roof rails

[Face]

Hi all !   

New to the board today and i am looking forward into gaining information and knowledge from you all.

A couple of us are building a 34 Ford 3 window coupe to take down to Bonneville in 2010. 

My question is about roof rails.  Are they required on a 150 + mph car ?

I will be posting some pictures of our project soon.  Hope you enjoy them.  I am sure that i will have some more questions for anyone whom is willing to help us out.

[Stan Back]

Check out Rule 4X --

. . . roof rails are REQUIRED when the existing class record exceeds 200 mph. . . .

Doesn't matter how fast (or slow) you plan on going.

Stan Back

[Face]

Thanks for the info on that Stan.

Cheers
Face

[J_Rod]

could someone post a pic of the roof rails because in the rule book it is clear as mud to what they are

[bvillercr]

not a very clear picture of the roof rail itself, but you can see them on the roof.

[Joe Timney]

You can make them out of 3/4 by 3/4 inch alum extrusion you can buy from Lowe's, Fastenal or MSC. You will need to stretch the top to conform to the roof. I use blind rivits to fasten to the rook but screws are OK.
Hope this helps,
joe

[J_Rod]

thanks, I see what they are now. Like the rule book said perpendicular the it said parallel and I was just completely confused about what the were.Are they supposed to help with aerodynamics or is it a safety thing?

[Joe Timney]

If you get side ways. they will help straighten you out...aero guys have special lingo for it!!! LOL

[GH]

Face, here is a couple more shots of the roof rails. I think these are a better quality of photo than that Langlo bunch posted, John just wanted to get his mug on the site, ha ha.....that's what I get for being a smart a___, I labeled the photos, drip rails, the joke's on me.....

[bvillercr]

Face, here is a couple more shots of the roof rails. I think these are a better quality of photo than that Langlo bunch posted, John just wanted to get his mug on the site, ha ha.....that's what I get for being a smart a___, I labeled the photos, drip rails, the joke's on me.....

Be nice Gary, or we will put that AA motor back in the car.  

     P.S.  That's the only picture I could find.

[Glen]

They all spoil lift when side ways. They do work as do Nascar Roof flaps.

[Face]

Thank you guys for your help and pictures.  It's all clear now.  I will post some pictures of my project this week sometime.  I know i will have some more questions during the build,  hope you can help me out again.

Cheers
Face

[jimmy six]

They didn't help Carl Edwards much.

[maguromic]

JD, They actually worked as they were suppose to along with the roof flaps.  If you look at the crash in slow motion,  Carl's car was coming back down when Ryan Newman hit him and pushed him back up and into the catch fence.    Tony

[jimmy six]

I agree, but it's the coming back down that shouldn't have happened. The car got sideways and left the ground, all of the other spins did not lift or did it very little. Michel Waltrips ride proved that. His car never left the ground. Carls rear was up 3 feet before it was hit.

At 200 mph thing happen a little different; perhaps it happened because they were on more banking. The commentators said a few times during the "show" that 2 cars running together went substantually over 200. Jr. figured it out very early in the race and did a good job of prepping it for the last lap. Carl obviously saw it like a few others and Brad had been involved in one of the 2 car drafts earlier so he knew what to do for a good finish.