Didnt have much time yesterday, but I got the bar positioned for drilling.

It was a really snug fit in the rear and took quite a bit of hassle to get the footplates lined up on the wheel wells, but at least its "in". This evening I will get all the holes drilled, then pull the bar out for paint and finish the install tuesday.

Any issues or tips I should watch out for? I am going to head to home depot today for a few 1/4" drill bits to pilot the holes, then a graduated bit to enlarge them to size. I was planning on getting some cheap hardware to crank the plates down as they will bend, and replacing it with grade 8 hardware for the final install.

The biggest obvious problem I see is, how the hell do you get the main hoop onto the rear supports once they are in with the rear panels? It would barely get on there without anything bolted down and no panels...

Pics as I make more progress.

 

http://www.spanishtrailrovers....e.pdf - Chart for bolt torque specs, FYI.

 

heres a write up i found on the sandm racing site (http://www.sandmracing.com/ scroll down to mods and ugrades then to the autopower roll bar install) it seems that you slide the rear panels over the rear bars after they are bolted down then bolt the top to the main hoops. hope this helps a little, keep us informed on what you did, cause im gonna try this in the near future but im gonna use a weld in bar.

 

get some cutting oil for the drill bit, and dip the bit before every hole. you should only need 2 bits max if you do this.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DontBlink &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> it seems that you slide the rear panels over the rear bars after they are bolted down then bolt the top to the main hoops</TD></TR></TABLE>

That was the plan, but I'm wondering if there's any tricks to getting them lined up... I know Chris N (where the hell is that scamma? ) said to loosen the rear support bolts, get it together then tighten them down.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DragII &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">get some cutting oil for the drill bit, and dip the bit before every hole. you should only need 2 bits max if you do this.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I used one drill bit for at least three rollbar/cage installs with no oil.

RJ, are you putting the rear seats back in? That's where the real fun begins.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BryanSprinkel &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">RJ, are you putting the rear seats back in? That's where the real fun begins. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes, they'll be going back in

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BryanSprinkel &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I used one drill bit for at least three rollbar/cage installs with no oil. </TD></TR></TABLE>

the stuff really helps w/ drilling into metal, I still recommend it. so you use one bit, that bit will be in better shape when you are done.

 

No need for multiple bits or oil when drilling, the tub of DC2's is paper thin.

I drilled my bar, seats, and harnesses with the same bit no problem

Good Luck RJ

 

RJ,

Don't tighten ANYTHING even remotely tight until you have the hoop and the rear bars fully 'together'. Ask why I know this.

Once you start to tighten bolts in any position, you lose almost all your 'play' and there is very little of that as it is.

So.... put the bolts through your drilled holes, maybe put a nut on them to keep them from popping out (with all the pulling/moving/swearing), but don't tighten ANYTHING until you get the three main parts assembled. It's not fun, I'll tell you that much.

Also. About the drill bit. The sheet metal is very thin and a little force will go a long way. I used one bit (with Bartek's help, thank you) and didn't even think about using anything like oil or wd-40. We did use a screwdriver as a punch to center the holes for drilling, the drill bit tends to want to wander around on the flat sheet metal.

 

I agree w/Chris. get the bar centered and assembled first, then drill. Slide the fastners through the hole, but don't tighthen everything down until you have all holes drilled and the bar is in a suitable position.

IIRC I drilled the holes on the floor first, the wheel wells second. Also, jack up the car or put something on top of the rear tire so you don't drill bit your 'zenis

Don't forget the Black silicon to avoid leakage

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DsR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I agree w/Chris. get the bar centered and assembled first, then drill. Slide the fastners through the hole, but don't tighthen everything down until you have all holes drilled and the bar is in a suitable position.
</TD></TR></TABLE>



make sure your drill is powered up. Nothing like drilling holes through your car then the battery to the drill dies

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Chris N &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">We did use a screwdriver as a punch to center the holes for drilling, the drill bit tends to want to wander around on the flat sheet metal.</TD></TR></TABLE>

or put the entire bar in place and use the holes in the feet of the rollbar at your guide. no chance of wandering then.

biggest thing is make sure after each hole you drill you put a bolt through it to keep the bar from moving while you're drilling the next hole. i didn't do that and although somehow everything worked out fine i can see how things can get fucked up very easily if you don't do that.

