Vintage Roof Rack Diy

Hello,

I'm in the process of making a custom roof rack for my Mini. I put this thread in Styling section because I admit it's more for styling than usefulness.

I started with old 80's Mercedes-Benz roof bars that I've been given. The clamps fit on the roof gutters perfectly, but the bars are obviously too long, and they are a good base for the style I want.

Edited by dasupersprint, 23 October 2020 - 01:16 PM.

They have a locking system but I removed that to have a cleaner styling and I'm not scared of it being stolen anyway.

So that's how the clamps fixes on the gutter. I removed the middle section of the bars

So I will base the outside shape on 7/16'' bars. I started by putting the lower one inside the two clamp bases

Edited by dasupersprint, 23 October 2020 - 01:18 PM.

I put temporary angles to keep the dimensions straight

This is the basic shape I want on each side, with 7/16'' rod

I removed the rivets holding the bars on the bases

And add my own bars, with 1 1/4'' flat bar that I curved

Then cut the excess of the bases

Then welded the side rods that make the main shape. Starting to look as I wanted it!

Edited by dasupersprint, 23 October 2020 - 01:24 PM.

Then I added a horizontal bar at the top front, and the wood bars that I found are 1/4'' x 1 1/2''. It's now ready for a first test drive on the car before I go further on the finishing touches.

Following with interest. Great work so far.

Is the round bar stainless or mild?

Following with interest. Great work so far.

Is the round bar stainless or mild?

It's mild steel but zinc plated. I just took what was on the shelf at my local hardware store. I will strip it back and paint it over the winter. Or have it chrome plated? If not too expensive

I dont think its too expensive to chrome, with that wood it will look amazing.

So I went for a test drive and it went perfectly well, no noise and no vibration felt. And it really looks how I wanted. The Mini will soon be stored for winter so I will have all time to perfect the roof rack.

The front is nice and solid, but the rear is a bit flimsy for my taste. A flatbar is obviously less strong than a box section, so I will have to find solution for that.