Roll bar bolt holes

[rads42]

I've done some searches and can't find this topic elsewhere although I can't imagine it hasn't been covered. Anyway I just picked up a '71 Blazer and it does not have the roll bar in it. I'd like to add one and I was wondering if the holes that it would bolt to were built in to every blazer and the roll bar was simply added at the dealer or if I would need to drill and tap new holes to add a roll bar?

Thanks in advance.

[turp mcspray]

I think they were a "drill as needed". I have seen more than one different style of "dealer installed" rollbar. I think there was probably more than one source for the bar.

[badpeanut]

You probably already know this, but at a minimum you'll want to put steel backing plates on the underside of the floor.

[rads42]

Yeah, I figured if they weren't something that GM put in every truck then I'd have to do something like that. I'm surprised they trusted the dealers to do this right. I guess in '71 everyone wasn't as lawsuit happy so it wasn't as big of a risk.

[old man jimmy]

The term "dealer installed" gets used very loosely. Actually, very few aftermarket parts were installed by a gm dealer. Nearly all were installed by the owner, or a 4x4 shop. But the term sounds good if you're selling a truck. I was a mechanic at a dealer back then. So this is not a guess.