 

nice big fat phone book over your rear tires when drilling thru the rear wheel well


or remove rear tires all together

 

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BlueR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">nice big fat phone book over your rear tires when drilling thru the rear wheel well </TD></TR></TABLE>

Just jack the rear of the car up and you should be fine.

Also, I drilled the holes with the bar in place, put the bolts through to hold it in place, then removed everything to put the panels back.

 

Rj, j0000 dont need no rear panels. j000 got a Race kaaaa......

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Smitdog &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Rj, j0000 dont need no rear panels. j000 got a Race kaaaa......

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Leaving them out sure does make it a lot easier!

 

rj, why put the rear plastic & seats back in? you can't have anyone sit back there and consider it safe

make sure the bolts all point into the car. if you leave the threaded end pointing out of the car you will cut your tires.

use seam sealer on the backing plates to prevent rust and leakage.

i put the roll bar completely together and put it into the car (with the seats removed) - easy!

like lance, i put the rollbar in place and drilled the car through the holes in the footbads. i used a proper drill bit designed for use on metal - still sharp!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by magic hat #9 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">rj, why put the rear plastic & seats back in? you can't have anyone sit back there and consider it safe </TD></TR></TABLE>

I dont want anyone back there, but I still drive it to the track and on the street, so the interior stays.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by .RJ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I dont want anyone back there, but I still drive it to the track and on the street, so the interior stays.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Where are you gonna put Greg during your special time with him?

 

RJ has now been pwned. and not even by my doing...

to Rguy

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by .RJ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">any issues or tips I should watch out for? </TD></TR></TABLE>

I had an AP bar in my other hatch that was stolen. The one thing that i ran into after the bar was installed was a little bit of leakage during rain storms.

My advice would be to not only treat the backing plates with some rattle can, but also throw a little undercoating on the rears to make sure you dont get any leaking. I bought the 3M rubberized undercoating at napa for a few bucks. Solved the problem.


as for the interior, just slide the panels over the rear supports, but keep them loose, then install the main hoop. Not sure if there is a much easier way to do it than that.

 

You kinda need two people to get the sidepanels. At least, it's a lot easier to have one person move the hoop and such around while the other manipulates the panels into place. I tried doing it by myself and came up with some really interesting new combinations of curse words.

At least on the RS and GS-R I've put the AP bar in, we had to dremel a little bit on the sidepanels arount the speaker holes on the back bottom corner to give them a bit more clearance for the downtubes. If you're careful, you can trim the plastic such that when you reinstall the speaker grill, the trimmed plastic is not visible. That is, just in case you ever pull the bar back out and sell the car to some poor schlep who doesn't know what you've done to it If you don't trim the plastic, it will be bent there and will likely crack over time. Like everyone else said, beat and bang the bar into place so it wedges itself into the proper orientation. Drill through one floorboard hole. Put a bolt in so that foot then does not move. I think I went around and did one bolt in each mounting plate first to lock the bar in place before drilling the rest of the holes, using the mounting plates as guides. I used black silicone spooge under the plates to seal the plates against the tub. I don't know if you have a removable center section, if you do, make sure you have the center section installed before you start drilling the mounting holes. The center piece keeps the rest of the bar aligned properly, and you'd be hating yourself later if you have it out first. Don't spray the nuts/backing plates just yet, since they WILL loosen up and need to be retightened as everything gets bent. I retightened mine after week/month/year since each time they were a bit loose again. BTW, for the bottom mounts of the main hoop, I would cut the carpeting on three sides to make a flap, scrape some padding off the back. It won't look as pretty while the bar is installed, but if you ever decide to sell the car and pull the bar out, you have a nice flap you can flop back down and glue in place so the overall damage to the interior is minimal.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by .RJ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Yes, they'll be going back in </TD></TR></TABLE>

You don't carry tools and spare wheels? If you do, you're gonna get tired of putting those seats in and taking them out.

The good thing about keeping the rear seats is that it cuts down on noise a little bit, and your AC is much more efficient.