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When I ordered my hardtop, I began looking for a DIY to get my mind wrapped around doing the job before hand. I am used to finding a DIY on just about any S2000 related job here on S2ki. So, when I couldn't find a hardtop thread, I was surprised. This will be my attempt at a DIY for anyone doing the install themselves in the future.
The job itself if fairly easy if you are comfortable doing your own stuff. If you can change your spark plugs, you should be able to tackle this job.
What you need
Correct hardtop kit for your car
The side catchers are the same for all years, however you will need additional wiring for some different years. (02+ are all the same if IIRC) In addition to this, if you have a pre '02, you will need to replace the front top catchers. The top comes with new catchers, however I did not do this, so it is not pictured. If you need to replace these strikers, there is a DIY here: https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=517300
All procedures are exactly the same on the passenger and driver side except there are no wires to contend with on the passenger side. this DIY is basically a re-iteration of the installation instructions, but the pictures and simplified explainations may make it easier for some to understand.
OK, this is how Honda ships the tops. The hardtop itself and the installation parts are packaged in one huge box that is entirely made entirely of cardboard. It took me longer to burn the box after the install than actually doing the job. When the freight driver delivers the box, be sure to open the top and make sure the top is the right color and not damaged etc...
The first step to the installation, is to find the two rubber spacers and place them over the stopper:
Next remove the door sills from both sides of the car:
Remove the panels behind the seats by removing the two hooks (phillips screws) and gently pulling the panels forward. There are four tabs that hold it in, one near each corner of the panel.
Remove the side trim panels. There is one phillips screw at the bottom of the panel and it then pops off quite easily.
DO NOT REMOVE any bolts prior to this next step! If you do, the two pieces of metal held together by the bolts may mis-align making it it very hard to get the bolts back in afterward to hold the catchers in place. Take the hammer and punch (or a wooden dowel to avoid damaging the paint thanks TTMartin ) and bend the metal in the picture in so that it follows the contour of the metal behind it. It does not have to be 100% perfect, so don't go nuts.
Now you can install the side catchers themselves. As you match them up, you will see that you need to remove four bolts which will then allow the catcher to fit flushly against the body. The kit comes with replacement bolts that are slightly longer for this purpose:
The catcher with the wires will install on the driver's side. This is obvious as the catchers can only fit in one way. Once the catcher is in, torque the larger bolts to 22ft/lbs and the smaller ones to 7ft/lbs. You can now plug the catcher wires into the only empty plug you will be able to find running on the car in this area. After you plug it in, wrap it with some cushion tape (provided). Then route the wires as shown, again using the cushion tape to secure it. Do not worry about which plugs connect to what, as they are all different and only fit in the right spot. There are two clips to secure the wire to the body in existing holes. These holes are circled in the picture.
You are getting there now. Next we need to replace the original side brushes, which basically just hide the innards of the car from view when the top is down. The new brushes have a bit less plastic in some areas and the brush itself is trimmed away in some spots to allow the hardtop latch to come through.
The brushes are secured with two phillips screws. You will re-use the screws to put the new brushes on.
While you are at it, pop out the round plug on the driver's side panel pictured here. this is where the hardtop plug will be placed.
Now you can pop the wire harness on the driver's side catcher up through this hole. It should fit like this. It can be a pain in bawls to get the rubber through the right way, I found it easy to use a pair of needle nose pliars to help pull it through. be careful not to rip it though.
Now, put all the panels back in and screw them all in place as you found them originally. You are officially done with the installation kit portion of the job.
My top did not need to be adjusted, as I have heard most do not. I have provided a picture below that shows where the measurement should be taken to see. Basically, you measure along the body line from the door opening to the 184mm area. When the top is unlocked, there should be a 14mm +/- 1mm gap between the bottom of the top and the crease in the body at this location. When you lock the top, this gap should change to 8mm +/-1mm. If the gap is wrong, you can loosen the bolts on the inside of the hardtop to adjust it. I do not have pics of this, since I did not need to adjust it.
The hardtop should be placed on the car at the front first, making sure to line up the latches with the front catchers. Then, carefully line the side latches up with the holes in the side catchers you just installed. Rotating the levers to the rear locks it, forward unlocks it. They should be in the unlocked position when you initially put it in.
The hardtop is shipped with the rear pillar trim plastic off of the top. If you don't need to make any adjustments, you can just snap the panels in. They are held in with plastic clips in the same manner as the other panels. Ther are no screws used. You will notice that there is a small strip of adhesive backing on the bottom of the rubber trim. Remove that backing and see that it seals up with the rubber window trim.
On the drivers side, you will just need to route the defroster wire through a hole in the panel. They supply a clip to hold it into a hole on the panel. It can only go in one way here.
Finally, plug the hardtop wire into the plug you installed earlier as shown here:
When this is all set, double check that you have replaced all your panels and taken all your tools out of the car so they aren't rattling around somewhere later. If you want, you can check for leaks using a garden hose around the seals, to be sure. Don't use high pressure, you just want to simulate a rain strom in doing this. The top is not designed for high pressure car washes and such it will leak if high psi is applied.
Finally, take a ride and listen for any rattles. There shoud not be anything moving around. You will notice that the wind noise is now much less on the highway. If your side windows are tinted, you will want to head over to the tint shop ASAP because as you can see in my pic of the top installed below, it looks funny with no rear tint. The shop that originally tinted my car is going to do the hardtop tint for $40 tomorrow.
11-05-2007, 08:41 PM
How to install a hardtop with pics...
