Factory Five Roadster Build, Part 19 - Tech

One concern the folks at HMS Motorsport had in our application was head/neck support in an open roadster with a low-back seat. The Miata, BMW Z3, and so forth all have modern high-back seats. After some discussion, we located this great headrest assembly from Cobraearl's FFR Accessories (http://home.mindspring.com/~egroce/); it simply attaches to the factory rollbar with bolts or hook-and-loop strips. We opted for the hook-and-loop installation for quick cleaning and maintenance. We're still considering something for the passenger side, possibly a slip-in headrest with a custom bracket.

I've been accused of being a member of the safety police, but I'd rather have our readers be safe and prepared than injured or worse. Case in point-every vehicle I own has a fire extinguisher in it and the Roadster will be no different. Well, it'll be a little different, as we went for some bling since the extinguisher is so visible. The unit we installed is a HalGuard HG100C ($125.95) from H3R Performance. HalGuard is a clean-agent fire extinguisher that produces no mess when dispensed, doesn't create any visual impairment, and is EPA approved and rechargeable.

The HalGuard product is perfect for protecting your classic or late-model car or specialty vehicle and looks great doing it. We ordered the optional billet band clamp (PN BB100P, $87.95) and flat-surface mount (PN BMF01P, $48.95) for cockpit mounting and quick access. NHRA-legal rollbar mounts are also available. Many Roadster owners place their fire extinguisher under the dash at the front of the transmission tunnel. It's a nice place visually, but we were a little concerned about access in an emergency situation. Eventually, we opted for between the seats in a horizontal mounting plane with the quick-release pin facing up. A quick yank of the pin straight up and the extinguisher is free to do its job. We can quickly inspect the pressure gauge in this mounting position as well.

Finally, to protect our Roadster from the elements, we gave the crew at Covercraft a shout for one of their new all-weather Weathershield HP car covers. Weathershield HP is a single-layer weave product, making it incredibly compact for storage (just what we needed with our Roadster's diminutive trunk space).

It's extremely water resistant and dust-proof, while offering UV protection. Careful measuring of your custom vehicle will get you a one-of-a-kind fitted cover for your car, no matter what wing, mirrors, rollbar, and so on may be mounted to it. The cover fits great and is easy to store in our Roadster's trunk. We're completely happy with it.