Axe RPM how he likes a roll bar in a street rod........
6s6

I’ll dig up the pictures of what I want to copy.

Do it!
I love mine.
Great place to mount the 4 - or 5-point harness.

Like a lot of things I did to my 69, I put a roll bar in cuz I thought it was cool. It was probably the hardest mod I did because of the countless trips in and out to get the fit, and coping cuts to the bar ends correct. My back was on fire for days. I have a one piece Mustangs to Fear headliner which allows the main hoop to fit higher than with the stock headliner. I too do not use the back seat, and removed mine. It didn't take long to convert the cross bar to a removable one. While I was at it, I installed removable swing out door bars, although I've never used them. I also added two diagonal bars from where the hoop and cross bar meet, to the center hump. While I was at it, I installed a one piece seat riser and convertible inner rockers. Yes, I have no self control. While those add ons make the chassis really stiff, I'm not sure if do them again. Lemme know if you'd like pics.

Pretty sure its not required at the strip until you are running 11.99 or faster, unless its a convertible which I think is 13.99 or faster.  If you think you are going to need it you might want to research the other equipment you will need.  A driveshaft loop is a definite.  An external master kill switch if the battery is in the trunk (regardless of ET).  There are others.  Typically you need a helmet with current certification to run over 13.99 as well. 

I thought I had more and better pictures, or as Sally would say,  mo betta.

Raymond_B wrote:

RTM wrote:

I keep going back and fourth between wanting a four point bar with a removable cross bar for shoulder belts or not installing it. No one will ever be in the back seat. My only concern is if the car is fast enough and I don’t have it installed. Then I won’t be able to run it on the drag strip. My front seats are tall enough to keep my head away from any of the bars while driving it on the street. Just can’t make my mind up and I need to decide on this real soon.

Definitely download the NHRA rulebook. It's a bit daunting and confusing to read at 1st (at least to my pea brain), but it is what you need to determine what type of "roll bar" "roll cage" etc along with other safety equipment you need vs your track times. Also when designing it keep in mind that a LOT of driving will be done without a helmet or other safety clothing. So use good padding and watch for protrusions, tabs, etc. Lots of people have had head injuries when whacking their noggin against a bar in a fender bender.
 

 
Yep. I looked at both NHRA and SCCA.

RTM wrote:

The front seats I have are tall enough that my head will never encounter the roll bar at any point.  Very very unlikely anyone will ever be in the back seat.   

Not to be too pedantic, but I believe there's rules about the top hoop and it's placement relative to your head. Anyway the rule book will settle that question
 

6sally6 wrote:

PEDANTIC !!!!..........Who sez we ain't high class !
6sally6

LOL


 

So far it looks like I’m fine with no bar at all until I hit the 11.49 mark.   I would assume I can build the bar anyway I wanted to.  No requirements for a safety shield or flywheel.  I do have an approved steel flywheel and approved twin disk clutch.  I will install a scatter shield if I could find one for a 1994 model T5. The one for 93 T5’s is too short for the 94 model T5.  Not changing the input shaft because it has been built by G Force with a 26 spline input shaft. 

If I run 11.99 or quicker then I would need steel valve stems.  Things change a lot at the 11.49 mark and that requires a 6 point bar setup.  Pretty sure the front bars do have to be straight. Still looking for the specifics on bar design.

If I’m quicker than 13.99 I will need a drive shaft loop.  I have one but will need to install it.   No idea how fast the car will go with a 500hp motor in a 2800lb car.  I’m only running a 3.70 rear gear and a 315 street strip tire.  Pretty ill be in the 12 second range.  Not sure I’ll see 11’s. 

The track I will most likely run at is Bradenton Fl.  I may be going there soon to watch someone race.  I’ll ask their tech guys what is required and at what elapsed times. 

The four point bar is from Jegs and it includes straight rear bars.   I would be okay with the straight bars as long as they land on top off the rear frame rail and not go through the upper part of the back seat.

TKOPerformance wrote:

How fast it will run is going to depend on traction.  500HP is enough power in a car that light to run high 10s.  Whether or not the rear gear is "right" depends on a lot of factors, but mostly the max RPM of the engine, as ideally you want to run through the traps right at max RPM.

Changing the input shaft in a T5 is really easy.  I wouldn't let that stop me from running a scattersheild. 
 

 
I agree the input shaft is an easy thing to swap.  Just an added cost plus I will have to make another cross member to the trans mount.  I just can’t believe there isn’t a scatter bell for a 1994/95 mustang.   The cam is good to 6200rpm.   Here’s a picture of the 315.  Never ran a street/strip tire. 

My advice would leave the gears alone for now.  You'll have to run it until you get good at launching it and can run consistent times.  Then, if you find you are still hitting the traps at say 5,500RPM you can at least say you could run faster with a different (higher numerically) rear gear.  Once you have that data there is a formula to determine optimal gearing.  On the other had you may find you don't want to change it and can live with a slower 1/4 in the interest of lower RPM highway cruising, etc.

A 315 is basically a 12.5" wide tire.  I've seen guys run high 8s on 10.5s.  Those were slicks though.  Even among street/strip tires there's a lot of difference in terms of compounds.  I would see if the manufacturer suggests you do a burnout or not.  A sticky tire benefits from a burnout, a more street oriented tire is actually hurt by one (they become greasy and actually lose traction).  So, this is another area where you are going to need to do some testing.  Pay close attention to your 60' time and adjust technique, air pressure, etc. to get the best possible 60'.  You'd need like a 1.6 something to hit the 10s.  I doubt that's possible without slicks in a RWD vehicle.  I would shoot for a low 1.9 or high 1.8.  You may still have to peddle the car through 1st and maybe some of 2nd.  A lot of guys will try to drive through wheelspin, but I can tell you that it hurts your time.  Loss of traction, while cool on the street, is a killer at the strip. 

The next question is suspension.  If you are planning a canyon carving friendly setup you're going to make some tradeoffs that will hurt performance on the dragstrip.  You can have a bit of both worlds with adjustable shocks, but generally a strip car wants lighter springs in the front to get the front to rise (shock valving comes into play here too), and stiffer springs/shocks in the rear to avoid compression (you want the body to rise off the tires, because this plants the tires (squatting is bad)). 

All cars are a series of compromises based on use.  A dedicated strip car with 500HP in a 2800lb vehicle on slicks can run 10s all day long.  Realistically you are probably looking at low 12s, maybe high 11s once you get good at running it.