Whitco Roll Bar?

Looks custom to me.

 

Looks like the roll bar out of a old Toyota FJ40 to me.

 

Yes it does. I would think the FJ-40 bar would be too wide for a CJ though.

 

This jeep is a early built 1970.?
That could be a Sears roll bar. I have an advertizement for it some where.
My Oct69 built 1970 CJ5 has one just like it. I have not found any marks that prove it is from Sears.
The add also has one of the level/angle gauges that stick to the dash. Mine has that also.
is the bottom angle iron with 4 bolt holes and 2 separate backer plates in the fender well?

 

Yeah, it's an early build 70, and Sears would make sense. I'm the tow headed kid in the back. I'm not sure on the mount as the jeep has been sold. I'm fond of this style as it made sitting on the back fender wells easy. It does not look as strong though. You could also sit on the back bar. Not that we would

 

the clue for the early build 70 is the reflector on the hood instead of the fender.
this was also done on similar year commandos.
I have not seen many with the hood reflector and I have looked.

 

Could be. I vaguely recall a "type 1" and "type 2" Smittybilt roll bar.

This is what I think a Whitco bar should look like:



and a Smittybilt bar -



I know that my '73 CJ-5 (in 1973) had a Whitco, and there was no roll bar for my '75 CJ-6 other than a Smittybilt. See the similar design here -



The hoop goes all the way to the floor in a CJ-6.

 

Cap-n-Cray,

Can you measure up your angle for me as well? The flat stock on mine has a different hole pattern.

 

Two possibilities -
1) the box of hardware does not go with the roll bar, and the bar is a Whitco.
2) the bar is a Smittybilt, but of a different design meant to imitate and compete with Whitco.

Smittybilt is still in business. You could call them and maybe they can tell you more.

 

I bought a brand new Smittybilt rollbar for mine about 15 years ago, and it looks just like this.
They don't make them anymore.

 

I have the same roll bar as cap-n-cray. For those of you with one mounted, are there bolts through the sides of your body? Mine has them, and they look sloppy to me. They are just on the edge of where the body curves outward. There are washers under the bolt heads with one side sawed off because of the curve of the body. Looks like a hack job, but I cant see how it would be avoided.

 

Important distinction. Thats a later Smittybilt. The earlier style looks like the OPs photo with slightly larger tubing.

 

Smittybilt made both types shown.
One was a straight brace bar, like Cap-n-Cray shows; the other was called a competition bar.
We sold the competition style Tim has shown in his Jeep.
I might still have the catalog here.......

 

okay found the catalog.
the "competition bar" is what Tim has.
the other style was called "straight brace" bar.
Smittybilt CJ part number: RJ 404 competition bar
Smittybilt CJ part number: RD 418 straight brace bar
Note the different size angle iron bases.
We sold RJ 404's almost exclusively.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e121/348Win/smittybiltbar_zpscb3fafd9.jpg

 

Only crummy factory Whitco photos I could find, from the special equip catalog:
I do see a measurment shown in the top photo, between the w/s frame and angled bar.
Maybe that might help?????
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e121/348Win/whitcobar_zps673dde19.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e121/348Win/whitcobar1_zps881a2f23.jpg

 

I've had both. I liked the comp. bar better.

 

Thanks! I looked at those flat stock bases on mine again last night, and they "might" have been modified. The are 3/16" stock though.
One thing that I kept noticing was that the Whitco has the crown in the top tube and it appears from the add, the Smittybuilt doesn't. I'm pretty convinced that mine is a Whitco.

Now for mounting it up (not that I'm anywhere near ready for that): What's the rest of the hardware supposed to look like?