when probably just didn't even think about a softtop. They probably saw a Renegade with a rollbar in a picture and loosely duplicated it. Or who knows. But I'm about to change it once I find a replacement, so any problems will be in the past.

 

Kayline (through at least 1975) is the same as the "Renegade bar" that Ken refers to. As I recall, Kayline bars came with the "Jeep approved special equipment" logo on the boxes, and were the same as what was installed on early Renegades or the '74-75 model years, when the roll bar entered the factory option list.

If you want the sidebars to intersect the vertical part of the hoop, you could go with the Smittybilt bar or the later design, where the hoop tilts back slightly. Not sure who made the later design bars, but at some point, there was a new bar design that extended to the floor behind the front seats, rather than sitting exclusively on the rear wheel wells.

 

The roll bar in thread #4's picture looks like the one found in my 66 Toyota Land Cruiser.

 

Picking up on this subject again.....does anyone know the maker, and maybe the approximate vintage of of this roll bar? (all of these appear to be the same model):

 

I answered my own question...these roll bars were available as factory options from '76 through '78:

http://www.earlycj5.net/forums/show...-CJ7-fit-on-my-1967-CJ5&p=1061704#post1061704