Nottm_S2

I'm thinking of getting the rear of my S painted but i dont want the bodyshop to mask to that long seal which wraps around the back of the roof to the panels next to the boot. It seems stiff, does it just pull off?

unclefester

NO - that's what you'd call a mission - ask the lofty one

vtecdirect

That trim is bolted on and sandwiched to the body by the roof. A big old job to get off.

loftust

However...

Disconnect HRW where applicable.

Remove parcel tray plastics (BIG PITA). Some clips are more accessible from inside the boot, so you'll need to remove a couple of the carpet sections.

Remove all 10mm bolts holding metal rails on.

Pull metal rails off.

Pull hood and rain rail off studs. There are 2 clips, one on each side, that secure the rain rail to the body. They are very near the seatbelt towers; use a torch to locate.

TAKE CARE NOT TO DAMAGE THE PLASTIC TRIM/MOULDING. THE RUBBER ON THIS ITEM, TOWARDS THE FRONT ON THE CAR, IS VERY FRAGILE AND IS ESSENTIAL IN MAINTAINING WATERTIGHT INTEGRITY.

It is likely that your old moulding will be worn out, and the rubbers which channel the water into the rain rail will be flimsy. If you intend to do this, I would purchase another from eBay as you will likely damage yours. I know a seller called 's2kvgs' sells them, but he just hasn't got one listed yet. He sells them for ~ £30, which is bloody cheap when you consider they are ~ £310 from Honda

Some good photos here:

https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/872..._hl__rain+rail

To be honest, it is worth it just to clean out the rail rail, ensure your drain tubes aren't blocked, and to have a good clean under the parcel shelf.

I would DEFINITELY buy one of those mouldings IIWU...it will save much time and hassle if yours is damaged, which it probably will be, after you've had your mits around there

Nottm_S2

Cheers loftie! Great writeup, doesnt look like a mare given my reason for considering, will take a poke around

loftust

Set aside a whole day...a dry one at that, and be patient.

It is very fiddly to remove the parcel shelf plastics, especially the small ones at the side...even harder to re-fit them. It took me and JD a good couple of hours to put these back in when we changed his roof, and that was with two of us.

Al_G

My body shop didn't remove the seal when spraying the boot but still managed a perfect finish.

All they needed to do was lift the seal by 1-2mm and that was sufficient for a 100% perfect finish.

unclefester

If you've a 'shorter slimmer' friend then removing and refitting the shelf is easy enough with the roof partially raised - took me 10 minutes to remove it and about the same to refit it.

loftust

Pat - It's the side ones which are a fecker.

I remember putting JD's parcel shelf back in not long ago...

Me: Jon - It's stuck, it's caught on these metal mounting brackets.

Jon: It'll be fine, just push it down. It's plastic, it'll flex.

Me: Whack! Oh feck...it's snapped.

Jon: You're joking.

Me: I'll get my old one out of the bin for you

unclefester

The only challenge i found was working blind buried under the partially folded roof - on a warm day ... it's a roaster of a job