Now you tell me --- is this roll cage obtrusive
to a street roadsters overall lines? Mike
DeSio, seen here when I did a story on his car
years ago for my Bracket Racing USA
magazine, had the car built by Suncoasts
Richard Earle as both a racer AND a legal streeter.
I think any street rod roadster can benefit
from the cages safety it offers, and I
dont think its bars offend the eyes one
bit. Street rodders, take note --- and think
about your safety, as we bracket racers do.
Which brings me to the point of this tome vis-à-vis
street rodding.
I like to thumb through the latest street rodding
magazines on the newsstands. They always have
some good ideas on the latest paint schemes,
the hottest bling-bling wheels and
so on. But Im always struck by the fact
that rarely is a street rod presented that has
any semblance of safety equipment built on it
--- meaning a roll bar or roll cage.
I asked a former colleague of mine, the editor
of one of the leading street rodder magazines,
why not? He even ran a letter I wrote to the
magazine about it. I think I know my readers
pretty well, and they wouldnt go for it,
he said. Freedom of choice, he added. They just
dont want a roll bar or cage to ugly
up their rides.
Now, here is where the buts come
in. But, some might say, You
want a roll cage on my street roadster? What
about motorcycles? In some states youre
not required to wear a helmet. I like the wind
blowing in my face and my hair. Makes me feel
free. I dont want to
ADVERTISEMENT
|
|
wear
a helmet if I can help it. Yeah, Im
all for freedom of choice too, but Ill
be danged if Ill get on a chopper without
the proper head protection. One famous actor
tried that several years ago and got his noggin
knocked pretty good on a curb in California,
and now I understand that since he recovered,
hes singing the praises of a good motorcycle
helmet.
But what about a sports car? They dont
have roll bars and cages, and they get along
just fine. Yeah, Im sure. But caging
a pristine MG TD? You want that? Well, yeah.
If I had an MG TD or TA, I think Id like
something above my head, unless I planned on
trailering it to the nearest sports car show
and sitting there just looking at it.
Same goes for your street roadster --- which,
getting back to my 1960s days, is the nearest
thing to a drag car going. Same for a V8-powered
coupe or sedan, no matter how exotic its
built. Put a cage or a bar in it. (By the way,
Ive always thought there is a direct link
between street rodding and drag racing, not
roundy-round racing. Lost in the 60s,
I guess.)
|