From the moment I got my Roll Bar for Christmas up until the very day that I put it in I was looking for some sort of information out there that could help me make my install go smoother and easier though I never did so after I did all the work and put in the hours I am happy to bring you a step by step install of a 6pt Roll Bar.

Though this is just a 6pt setup the same methods used here can be applied to anything form a 6pt up through a 12pt cage. Anyways, on with the show! Click on the pictures for a larger version.

First off lets make sure you have everything you are going to need, if you don't have these exact tools there are substitutes that could be made though the job will be tougher than it already is.

Tools Required:
13mm Wrench/Socket w/appropritae ratchet
T-45 Torx Bit w/appropriate ratchet
Phillips Head Screwdriver
Torch
Plasma Cutter
Saw w/ Metal cutting Blades
Welder (MIG or TIG)
Handheld Grinder
Bench Vise
Sharpie Marker
Wire Wheel (Paint Removal)
Appropriate Safety Equipment

Alright, before we even get into this and you should be able to tell simply by our tools list that we have on hand that this isn't going to be the easiest of tasks and also you will need to do alot of custom fab work to get this to fit. Custom fab work of any sort also takes alot of time and patience so be prepared for at minimum 2 days work. And yes even those of you out there who bought the pre-fit roll bar especially specific to you car you are going to have to do fab work (it got me too).

Step 1. Interior Removal

This is a fairly striaght forward portion. During this step you are going to be removing the all the seats, pulling up the carpet, disconnecting seatbelts, and that is about it for this section.

The rear seats are pretty easy to get out, the seat portion itself is held on by one 13mm bolt that is attached the a protruded portoin of sheet metal directly under the seat on the front. Remove this from both seats and the seat portion will now come out without any further effort. (recommend replacing the bolts back to their origional spots in the sheetmetal)

Next we are going to be removing the rear seatbelt setup. At the floor there is a Torx Bolt that needs to be loosened to detach the bottom of the belt from the car. This Torx bolt is a T-45 and will take some effort to remove, they are on there pretty tight. (Don't forget the belt portion at the driveshaft tunnel) Now we will be removing the mechanical portion of the seat belts. These are located under the panels behind the seat (follow the belt). To remove these simply take off the nut that is holding them on and remove the entire assembly from the panel.

Once you have the seatbelts detached fold the rear seat down. Down on the bottom corners there is a bracket that this seat is held to with one 13mm nut on each side. Removal of those 2 nuts will disconnect the entire back seat assembly with the seatbelts attached.

Part 2 of the interior removal step is to remove the front seats. This is actually even easier than the back!!

*Note if you are going to be driving the car to a different location to do the actual install remember to leave the drivers seat installed.

Removing the front seats is just a matter of 4 nuts (13mm) for the passenger side which are located at the 4 corners of the seat brackets. For the drivers side it is the 4 nuts (13mm) in the same locations as the passenger seat except with a twist. Yes a twist, there alwasy is! There are plastic covers over these ones, but they are easily removed by removing the phillips screw. After those nuts are removed you aren't going to be able to get the seats out yet.

The Seatbelts, yep, gotta remove them on the front too, though you only need to remove the outter part from the front as the inner portion of the belts attached near the center console do not need to be removed. Removing the seatbelts from the front is also eaier than the back, go figure! Simply remove the Torx-bolt (T-45) from the floor and slide the seatbelt out of the seat bracket and tuck the slack belt away somewhere out of the way (I put mine in the place where the mechanics of the rear seatbelts used to be)

Now, you have the hard part done with, just pull the carpet out from under the panels and roll it up and pile it up in the middle of the area where the rear seats used to be. And onto the next step!

Step 2. The Main Hoop

This is the heart and soul of your roll bar or cage! Thus this is probably the most important thing to get right because if it isn't right the entire roll bar or cage will be out of wack. The most important part about this is getting the measurements done and it in the desired location. This is one of the items that alot of personal decision can go into though I will show you the prefered places for mounting this in a 4th Generation F-body.

Height: This is totally up to you. A couple considerations to take into this, are you going to be painting the roll bar or cage after it is in the car and are you going to be using bar foam? The reason this is important is to ensure that you leave enough gap between the roof of the car and the top of the bar to ensure those items will be achievable. I wanted to ensure there would be enough room for foam and a camera mount so I left appx 1 inch from the interior of my roof to the top of the bar.

Mouting Points:It is a good idea here and with all your other mounting points to use reenforcment plates to weld to as this will provide a much better surface for welding. These plates will require tons of bending and fabbing so get prepared for some fun! It is vital that when you mount your main hoop you pick points that are above your frame so that the structure becomes one unified item. Otherwise your going to just rip right through the floor if you roll! My recommendation is the mount it almost rightnext do the door jam, as this is right where a large portion of your framework is. Go ahead and weld the hoop onto the plates and screw the plates in place inside the car but do not weld the plates in place just yet.

Step 3. The Rear Support Bars

Alright, well we have the main hoop all setup and exactly where we want it so it is time to move on to the next step. Here we will be getting those rear support bars mounted up and in place where you want them. Again this is a place where the end placement is up to you, though Stay with the frame rails for support.

Once you have an idea of where you want those bars to sit go ahead and cut them as necessary so that you have the correct angles and the correct notch up to so you can weld them onto the main hoop. Once you have them all fabbed up go ahead and mock them in place and get the reenforcment plates welded to the bar.

Once you have the plates welded up and you can spot weld the bars to the main hoop so that they are mocked up in place. Once you have them mocked up and spot welded on remove the screws from the main hoop mounting plates and lean the main hoops with the attached rear bars forward until you have easy access to do all the welding to attach the rear bars to the main hoop without burning any of your headliner. Once the welding is done go ahead and drop it back in place and replace the screws into the main hoop mounting plates.

Step 4. The Cross Bar

You would think they would make this piece a perfect fit piece, but of course they didn't so time for more time at the grinder (which I am sure you have already spent plenty of time there already). Cut the bar to specs and notch it out accordingly. Once that is done weld it in place (easiest step wasn't it)

Step 5. Sanding

Alright, so I guess maybe this is the easiest step of them all but it is very important. Make sure that all the points that you will be welding to around the mounting plates are free and clear of any paint so that you have a good metal to metal contact point for the welder.

Step 6. The Door Bars

Yes these things were utter hell for me, though I am not sure why, I think it was because I was starting to get careless and wasn't being as cautious as I could and I made more work for myself by making mistakes and having to fix them.

Anyways, the door bars need to have a couple things taken into account, first they need to be within regs, and secondly they need to not be in the way of the door or the seat controls (if you have electric seats). Once you have that solved out start to the process of notching and cutting to the approrpiate length with the angled cut at the bottom as needed. Again a reminder to be sure to make sure that the mounting point will be above the framework. This actually required the most grinding due to the more extreme angle used here.

Once you have this mocked up the way you want it, go ahead and get the mounting plate attached to the bar, and finally spot weld the bar onto the main hoop.

At this point all you need to do is ensure that the roll bar or cage is 100% correct, finish the door bar to main hoop welds and weld those plates into place. and you are done with all the hard stuff. The rest is all cosmetic. Please check out Roll Bar Install Cosmetics for a complete walkthrough of how to make your roll bar or cage look as if it was installed at the factory!