Unbelievable on how difficult this is. If you bolt in the front legs first, it is too tight to get the roll bar past the shoulder belt mount point...so you unbolt the front and you can squeeze it by, but can't seem to get the rear legs lined up with the rear mount points....Arrghhh!!!

The main problem seems to be the plastic piece with carpet by the seat belt mount point that I just can push in far enough in to get the bar into a position to get the rear legs screwed in. Wish I new how to remove the shoulder strap mount points and be able to assemble them again. I am afraid to remove them after pulling off the plastic cover. Looks complicated. ***If anyone knows how to remove the should strap mount and reassemble, that would be great, since I could start with the front legs mounted and move the rear legs into position. Maybe a ratcheting compression strap is the way to go...

 

Rockitman:

For what it's worth right now, I appreciate your blazing the trail fort thosw of us who will be installing roll bars in the coming months. Please do a data dump on the whole experience and any suggestions.

I'll do the same thing with upgrades in return.

 

Yeppp...I will document all of the gory details...Trying to muster up some more energy to take a crack at it again later tonight. 4 hours so far in that cramped car, pushing, pulling and yanking...I feel like I was just pummeled by Mike Tyson.

 

PM DAN996TT....He is da man with installing the rollbar!!

 

At least it is cool out, imagine doing that work in a 95F garage.

See??? Being up north does have its advantages.

 

I just walked back into the garage and froze my a$$ off...It will just take a few minutes of roll bar wrestling and I will feel like I am in FLA...

 

ask Oak for help:

you cut a notch in the plastic underneath the carpet where the foot of the rollbar goes to the outside of the car, so that the rollbar sits in the notch. this makes the long bolt easier to align and put in.

much more satisfying than fighting to do it without cutting plastic.

when you sell the car you can replace the plastic piece under the carpet.

 

Maybe if you were in Florida, the heat would make the bars more flexable .
Ok, sorry, low blow in your time of pain...please do let me (us) know how this ends up going, as I am sure this will be a future mod of mine...
Evan

 

Call me Chris. I will try and help again.

 

Thanks, Hani...I spoke with Ken...I know what I need to do, it's just doing it, is the problem. If I can figure out how to remove the shoulder belt harnesses at their mount point, I should be able to get it done myself...I may try to find some compression straps that rachet, so that I can squeeze the bars in about an inch so that I can have the front legs screwed in and still be able to get the bar past the shoulder harness mount points. I am in deep thought running through my options. The more difficult it is the sweeter the accomplishment, IMO...So I will perservere....

 

I feel your pain! As I said in our exchange last week on another thread you need two people. I did not use a compression whatchajiggy and amanaged to get the bar installed in about six hours. It took a lot of patience and elbow grease.

You must crush, compress or otherwise cut the plastic rocker panel piece in order to get the lower mounting points close enough to bolt into the chassis. I bolted the lower points in first and then the rears after I managed to crush(! - see below) one of the seat belt height adjusters.

You can remove the seat belt height adjusters. It is really easy. As noted above I damaged one (ripped the paint off it) during my install and replaced it with a new one for about $20.00. It's a matter of simply prying off the adjuster with a flat head screwdriver. It is friction fitted to the piece that actually slides up and down the B-pillar. Loren at Renntech.org provided me with instructions when I did my install 6 months ago after I screwed mine up (I have them on my office computer). The worst that can happen is you damage the piece(s) and have to replace them. It is an easy fix.

GOOD LUCK! It is worth it once completed...

Jeff

 

Jeff, so you are saying that I can pry the whole unit off the slide part so that nothing is sticking out from the pillar???If that's the case, wonderful, since it will allow me to attach the front legs then roll the bar back into position by crushing the plastic on the rocker panel...

 

It is really pretty easy to do. I forgot the exact procedure but it is not rocket science and, as noted, it's a +/- $20.00 screw up worst case. You can remove both so that nothing substantive is protruding from the B-pillar.

Jeff

 

Definitely not gettimg a rollbar now!!

 

Rockit, You will need the compression straps to do it otherwise it will be a problem, I posted this earlier, keep me posted.