Everyone has been quite helpful, and my removeable light bar project is sailing along. I have the Yakima Q-clips and Q Towers to hold the bar, and I have a 1" polished aluminum crossbar to hold the lights. I also picked up a Yakima fairing to make the entire thing a little less noisy. I figure to start with three Hella 4000 lamps, so I will have 3 aluminum tabs welded to the crossbar to hold them. (I also obtained 2 PIAA 520's in Chrome for the front grille.)

I obtained some very nice wireless remote controll harnesses to enable me to control the roof mounted lamps. The grille lamps will be relayed to the fog lamps.

Hope to have everything done by the time the car comes!

Also, I am going to have some aluminum rod left over, and am toying with making a "badge bar" to connect the two mounts for the grille lamps. In the real old days of English sports cars, each car had a place to put "badges" to identify club affiliation, country, or other things like mileage awards or rallys entered. Just a polished aluminum 1" diameter rod joining the two mini lamp mounts, but should look nice!

Pics when available.

 

JD,

I toyed with the idea, but settled for the Alta rally lightbar (you'll see a picture of my car at the bottom of their lightbar page). Am still contemplating turning it up a notch and replacing a set of the lights with Xenon lights instead. Just a thought though. Meanwhile, looking forward to seeing pictures of your setup so keep us posted.

AMPR

 

The old addage is that fogs go low, drivers go high. Putting driving lights on the Alta bar makes little or no sense, since most of the light will be wasted on the ground right in front of the car. Good place for fog lamps however. Either way, with no bumper protection and right where the gravel lives - look out.


Also, for all you people who have put in grille mounted lamps, where is the best place to tap into the main power. People talk about using a fuse tap, but that means an ugly wire coming from the fuse box through the firewall. Where is the main power wire to the engine compartment? What guage is the wire? Will a Scotchlok work?

 

Are you making a roof rack also??

We have thought about this, but haven't seen anything out there.

 

Basically I have purchased 4 Q Towers, mainly because they are priced in units of 4. The Towers could be used as a roof rack if both sets are mounted, with plain crossbars, or as a light bar if only the front set is mounted, with my special crossbar with light mounts. A single power wire threaded through the side window or sunroof would be the only electrical connection to the car, as the controls are all wireless remotes.

Actually, if someone wanted to manufacture a light bar product, a specialized crossbar for the Yakima towers is the way to go. I am using 6061 aluminum rod, with arms to mount the lights Alumiwelded to the bar. The actual fabrication is not all that dificult. A Yakima fairing will hide the electronics, so that all that shows will be the lights. Everything will be white or polished aluminum to go with my white roof. Should look nice, and since it is quickly removeable, it should be no problem with vehicle inspection. So I am basically making a roof rack that can also serve as a light bar.

 

Pics? Everyone likes pic.

 

Right now its just parts, mostly on order. I will take pics of each step in construction, so others can duplicate it. First step will be painting the Q Towers white, using special Fusion plastic-bonding paint. I have some basic tools, like a drill press and small lathe, but most of the tasks could be done with hand tools if required. The remote control harnesses are cool. Little keychain transmitters, and the electronics are very compact.

Don't worry - I'll document the whole thing as I go along. A lot of people seem interested in this - I really do not understand the lack of a light bar product at retail, but who understands the economics of these things?

 

oh yeah, baby, been waiting for one of these for a long time. I look forward to seeing how it turns out.

 

Can't wait to see this! :smile:

Haven't done anything to Bowser in a while, and I knew he was needing something more!

 

Yeah, I definitely want this, but, no offense Joe, I am looking for something from an actual vendor. I am not really confident in myself to construct my own bar and wire it up. I like the idea of the remote for it. Could put that on your fob and activate the lights remotely while you open the sunroof!

Is there any real reason why this has not been attempted already?

 

from my own experience with all things "polished aluminum",I would urge you to have all your aluminum components anodized or irridited to avoid the oxidation that invariably occurs, especially here in the northeast,where salting of roads is a reality.

 

Believe me, I would have much rather just called up a vendor and ordered one myself! Problem is that no one makes them. Like many automotive products, it takes a while for a market to develop. I like the idea of having the only one in the world like it if I make it myself, but time is money. The parts are rolling in, so it won't be long before I can start the actual construction. Except for the welding and fabrication of the light mounting tabs, it is really just assembly work and painting and polishing.

Maybe Alta or some other manufacturer of similar products will offer an extension to their line.

 

Yeah, I'm the lazy type, not about to do all the work it seems you are putting into this. Would be much easier if Alta, or someone (M7) would come out with something like this. True, not really a performance mod, so Peter may not be all that interested, but, still, pretty cool

Definitely wanna see some pictures, maybe a photo shop jobbie

 

Just checking in on my progress. Through EBAY I have purchased 2 Hella 4000 driving lights, 2 PIAA 520 fog lights, and my personal favorites, 2 WIPAC driving lights as original equipment fixed to the old Mini. I am going to mount the PIAAs on the grille brackets, and for now, put the Hellas and WIPACs on the light bar.

I have taken one set of the Q Towers apart and am spraying them with white Krylon Fusion paint. I do not want the bar to look like what it is - a modified Yakima rack front. I have a 1" aluminum bar, which I will weld the mounting tabs to. Not sure whether I will paint that white afterwards or go with polished aluminum.

I'll post my progress as I go along. My Mini is aboard the Isolde in the middle of the Atlantic, so I have some time yet!

 

Wanted to revive this thread a bit, was lookin today at the 4 light kit for the front, and almost forgot about this.

 

Joe,

I know someone mentioned earlier about aluminum oxidation. If anodize or clear coat are not options for some people they could have the parts powdercoated. For those not familar w/ this. They pass an electrical charge through your part (has to be metal) and spray it w/ a powdered paint. The static charge makes the powder cling to the part. They then bake the part. At the part and the powder heat up the powder liquifies and flows out. Very tough. I had powder coated nerf bars and grill guard on my last truck and no shopping cart or construction barrel ever left a mark the couldn't be washed off.

Just a thought Joe, still looking fwd to seeing you progress.