Here's what I did in my ERA FIA:
[IMG]
[/IMG]
I always preferred the 'look" of the 427 rear-brace to the 289 forward-brace, and, it appeared to me that the forward-brace intruded on passenger space. So, when I ordered my car, I specified a rear-braced "427' style roll bar (in chrome finish). Before I completed my car, I got an opportunity to drive ERA's 289 FIA prototype at Lime Rock. My son commented that he really appreciated the forward-facing brace to hang onto. I also found that it provided a convenient spot to place a hand to push yourself up out of the comp-style seat.
I called ERA when I got home, and ordered a forward-brace and a lug for it to weld to the current hoop. Then I took my chrome bar, new forward brace, and some bent piece of plastic hose to my favorite fabricators to have the bars welded up, and side impact braces fabricated per my plastic mock-ups. Stu Galbraith came out of retirement to weld it all into place for me (he also did the cage in my Pantera, and roll-over bars in my Bronco II and ASC McLaren Capri).
The side braces I had seen in Fran Kress' original Cobra. Stu welded them to structural elements of the chassis, essentially surrounding the cockpit in a roll cage. I also added a bar behind the dash, running from one door post to the other, and replaced the decorative tunnel braces with thicker bars that go all the way down to bolt to the frame.
[IMG]
[/IMG]
I'm very happy with the result, and have found that the forward-brace and side braces both provide good spots to place my hands to help extricate my lard-ass from the comp bucket seat (that seems to be shrinking as I get older
).
There's a few ideas for 'ya.
Jeff