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Watson Racing Roll Bar for 2015+ S550 Mustang and GT350

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Got a decent start on it today. Glad I'm starting already........this is going to take a while. I can't imagine bolting it in just for track days. Anyway I pulled all the seats and interior trim pieces. I also removed the rear seat belts and seat brackets. Overall achieved quite a weight savings to help offset the roll bar. I posted that info over in the department of weights and measures thread.

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Does anyone know if there's a way to remove the trim piece that covers the top opening of the rear shoulder belts? I can't see a way to get it off without cutting the belt. Also, I assume there isn't any electrical sensors to worry about on the rears? I didn't see any wires or sensors connected to them like the front seat retractors. I just don't want any unpleasant warning lights.

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Looks like you got a good start.

I ended up cutting my rear belts to get the trim piece off. I thought about it for a while and decided I would never reinstall the rear seats. The RSD looks more complete with these pieces re-installed.

No need to worry about seat belt sensor in the rear. You will have an issue with the front belts if you go with a harness. The Owners Manuel tells you how to turn the chime off. Pretty easy. The air bag sensor is a different issue. I know there are some airbag bypass kits out there but not sure if they work or not. An air bag light on the instrument panel doesn't really bother me.

Good luck with the rest of your install.
 
Cobra Guy said:
Looks like you got a good start.

I ended up cutting my rear belts to get the trim piece off. I thought about it for a while and decided I would never reinstall the rear seats. The RSD looks more complete with these pieces re-installed.

No need to worry about seat belt sensor in the rear. You will have an issue with the front belts if you go with a harness. The Owners Manuel tells you how to turn the chime off. Pretty easy. The air bag sensor is a different issue. I know there are some airbag bypass kits out there but not sure if they work or not. An air bag light on the instrument panel doesn't really bother me.

Good luck with the rest of your install.
Thanks yes I felt like I got a fair amount of the tedious work out of the way today. I'm going to see how things look when I'm done installing the RSD before I decide to cut the belts. Like you mine won't go back in, but I wonder if that trim piece is available through the parts counter? I can't remember, but did you use the Watson RSD? I haven't even unboxed it yet.

Yes I appreciate the reminder on the chime, but it's the same process as on the Boss. I just need to remember to do it before my first track day. As far as the airbag light, I just live with it on track days since I put my factory seats back in for street use.

I'm going to go the same route you did and get the main hoop bolted in and then a friend's going to help me install the down bars in their shop on a Sunday so we can do it on a lift. Unfortunately I'll have to put it on the trailer to get it there. The roads are going to be awful for a couple more months.
 
Did you remove the plastic around the rear windows? In the S197 it needed to be removed to get at the belts.
 
VoodooBOSS said:
Did you remove the plastic around the rear windows? In the S197 it needed to be removed to get at the belts.
Not sure if you can see it in the picture, but there is a small rectangular trim piece that pops out of the top of the interior trim that the belt feeds through. That's the piece you can't replace unless you cut the belt.
 
I bought the Ford OEM R RSD. I still have not cut the holes yet for the rear bars. I had no problem cutting the rear seat belts to get the trim piece but cutting holes in the RSD is a little more of an issue for me. I am going to try the aluminum angle to transfer the cut point that Patrick suggested in the instructions. I think this will work better than the pvc. Or maybe I will wait and see how you do with this Hahaha!
 
Cobra Guy said:
I bought the Ford OEM R RSD. I still have not cut the holes yet for the rear bars. I had no problem cutting the rear seat belts to get the trim piece but cutting holes in the RSD is a little more of an issue for me. I am going to try the aluminum angle to transfer the cut point that Patrick suggested in the instructions. I think this will work better than the pvc. Or maybe I will wait and see how you do with this Hahaha!
Gary's always the first! ;)

FWIW Black Boss's RSD kit has the holes cut in the correct location so I'd follow the WR instructions but take your time.
 
Cobra Guy said:
I bought the Ford OEM R RSD. I still have not cut the holes yet for the rear bars. I had no problem cutting the rear seat belts to get the trim piece but cutting holes in the RSD is a little more of an issue for me. I am going to try the aluminum angle to transfer the cut point that Patrick suggested in the instructions. I think this will work better than the pvc. Or maybe I will wait and see how you do with this Hahaha!
That's why I bought Watson's precut RSD kit! ;D
 
cloud9 said:
Does anyone know if there's a way to remove the trim piece that covers the top opening of the rear shoulder belts?

My guess is that these do exist as standalone parts -- they are fitted to the R's.....

Cobra Guy said:
Hey Cloud 9,

Have you installed your Watson Roll Bar yet? I have installed mine but I have not cut the holes in my RSD for the back bars that attach in the trunk. I am a little nervous about cutting these holes without a little more guidance. I got the Ford OEM RSD and it was expensive and don't want to screw it up. I am trying to figure a way to transfer the line of the bars onto the RSD.

I will measure my RSD cutout holes and post the dimensions later today -- I know Watson didn't provide a template due to car to car variations, but the dimensions should help others confirm their tube locations.

@Cobra Guy
 
Black Boss said:
My guess is that these do exist as standalone parts -- they are fitted to the R's.....
Thanks for checking. I actually wondered ifnthe Rs had them but wasn't sure how the RSD was setup and if it covered those openings anyway. Do yours still have the slot in them for the belt to pass through? I will check with the parts counter next week.
 
Yea, mine has the slot for the seatbelt.

Here are my measurements for the RSD panel. Dimensions are to center of tube. Vertical dimension was identical, left to right, but you can see variance in horizontal dimension.

Don't take these as precise -- there will be car to car variances, but this should help.

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C7 B8 said:
Could you please share pics of your install? Would love to see the Watson RSD.
Be happy to once I get further along. I mostly disassembled last weekend. I'll try and make a little more progress this weekend and need to get the main hoop installed before the 13th when I'm brining it to my buddy's shop so we can get it on a lift to install the down bars. I'm traveling the last half of February so it might drag into early March before I get it wrapped up.

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Made good progress today! The main hoop went in without any clearance issues. It's a tight fit, but it went. I did have to remove the plastic caps on the shoulder belt mount, but the bar pretty much covers it visually anyway. The driver side ground bolt is tight up against the roll bar mounting bracket so it needs to be tightened before tightening the three main bolts securing the main hoop to the B pillar.

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Fortunately Watson's rear carpet kit is slotted for the down bars so I don't have to worry about cutting, or installing it before the down bars get bolted in place.

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VoodooBOSS said:
Nice work. Is the carpet kit one piece? It was three piece for my Boss.
It's two pieces. I just photographed the back because of the down bars. The seat uses Velcro fasteners to the edge of the frame because it's too hard to drill! That's how my Schrader kit worked in the Boss and it never budged.
 

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