As many know, the S2000 comes in GT or Roadster, the GT benefits from having a hardtop. To convert a Roadster to have a hardtop isn't just as simple as buying a hard top and putting it on, there's a few things you need to buy/do which aren't as cheap as you'd hope.
- Hardtop itself, typically around £600
- Fitting kit, I paid £300
- Bolts for the fitting kit, I don't think the ones already on the car work
- Wiring loom for the rear screen (I don't have it)
On top of this there are a few bits of trim you either need to change or cut. I decided on cutting mine as when I come to sell the car I preferably want to sell it with the hardtop included.
I wasn't sure on how to do it, but without reading any guides I set upon having a go myself. How hard could it be I thought.
I fitted the kit to one side to have an idea of how it sits and what I needed to cut.
With the trim back in place you can see where it would foul the hole for the bolt on the hardtop. In addition, due to the way the mounting kit sits, it blocks the trim from being put back on correctly.
It's pretty easy to spot what needs cutting:
I needed to get a new tool to allow me to cut the standard trim, this will do nicely:
Let's get that trim chopped:
Test fitting, pretty much got the cut right the first time. I didn't fancy spending too much time cleaning it all up on the edges as it's well out of sight when on the car. Looking at the pics though I may get some sandpaper and tidy it up one day.
The passenger side has part of the loom for the heated screen so I had to chop a little more off:
How it looks all back together: