Hi there,
Picked my 1/2 cage up from Luke (Deako) a couple of weeks ago and had popped into the garage until I decided what I was going to do with it.
Well with the mother in law staying for the weekend (meaning I wanted to get out of the house), and the sun shining I decided to have a go at fitting the roll cage ready for the first trackday of the year in a couple of weeks.
I emailed Deako to see if he had some instructions as I know he had fitted one the other weekend with one of the guys on here. He sent me them over and it seemed quite simple. OH how wrong I was going to be!
My son was more than happy to help; he's 17 and just getting into driving/cars etc.
We started by disconnecting the battery before leaving the car for 45 mins to allow the airbags etc to deactivate. Then we unbolted both of the front seats taking care to disconnect the cables that run underneath (the connectors are very fiddly).
Both seats were then taken out and set aside. We then removed the rear seat bases (probably the easiest part of the day).
After the seats were out we gave the carpets etc a good hoover as this was a great chance to get rid of all the stones and crap that get under the seats which you can’t normally reach.
Next we unbolted the seat belts from the bottom mounting and removed the rails that the belts move on (this takes a bit of wiggling around).
After that we un clipped the speak grilles and unscrewed the two screws holding the speakers in as these also hold the plastic rear quarter panels in.
Luke had told me that once the speakers were unscrewed the panels should just pull away from the securing clips, they did and we almost had the panels out apart from the stupid rear seat catches that the plastic panels were fitted around. As I had decided to leave the backrests in, we had to get these unclipped and manouvere the panels around them. I would reckon if you were taking the back rests out this would be easy.
Next job was to get the carpets and foam pulled back, and move the wiring looms out of the way. Luke had given me a heads up on this as I didn't want the wires trapped between the roll cage and the car.
Then to get the cage into position, this was a bit difficult and required so careful twisting and manouvering so as not to scratch paint, smash windows etc.
Then we had to contend with another problem. Attack of Custard the cat.
Cage in, and time to bolt it all down making sure all the support posts were in the right way round. God there is a lot of bolts, my hands are aching today.
Then all the trim is put back (this is quite tricky with a rollcage now firmly in the way)
A bit of trimming for the carpets to make it all look nice and neat, seats back in and its job done.
Definately worth it, but must have taken about 3 hours to fit. My hands are scratched and grazed and my knees are knackered. (cue Violins)
Up early this morning, and outside to fit the sticker I had received from Rocky in the post on Friday.
Looks superb, glad I ordered it now.
Then time for a good wash and polish
Thats it for this weekend, next up need to find some harnesses as it will feel wrong on a trackday with a roll cage and normal seat belts.
Regards
Tim
Picked my 1/2 cage up from Luke (Deako) a couple of weeks ago and had popped into the garage until I decided what I was going to do with it.
Well with the mother in law staying for the weekend (meaning I wanted to get out of the house), and the sun shining I decided to have a go at fitting the roll cage ready for the first trackday of the year in a couple of weeks.
I emailed Deako to see if he had some instructions as I know he had fitted one the other weekend with one of the guys on here. He sent me them over and it seemed quite simple. OH how wrong I was going to be!
My son was more than happy to help; he's 17 and just getting into driving/cars etc.
We started by disconnecting the battery before leaving the car for 45 mins to allow the airbags etc to deactivate. Then we unbolted both of the front seats taking care to disconnect the cables that run underneath (the connectors are very fiddly).
Both seats were then taken out and set aside. We then removed the rear seat bases (probably the easiest part of the day).
After the seats were out we gave the carpets etc a good hoover as this was a great chance to get rid of all the stones and crap that get under the seats which you can’t normally reach.
Next we unbolted the seat belts from the bottom mounting and removed the rails that the belts move on (this takes a bit of wiggling around).
After that we un clipped the speak grilles and unscrewed the two screws holding the speakers in as these also hold the plastic rear quarter panels in.
Luke had told me that once the speakers were unscrewed the panels should just pull away from the securing clips, they did and we almost had the panels out apart from the stupid rear seat catches that the plastic panels were fitted around. As I had decided to leave the backrests in, we had to get these unclipped and manouvere the panels around them. I would reckon if you were taking the back rests out this would be easy.
Next job was to get the carpets and foam pulled back, and move the wiring looms out of the way. Luke had given me a heads up on this as I didn't want the wires trapped between the roll cage and the car.
Then to get the cage into position, this was a bit difficult and required so careful twisting and manouvering so as not to scratch paint, smash windows etc.
Then we had to contend with another problem. Attack of Custard the cat.
Cage in, and time to bolt it all down making sure all the support posts were in the right way round. God there is a lot of bolts, my hands are aching today.
Then all the trim is put back (this is quite tricky with a rollcage now firmly in the way)
A bit of trimming for the carpets to make it all look nice and neat, seats back in and its job done.
Definately worth it, but must have taken about 3 hours to fit. My hands are scratched and grazed and my knees are knackered. (cue Violins)
Up early this morning, and outside to fit the sticker I had received from Rocky in the post on Friday.
Looks superb, glad I ordered it now.
Then time for a good wash and polish
Thats it for this weekend, next up need to find some harnesses as it will feel wrong on a trackday with a roll cage and normal seat belts.
Regards
Tim
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