An early project on my 78 CJ-5 was adding a front roll bar section. This project was somewhat of a pleasure to do because it was not too difficult. I ordered a Smittybuilt Sport Bar kit that will fit with my CJ’s dash pad. This kit came with a front hoop, spreader bars and floor plates.
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After getting it home I placed it in the Jeep for a quick test fit. I soon discovered that the bar was about 1.5 inches higher than the top of the Jeep’s windshield and it was also much narrower then I had hoped for. I suppose that since my CJ has a fiberglass body that it is possible for the floor to be thicker which may account for the excessive height. Time for some cutting and welding.
Customizing
I decided to do a little customizing (as always). First thing I did was cut the front hoop in the horizontal section, and both vertical sections. I now had a front hoop that was in four pieces. I took careful measurements and cut about 1.25 inches out of the vertical sections to reduce the height of the bar. I took small pieces of angle iron and reassembled the bar using wire tires and installed it into the Jeep so I could eyeball it up and get a good fit.
After it was in I was happy with the height of the bar, now I went about measuring the width. Since me CJ has soft doors I could move the roll bar all the way out towards the doors to free up some leg room. This also made it easier to access the glove box and parking brake. I ended up adding about 1.5 inches to the width of the bar.
Satisfied with the fit of the front hoop I proceeded to bring out the welder. I hate to weld stuff inside the Jeep because of welding splatter but I was not going to be able to remove the bar without messing up the fit. So I covered up as much as I could, got out the garden hose and fire extinguisher and went to work. I tacked all the joints, each in 4 places, and then I removed the bar to finish. I now had a front hoop along with the floor plates all intact. One thing I did was to bevel the edges of the tubing where the welds were to be to insure a deep strong weld.
In hindsight I probably should have welded a slug into the bar where the pieces meet for added strength. At this point I wasn’t going to rip everything apart to do more. I put it on the rainy day list.
With the front hoop was done I bolted it into the Jeep and started on fitting up the spreader bars. I measured them up and notched them using a 1.75 in hole saw. Amazingly I was right on the money with both bars and they fit right in. I cleaned off the paint on my existing back bar and tack welded the spreaders into place. With some help I removed the whole cage and finished up the welding.
In order to make the bar more attractive I used a grinder on the the areas that I welded together to widen/shorten the hoop. I paid close attention and fixed any spots that the welds may have looked a little thin. Using a little bondo I smoothed out the grinder marks to make the welds invisible. Also I used a little bondo on the spreader bar welds. I then sanded, primered, and painted the cage.
The cage looks great and has held up well. In the future I could see adding some modifiations to make the bar more rigid to the Jeep. Adding a piece to attach the bar to the dash adds quite a bit of strength to the front bar without having to add a cross bar that reduces visibility.
Additions
A few years later the Jeep needed a new frame and I took some time to fabricate mounts that came up from the frame to the rear part of the bar. This adds extra strength especially with the fiberglass body. There’s always a bit of compromise with a roll bar for a CJ that is street driven. A cross bar behind the seats would really add some strength but it also eats up valuable interior space.
