But if he has an MY00 above 5730 he doesn't need to take the pieces off an MY01 car right? So all this conjecture really depends on the VIN# of the MY00 car he plans on swapping for.

 

WOW..I cant believe this is so dificult to understand....If you leave the hardware for the hardtop on the car no matter what year it is you will have to purchase it to re-install it on another car. The only question here was if Kit-A was needed for the MY00.

 

 

Now I understand. So basically selling a hardtop to someone doesn't make sense unless you remove everything. So I assume the Mugen Hardtop comes with the same pieces as provided by the OEM Hardtop? Does anybody know?

 

Damn so on top of the $2500 for the Mugen top, you have to pay an additional $500 for the mounting hardware?

 

So does that mean if you have a mugen top with no hardware you have to buy Kit-A?... lol

 

Sorry to bring up an old thread again.

My MY00 VIN falls below 5700. If I get a hardtop from '02+ with side catchers and hardtop strikers up front from the donor car, can I cheap out on kit A (I don't mind doing my own defroster wiring as I did with my miata) and just swap trim panels with the donor car? If it's unfortunate that we cannot swap trim panels (donor car = blue interior, mine = black/red), then can I modify my panel(s) to fit and yet not visually noticeable in the "final product"?

 

Model years '02 and higher have the defroster switching circuit built into the dash. Earlier models '00 and '01 required additional add-on defroster circuitry in the console (switch, harness) and a relay, in addition to the harness behind the rear trim (all models). Earliest MY00 lacked a ground wire included in subsequent years, so need a special wire to ground one of the connections (I think to the rear harness).

'02 and later models had a relay specifically to switch between the built-in soft-top defroster grid and the hard-top, if installed. You wouldn't need this unless you installed a soft-top with a glass window. Requires a custom modification of the rear harness.

So, if you were able to get the mechanical parts (roof and catchers), you would need the rear harness and the components of the '00 defroster switch (and harness and relay) that go in the console.

 

Thanks for the detailed info on defroster hookup.

What about trim pieces? I'm worried that since early '00 needs different trim pieces (for maybe the side catchers), is it easy to just swap my early '00 trim pieces with donor car? And if swapping is not feasible (i.e. different interior color) can I trim/modify my trim pieces and yet not visually noticeable in the final product?

 

There was a minor change in the trim pieces. I switched them when installing the top, but I would say that it is probably easy to convert them. I did not do a side-to-side comparison. Most likely the brushes are a different length to protect the HT pin mounts from debris when the HT is off and the softtop is down. Also, note that the sidecatchers required longer bolts (by approximately 1/4") than those already present, in addition to a couple not already installed. If you are getting the parts from a donor, get/exchange the trim pieces and the necessary bolts. The Honda factory kit will come with the parts.