Now you tell me --- is this roll cage obtrusive to a street roadster’s 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 Suncoast’s Richard Earle as both a racer AND a legal streeter. I think any street rod roadster can benefit from the cage’s safety it offers, and I don’t 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 I’m 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 wouldn’t go for it,” he said. Freedom of choice, he added. They just don’t 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 you’re not required to wear a helmet. I like the wind blowing in my face and my hair. Makes me feel free. I don’t want to

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wear a helmet if I can help it.” Yeah, I’m all for freedom of choice too, but I’ll be danged if I’ll 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, he’s singing the praises of a good motorcycle helmet.

“But what about a sports car? They don’t have roll bars and cages, and they get along just fine.” Yeah, I’m sure. But caging a pristine MG TD? You want that? Well, yeah. If I had an MG TD or TA, I think I’d 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 it’s built. Put a cage or a bar in it. (By the way, I’ve always thought there is a direct link between street rodding and drag racing, not roundy-round racing. Lost in the ‘60s, I guess.)