i just bought the roll hoops from that special purchase paul at WCC posted last week.
i ordered them monday morning and they arrived by thursday. if i have any complaint about the shipping is that the way they were packaged, i thought they were going to be drop shipped literally from the back of the fed ex air cargo. i mean these things were packaged so tightly and wrapped in bubble wrap and then those plastic air bladder thingies. hell, it took me like ten minutes just to get them unwrapped! i felt like a kid at christmas that can't get into my presents
now for the bad news: following the instructions, i placed the hoops in place and checked to make sure they were all the way down, cleared the top, etc. etc. the one thing i didn't check was clearance of the tonneu cover! :blush: i get everything in place and let the hoops set for about 1/2 hour, then i cut the carpet around them. looks pretty good. so i go to close the cover and damn! they hit the cover.
now the good news: i used the wrong epoxy! it was supposed to be an industrial strenght epoxy capable of bonding all kinds of stuff, but apparently not these hoops to that bulkhead. whew!
now that i've found all this out, i've been playing with the positioning of the hoops and it seems like anywhere they sit, there is contact with the tonneu cover when it is opened and closed. has anybody else run into this problem?
it seems like i need to somehow tilt the hoops forward about 1/2". anybody have any suggestions?

 

contact GB Vette and ask how he did his.
I have hoops from Carvaggio and they have small feet on the bottom that goes over the tank area....if they are backwards they will hit the tank.
I am sure the chrome ones are similar but Gary (GB Vette) can answer this for you

 

Why don't you just call WCC and ask them? They have always been more than helpful on any questions I've asked them. They would also want to know if there is something wrong with a product from a supplier, too.

 

not saying anything is wrong with their product. it may just be an issue of production differences, either in the car or the hoops. i'm very satisfied with the hoops themselves. i just figured i might not be the only one who's found this. besides, as knowledgeable about a product as any company can be, i think this is a better source of information for alot problems.
companies tend to not have problems with their products because they design them and know what they're supposed to do and how they're supposed to do it. the consumers tend to not have that intimate knowledge of the product they just purchased and, all to often, create their own problems for themselves. think that's where i am now.

 

My son has a company that manufactures roadster bars for the C5 and we have sold and installed many sets in all models. I have them in my 04 vert and they look awesome and there is no problems with clearance anywhere. FYI these are top quality (not those skinny nearly vertical hoops that don't follow the seat outline), chrome pieces that come with all hardware and detailed instructions.
Also, these are not epoxied in (ugh) and are very solid. Good Luck.

 

Yes, ask WCC.

Is there a left and a right? Or a front and a back?

 

Paul will be glad to help you out. He is a forum member you should probably find the thread that you purchased the hoops and IM him for an answer. Really glad you did use the wrong epoxy though. That would have been a real disaster. Just hope the others that bought them aren't having the same problems. It sort of sounds like you have them reversed or on the wrong side. Keep us posted for I was thinking of buying these too. Good luck.

 

well, i know they're not reversed. the "distructions" say they can't be installed backwards, and that's true. however, i didn't think about the possibility of there being a right and left side. i looked them over pretty well and didn't see any variation to them though. they looked pretty much identical.
honestly, i'm wondering if my 'vert is like everybody else's 'vert. right where the bottom of the mounting flange goes, there is some kind of bonding seam where two of the panels of the rear bulkhead were joined. because it's painted over, i can't tell if it's welded or epoxied. looks like some type of epoxy though. anyway, i suspect i will need to grind this down to get the flange to sit level against the bulkhead. as it is, there is probably a 1/4" gap across most of the mating surfaces because of this seam. i was hoping someone else who has installed these could chime in and say if they see the same thing on theirs and if they had to modify it.
also, on top of the rear bulkhead, there is an inverted 'V' shape stamped into it, preventing the flange to sit flat on the bulkhead. i'm sure it's by design, probably a structural stiffness thing. either way, it's not a flat surface for the hoop flange to rest on. i'm thinking of bonding some flat stock to it to help spread the load of the bars and give it more surface area to "bite". otherwise, i was hoping paul might check in.
please note: i am in no way bashing WCC! i am very please with the looks and quality of their product. i simply chalk this up to production variances between the hoops, the car, or both.

 

Clutchdust, the base of the bars need to have the correct indentation or they will never sit properly on the rail. And yes you will have to remove some of the factory epoxy in the corners using a scraper (no problem). Our hoops have laser cut foot brackets and sit very securely on the rail. They are then secured with short self-tapping screw (no epoxy). Once correctly installed, they are extremely strong. Most people come up to my car (04 vert) and grab the bar and shake the whole car. We have installed them in verts, FRC, and coupes and they look great in all body styles.
Anyway good luck with your installation.

 

i bought the same from wcc and installed them in my vert - see pic. i used liquid nails. After I got them set and they had about 10 min to set up i dropped the cowl and placed a towel between it and the hoop. this gurantees that the top will close after they fully set up and get hardened into postion. it is a close fit but it worked fine. also - there is some black rubbery substance covering the seams on the metal back and i used a chisel to cut it down so that the surface was even and smooth. that gave me a little more room for the hoops to fit and more contact between the metal and the hoop supports. after you get them in and have dropped the cowl shut just insert the towel and let the hoops dry. hope this helps

 

I pretty much did the same thing. I wedged in eggcrate foam instead of towels while putting the lid down. I have about 3/16 in clearance between the hoops and the lid. I used a gasket scraper to get rid of the black stuff on the top of the lip. I mounted the hoops with 30min epoxy that I bought from Hobby Town USA. If you use epoxy, you have to be careful when mixing up a large amount because it will set up pretty fast on you. If you're not experienced with using epoxy, you might consider using 45 or 60 min. The longer set up times result in a stronger bond. You definitely do not want to use 5min. I did one side at a time and took my time with trial fittings. Make sure that you tuck the wires on the passenger side behind the side panel before you stick the hoop on that side down. I didn't and couldn't get them under the panel after the hoop was stuck down because the extra height of the hoop took up the slack in the wires. This will create a bump under the carpet between the hoop and the side of the car. It's not a big deal, but I wanted this to be perfect. After all it's my 'vette. Take your time and be careful. The results are worth it!!