Blackbird Fabworx RZ Roll Bar for ND And Fiat 124

I don't even know where to start with this review. Getting this bar was actually a very long journey for me, as I ordered it about seven months ago. Goodwin Racing did an excellent job communicating with me, however, Blackbird left a little bit to be desired with their customer service. Upon receiving the bar however, I am willing to forgive all of the difficulties I had in receiving the bar, as its my understanding and belief that Blackbird had some genuine problems they were sorting out that caused my (and many others) roll bars to be delayed. The bar arrived VERY well packaged, and was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. I ordered the pearl gunmetal gray color, and it is nothing short of amazing. There are a few things to note with the installation, for example, personally I wouldn't suggest purchasing the Vinyl covers for the interior. They look really bad. If you want the car to look good I would explore other options. I chose to remove almost all of the rear plastic (The glovebox and the plastic behind the seats) and I'm going to cut some carpet to cover up some of the bits that are still exposed. Not only does this, in my opinion, look better, but it also gives you LOTS of extra space in the back. You could probably fit a couple folding chairs with relative ease, and if you left the top up, you could maybe even fit more. I'd also suggest purchasing some bedliner to spray the exterior mounting plates with (the ones inside the rear wheel-wells) as I feel it makes it look a bit more OEM, and also protects it quite well. Oh, and they DO suggest you wrap the bar with painters tape to protect from scratches in some areas, which I HIGHLY suggest, as I did not and net myself a few small scratches (not a huge deal but still). Other than that, get at least a few drill bits, and a very strong drill. The installation went quite smoothly other than what I noted there, I did manage to lose some small black plastic clips for the seatbelt pre tensioner harness, but I was able to find a replacement on Ebay from Nissan, ironically enough. In the end, I completed the install over the course of a Saturday evening by myself, and then Sunday I had someone come help me who had installed the bar before. It's relatively simple to do if you've worked with cars before and follow the instructions closely. I noticed that the rear end is a little stiffer as well, and I'm sure it would be even more noticeable if you have suspension upgrades. Best of luck!

TLDR: If you're willing to wait for it, this is an EXCELLENT and BEAUTIFUL roll bar that completes the look of any ND. Well worth the price because of the concise instructions, I just wish the customer service team at Blackbird was a tad more communicative. I would highly suggest most ND owners invest in this bar!

-- Gabe P., Tampa FL ( 2016 MX-5 Sport ) August 2023

Absolutely love this roll bar, looks great!

My only gripe is that the covers they offer for the cuts to the plastic trim should be included. IMO they are mandatory. Regarding the covers: the adhesive is not strong and mine peeled off from the plastic within a couple months. I used some industrial velcro tape that I had laying around and that has worked perfectly.

-- Scott W. ( 2016 ) June 2020

I researched several options for replacing the "style bars" on my new 2019 Fiat 124 Abarth and decided it was worth the price to get the Blackbird bar. I chickened out on trying to install this bar myself in my small shop. A local Seattle performance shop (425 Motorsports) installed it for ~$1500 in less than 2 days. They did a beautiful job in spite of the fact that they had not done a Blackbird bar or Fiat before. They kept my brand new Fiat (650 miles) in pristine condition---the installation looks "factory" not add-on, and the car looks great. Even 425 commented on how this is a well engineered installation. It is a well braced, clean-looking bar with heavy duty materials and pretty good instructions. It has to provide significant improvement over the "mainly decorative" stock hoops but zero impact to the folding top, the seats, the sound system, or the center storage compartment. Note that the low-profile perimeter is like a double-hoop bar that has been bridged together so I would not expect it to provide the same protection for hard-core/high-speed track use as a taller, full-width diagonal-braced bar or full roll cage. It will provide extra safety in daily driving and occasional track use including performance driving classes and autocross type events. Also note, if you are taller than ~68 inches +/- and need to do the "broomstick test" to pass inspection at your particular track event you might not pass with a large helmet on unless you swap out the stock Fiat/Abarth seats for ones that sit lower.

-- Chester N., Seattle ( 2019 Fiat 124 Abarth ) September 2019

Fantastic product! Fits perfectly, and the provided instructions are very detailed and walk you through the full process. I was able to do the install myself in the driveway in a weekend (thought it did take the whole weekend). An extra pair of hands is useful when mounting it up in the car though, to ensure you don't scratch up your paint. The plastics behind the seat do need to be trimmed slightly to clear the bigger tubes and rear cross member, and the hidden storage behind the seats end up losing a bit of space. A dremel works great for this. You will also need to drill holes for the rear cross member mounting point, so make sure to have some silicone on hand to seal it up around the bolts. The soft top clears the bar no problem, not even the latch hook hits it. You just have to get used to raising and lowering the top in two steps. Lastly a minor warning, the latch for the soft top bolts up to the roll bar assembly, and the latch mechanism is plastic; DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN the bolts, or you will crack the plastic.

Overall, the chassis is noticeably stiffer after install, and you will feel much safer with the large steel tubes compared to the tiny aluminum of the stock hoops.

-- Nicholas R., Boston, MA ( MX5 2016 ) May 2018

I had this bar installed a little over a week ago (at Rocky's Miatomotive), and am very pleased with the purchase. The welds all look solid and consistent, and the finish is perfect (I purchased the silver finish). The chassis is noticeably stiffer, with no additional aftermarket suspension/bracing installed (yet!) As the product page states, the soft top does clear the bar, but you'll have to get used to lifting in two stages since there's now a bar in the way. :)

The only drawbacks (and this will be the case with all proper roll bars with a cross member) are that some of the interior plastic panels behind the factory seats need to be trimmed due to the angle of the cross member, and the hidden compartments behind the seats are basically cut in half in terms of the amount that can be stored. Ultimately though, it's worth the peace of mind.

Hopefully I'll never get to test the effectiveness of the rollbar, but it does look like it will do the job.

-- Zach W., San Diego, CA ( 2016 MX5 Club ) December 2015