Hi guys! I just went ahead and ordered some of those Chrome rear roll bar covers from outmotoring.com, and the guy said installation shouldn't be a problem. (But he doesn't know me very well!!) Have any of you good folks done similar installs that would help me? Thanks in advance for your encouragement.

 

We just took our Chrome ones off and put on the black ones

But here is what you need to do...
Remove the head rest. Put the seats down (so you have a place to sit, and so you can pop open the bar covers)
Inside, you will see clips. two up top, and two on the bottom. Pry those up so you can pull the peices apart from each other..do NOT be surprised if you pull open the entire assembly, we did, they go back together very easily.
Once you have that open, the roll bar covers need to be pried open as well, since you are putting the chrome ones on, you don't have to be as careful (we cracked all the chrome on ours, but we didn't want them) pry open the covers, take them off, put the new ones on, clip them in place, clip the assembly back in place, reattach headrest and put the seats back up.

it is really easy. We used two people and it was much easier to pop off the black parts.

 

I was just watching the MINI SA at work do this the other day.
There is a little round cover that you pop out from the back of the headrest, that will expose a screw(can't remember if it was a Torx or a Phillips).
Undo the screw so the headrest can be removed from the front.
Then just remove the plastic trim that is covering the roll bars by basically just pulling them apart, and then snap in the chrome ones.
The chrome ones should be marked Left/Right and Front/Rear.

 

I think the install is easier with the top down...

 

Oh yeah! I forgot that part

 

Now I feel a lot better about ripping into my back seat area!! MINInurse, ThomB, and PARTSMAN, your prior experience with this matter is much appreciated!! (ThomB - actually, I probably would have put the top down first, but hey. You just never know about these things, right? )

 

This was the first mod we did to Dougal when we got him home from the dealer. Basically, what the others above described is accurate... I'll just add that when you're pulling the cover apart, it will feel like you're going to break it... ...but otherwise, it's not very difficult... especially when compared to ripping the dash apart on a car with less than 100 miles... :impatient

 

Nah, I was just saying it to be an a$$. It amused me when I was reading, so I though I'd share.

 

Let's let my newbie-ness shine.....I thought the little roll-bars are chrome on the car to begin with?

 

Coopers (non-S) are gray/anthricite standard. Chrome comes with the optional exterior chrome-line package. The Cooper S 'vert has chrome standard.

 

Thanks Ian - since I ordered the S its all I have been looking at :-)