btcs2k

I'm deep into the install of a Hard Dog roll bar(single diagonal) into my 2008 S2000. The bar is fully bolted and I was just running the top up/down to confirm fitment. The side-to-side clearance is great, but there seems to be a new limitation about how far forward the top can reach. The reaches far enough forward for the roof latches to close just as they did before, however, the passenger side won't fully release properly. The drivers side unlocks and the hook drops just as it always did. The passenger side unlocks, but the hook will not drop from the windshield frame without a little assistance using a small pry(screwdriver really). I hope these pictures show just how close this is. So I'm wondering if there's some way to adjust the frame for the top just enough to loosen up this latch? Thanks.

Here we see the top up with the bar inside. From here everything looks great.


Here we see the top frame which appears to stop moving forward when it reaches the new roll bar.


Here you can see the hook which won't drop.


Here it is after I've pulled it down, you can see it's quite close.


Thanks for any advice.

roel03

Have you already drilled and bolted the roll bar? You had to run the top up and down before fixing the roll bar in place. You may have the bar too far aft.

btcs2k

Yeah, it is drilled and fully tightened. We were certainly careful to run the top up and down, checking clearances, etc. The side to side is perfect, and it reached the windshield as I would have expected. But I'll have to admit that I didn't fully close/open the latches while doing this. The fore/aft placement can be judged by the front 'foot' I've grabbed a pic of here:


I've now had a new thought, could the fitment be thrown off a little since the rear of the car is still raised on axel stands? Is there potentially enough flex in the chassis for this?

DavidNJ

Only you could determine that. It sounds like it is a very small amount.

btcs2k

Yes I guess that does sound like a silly post without some context :-) I'm doing the work at friend's garage so I won't get back to the car until tomorrow or the next day. Thinking out loud is the only thing I have access to this evening.

roel03

Did you set the "front foot" to be flush with the bulkhead as the judgement for the placement of the bar? When I did mine, that wasn't flush until I torqued everything down. What I did was play with the bar until the top opened and closed without touching, then put the bolts in at the front foot. I didn't torque them down. They I drilled my holes as the instructions say with the top still up and latched. Once it wasn't going anywhere I put the top down and continued with the install. The last bolts I tightened we're the front foot OEM bolts.

My top does fit tighter than it did before because of the same location you mention, but it does not have any issues latching/unlatching.

If you haven't foamed your backing plates, I would untorque everything and try and twist it a little further forward, then retorque it.

While the frame is plenty stiff to not twist when on jackstands, the soft top is not. It wouldnt hurt to put it on the ground and see the fitment.

s2000ellier

loosen the striker plate bolts and adjust the striker plate

btcs2k

Back on the ground the top fitment isn't quite so bad. I think a small tweaking of the striker plate should solve that.

I've moved on to trimming the interior to fit around the bar. The drain panels are trimmed and in. However I was looking at some posts for a better idea about the factory roll hoop covers and I see that the pics online don't have speakers in the hoops. Does anyone know how close this will end up to the speaker? I'm not too worried about the speaker itself, just that the whole speaker mount might not stay in if I have to trim too much around it?

Thanks again.

btcs2k

jp182

Does your bar have the diagonal because if it does, you are going to have trouble installing those. I did so i gave up on the hoops and spent my time making the drains fit in nicely and cleanly.