You do not need to cut or modify a thing!
The carpeted lining near the front mount point will simply "give" and slight crush inwards. When you wish to remove the bar, the lining will pop back out.

For the rearview mirror, simply unclip the circle pressure ring and let the mirror hang, no need to completely remove. I have heard some people with non-turbos had the necessary clearance without having to remove the mirror.

When removing your seats, make sure your key is out of the ignition. DO NOT re-insert the key until the seats are re-installed and the wiring harenesses are re-attached. This is to prevent triggering the airbag light.

Everything else is correct.

 

Dan, You toke your bar out? I noticed that inner lining gave in also, its good to hear it pops back out but maybe after a long time it wont.

 

Jas,

Yeah, unfortunately everything came out. The car is currently for sale. I may run it through the Manaheim auction to see what it gets. I wouldn't be able to tolerate the tire kickers and TWAs (time wasting a**holes) a print ad would bring.

 

Dan, Manheim cant hurt, are you still looking into a big dog Murcielago?

 

I am attempting to install a Tequipment rollbar in a 2010 GT3 and have been able to position the bar inside the car with the help of a good friend. We did not have to disconnect the battery or the wire-harness to the seats (sport buckets GT2). We unbolted the seats and moved them outside (4 bolts per seat). We are currently facing the difficult problem of carefully being able to screw in the long bolts provided which are not right compared to the factory ones in the car (see photo). Anyone knows if there are factory bolts that are right for this application and their part numbers. Please post. Appreciate the help.

 

I have the tequipment bar also and also replaced the long front bolts that came with the bar as one was damaged. The seat belt bolt size on a Porsche is 7/16-20 NF thread with a metric head (17mm I believe). You can get replacement bolts at any ACE hardware store. I went with a high quality stainless steel 7/16-20 NF bolt. The head will be standard but who cares. I believe the length was 3" for the tequipment bar. The 7/16-20 bolt is the only non metric bolt on a Porsche. It is a DOT requirement and the car manufacturers have agreed on this size to simplify production since the US is the main export market for most manufacturers. Hope that helps....

 

John,
Thanks for the info. However, stainless steel is actually not as strong as the black grade 8.8 bolts (the shorter ones in the seatbelt mount position) that I have in the photo which have the smaller shank at the tip for guiding the threaded portion.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI2eZjKpYd4

This is the install video for the 2004 GT3 that I used.

 

I may have been incorrect in stating "stainless steel" in my previous post. The bolts I bought have 8.8 (maybe 8.0) stamped on the bolt head. If I were to develop enough force to snap these I'd be in a world of hurt or dead.

 

John,
I understand your point. The Tequipment bar was chosen because I just needed a way to install Schroth belts for DE. Not intended for racing. But the whole point of doing mods on Porsches is to use Porsche approved parts since they have been tested and developed already as part of the design. Time and experimenting on your own consumes resources ($$), I don't see a need to substitute if an OEM part is available. So if there is a bolt of the right size available from Porsche for their installation of the 996 Tequipment rollbar in a Porsche then that's what I'm looking for.

Pointby, that's a helpful video. My installation was much easier and I saved some time by not disconnecting the harness, just moved them outside the body. Having the right bolts will make the process even easier as I count the time aligning the hole and bolt and not stripping the threads in the holes to be about 1h out of the 3-4h process.

 

I agree with you 100%. I would have bought OEM also. I guess I didn't make it clear enough in my initial post but the reason I sourced my own bolts was the simple fact that when I called a couple of Porsche dealers I was told that the Tequipment bar I have was no longer available and there was no way for them to order the bolts. I suppose there is a chance that with enough time searching around ($$) someone could have secured them for me but it would have taken several weeks so I decided to go my route. In many cases "Porsche approved parts" sounds great but when you consider the fact that anytime you install a non-Porsche aftermarket part on your car (be it brake pads, wheels, or suspension) then your Porsche dealer will tell you it is not "Porsche approved" anyway. In the case of the roll bar bolts Porsche does not manufacture them but uses outside suppliers. The key is to make sure that the bolts you use are the proper grade bolts, however, if you can easily get replacement bolts from the dealer than obviously that is a no brainer......Let me know if your dealer can get them because I've been told no....


[QUOTE=pfan12000;3168478]John,
I understand your point. The Tequipment bar was chosen because I just needed a way to install Schroth belts for DE. Not intended for racing. But the whole point of doing mods on Porsches is to use Porsche approved parts since they have been tested and developed already as part of the design. Time and experimenting on your own consumes resources ($$), I don't see a need to substitute if an OEM part is available. So if there is a bolt of the right size available from Porsche for their installation of the 996 Tequipment rollbar in a Porsche then that's what I'm looking for.

 

John,
You are right about the T-bar no longer imported as I had to buy used. The bolts are also not available as you've found out. So I went ahead and turned down the two bolts that were supplied in the photo to mimic the black shorter OEM bolts and chased the threads with the 7/16-20 NF die (thanks again for that info). Haven't had time to put them in yet but will update when I do.

 

Mine has been in and out a few times. It can absolutely be installed by one person. Both seats and rear view need to come out. and (per post #11), you need to cut a small piece of plastic, under the carpt, by the front mounts..you'll see where it doesn't fit right. Be very careful. many here have broken a windshield trying to force it. Take everything out we have told you and it will go easy. Good Luck!!!

 

Agree 100% - this is how you do it. I have done it alone, no problem. Just cover the thresholds with double or triple layered painters tape to protect the paint/ carbon or whatever you have there...and get the bar inside the car carefully - once it's inside your in good shape. Push down on the bar as you rotate it rearward, as some have scored the headliner on this move...

 

OK, tried to fit the newly turned bolts inside the front holes and discovered to my horror that the threads have been damaged (inside the holes) from earlier attempts. Also had made the error of positioning the spacers inside the lower feet of the rollbar backwards!
After carefully repositioning the rollbar and removing the lower spacers, I went and cleaned the threads with a 7/16-20NF tap (one trick I discovered was to use an 8 mm socket/0.25" drive attached to a 8mm allen key socket to drive the 1/4 inch square tap end) since the normal T handled wrench does not work with the limited access. Then I went and cut the carpet near the corner of the rear seat area to expose the plastic plug (Porsche doesn't want people to install the Tequipment bar in the 997 GT3) which was buried behind caulking. After vice gripping the end I was able to pull out the mangled plugs exposing the holes for bolting the rear of the bar. All this took another 4 hours!