Ok, ordered a kirk racing competition rollbar for my 98ex w/sunroof. The quality appears to be good even though their shipping department consists of trained monkeys with a tape gun.

My question is, I've gotten the bar in place with the help of a rubber mallet, but it still looks like the feet on the main hoop should be closer to the deck/bench of the rear seat. You can see in the 1st & 3rd pics that I still have about 2-1/16" between the foot/plate and the seat.

The 2nd pic shows the rear leg on the p/s. Seems like this should be higher up on the wheel-well. You can also see the triangular brace on the right side of the wheel-well. Is this still needed? I will be re-installing the interior, but no one will be able to sit in the back seat. Seems like this doesn't have a purpose anymore.

Just concerned because the feet for the main hoop are partially over ridges in the floorpan. Seems like if it could slide back further, I could nearly get all 4 holes over a flat surface.

Would like some input on if this looks right before I start drilling holes. Thanks!

 

Pretty much all of the bolt-in units fit like garbage. Designed to be installed around an interior is the main problem

 

The ridges in the floor won't be a big deal, nor will the distance between the feet and the body (which will just get tightened up when you bolt it down).

 

x2

Just get is fit as best you can, and make sure you sure that you mark where you want to drill with a permanent maker beforehand. I triple checked the fitment of my Kirk rollbar and how it aligned with the marks on the floorpan, and eventually pilot holes before I went full barrel with with the full size bit.

As previously stated the irregularities in the floor tub will flatten out when you start to torque the bolts/nuts down.


On a side note: does he fab the rear legs to mount to the wheel wells now? (a la Autopower)
Mine goes all the way to the back of the trunk and mounts to the frame rails.

 

Another suggestion for drilling: get a hole drilled, put a bolt in to hold the foot in place, then use the other holes in the foot as a guide, so that the floor holes will match the foot holes.

And yes, the newest Kirk design has the same rear legs as Autopower.

 

I called up kirk yesterday and got some confirmation on things from them before I got started poking holes.

I picked up an auto center punch from harbor freight and I've been using that to mark holes. I used the full 3/8" bit on the easy holes, and drilled smaller 1/8" pilot holes on the more difficult holes. So just need to torque the plates down, put the car on jackstands and finish off the rest of the holes.

I've got some left over black silicone that I'm going to use to seal around the backing plates once I'm done.

Thanks for the input!

 

I find this really odd as one of the main benefits to Kirks design over Autopower was the design of the rear section. Now, the rear plates sit on the flimzy *** wheel well!?

 

No idea why they changed it. However, I know with the rear frame-rail design, there could be issues with mounting securely, as there are only 3 bolts used on each foot (as opposed to 4). It was that way on the old Kirk I helped a friend install anyway.

 

Before bolting in the roll bar, you should have tried removing those three OEM metal braces in the middle of the car. That probably would have allowed you to slide the main hoop further back a little, which would then allow you a little more flexibility on how you can mount it. You'd probably be able to play with it a little, and get the rear legs to sit flush with the wheel well area.

 

HERE'S MY EMAIL TO KIRK, RE: REAR LEGS
KIRK RACING REPLIED WITH:
Does this mean the CRX version still mounts back between the rear wheels?

 

Hmm. I guess so, if they say it. That's weird though, I don't know why they'd keep the design for that chassis but not for others.

 

Just got off the phone w/kirk racing this morning. The pics from above were from when I managed to get things mostly lined up in my car... I later looked at the roof of the car and noticed the bar was pressing into the sunroof tracks and pushing the glass up so that it didn't seal properly and the sunroof couldn't open/close properly.

So, then I start working with it again... Damn thing just wouldn't fit... The d/s leg would hit the wheel well perfectly, but the p/s leg wouldn't. It was either a bad angle, or wouldn't hit at all...

So then I start measuring... I laid the bar on a flat surface and measured up to the plates on the rear legs... They were off by nearly 1"... And nope. not bent... Lengths of tubes on both sides were identical. However it is at the wrong angle which is why it won't mate up properly.

So far kirk is being cool about it, so hopefully we can work this out in a reasonable way.

In the meantime, anyone have any suggesting for 3/8" patching holes in the floorboard? I was going to hit it with caulk and put a dime over the hole...

 

Wait, what? You mean the angle of the support tube coming off the main hoop is incorrect? That's weird.

Patching holes, hmm... a little paint to prevent rust and then some rubber grommets worked best for me, but caulk should be ok too.

 

Yup, the angle is incorrect. I measured the horizontal distance from the rear leg to the main hoop. The p/s side was nearly 1" shorter than the d/s which is why I had so much trouble getting both legs to meet the wheel well. d/s would be perfect, and p/s would be no where near touching.

 

Peel-n-seal from the roofing dept at Lowe's can seal up the little holes, too.