Roll Bar Install - The Final Chapter (part 1)

I guess the bottom line is that if you want to install a roll bar and are concerned about the complexity and/or skill involved, don’t fret. The HMS instructions pretty much cover almost everything even the biggest worrier may encounter.

I am not going to try and recreate the instructions, because they are thorough and HMS is thoughtful enough to even include bags for all the loose screws. I am going to point out a couple of points that were not perfectly clear for my car, and a couple of suggestions….

1) The instructions are confusing regarding the center console between the seats. You will need to remove four screws from the console between the seats. Two are on the sides of the console behind the seats holding the side of the console to the hump inbetween the seats. The second two screws hold the center back of the console between the seats to the bottom of the center back dash console. You will have to remove your power top switch or an ash tray or a coin holder depending on which you have.


2) When removing the trim pieces at the top of the seat belt mount, take special care. If you force the trim off, you may break the little brass clip-on nuts. Don’t worry they are not expensive! You may even want to buy a few before you start. You may also want to buy some of those little trim caps that go over the screws. You will not need more than six, because that is all you remove.


3) When removing the subwoofer you will need to unplug the subwoofer from the car. Careful. The two part plug in my car had a slide mount that allowed it to be held tight against the bracket. Before you pull the plug apart you should be able to slide it forward and off the mount. Then it just pulls apart after pressing the release tabs.


4) If you have a power top that is hydraulic, when you go to pop the cap off the upper ball mounted to your top, there is a clip on the cup which needs to be slid forward before you can pry the cup off of the ball. If you look at the picture below you can see the ring on the cup of the ball mount. At this point it really helps to have Randy Forbes available to walk you through the Piston removal..





Unscrew Black cup from piston rod



5) You do not have to remove the power top hydraulic piston, but rather unscrew the cup from the top of the piston rod and leave the piston in place. With the hydraulic lines it is very difficult to hide the piston under the carpet as recommended.


6) When HMS says to file the inside of the OEM tubes, listen to them. A simple filing of the inside of both tubes allowed the Roll bar to be pushed much further down than before filing.


7) The roll bar may seem like it will not fit, but gentle tapping with a rubber mallet will persuade a fit if the filing is done in advance.


8) As you “Trial Fit” the Roll Bar, make sure the bracket is tight to the car, but make sure the Male part of the bracket that attaches to the main bracket is left very loose. You may need to “wiggle” the male piece as much as an inch to get it to mate with the tube of the roll bar. Don’t worry. When you tighten this bracket, the roll bar will gently bend to allow the bracket to be tightened all the way up. (If this sounds confusing, wait until you install and you will understand. There is only one bracket for each side, and they come in two pieces)


9) The longest part of the install will be the stripping of the rear console and the trimming of the interior trim pieces. I hope you have a friend like Mario who is willing to drive an hour to your house with a car full of tools (like the Rotozip) to help with the install. Once these steps are done the trim pieces practically fall back into place.





Stripped Interior


Left Rear tweeter and trim - The only trick here is that the top has to be up to negotiate the trim over the seat belt tower



Right rear BEFORE tweeter and trim

Right rear with tweeter and trim

Right and Left Tweeters and Trim installed

Gratuitous picture of my daughter – hanging out and keeping me and old roll hoop company

Right rear top trim piece


To be continued.....

Left rear top trim

Right and Left top trim piece with center console installed

Subwoofer installed – at this point I put the keys in the ignition and tested all three speakers to make sure the connections were good

Center Console trim tops – need to replace these, or have Leather Z cover them

Center console Lid

Roll Bar placed in OEM tubes

Roll Bar installed

Roll Bar in place with Harness Bar in place with Harness Installed


Done – All that’s left is to attach OEM Lap belts


It can seem a little daunting, but with persistence, you will have a roll bar installed.