Retro fitting OEM roof rails to non-UK car.

That's most helpful - exactly the sort of thing I'm after.

So finding an "end of life" bodyshell I could chop some spreader plates out of might save me making some from scratch...

There'll be a bike, or 2, maybe a small roofbox. Nothing heavy (well heavier than the OE rating) I just want original looking kit, not aftermarket.

Thanks again guys. Next stop - find a breaker with a scrapper shell.

I wouldn't trust a bike of any value on the OEM roof rails and I certainly wouldn't put more than 30kg on them. They are not very strong. If I was starting from scratch I'd forget about the OEM roof rails completely. Find a pair of decent roof bars (Thule, Yakima etc.) with feet that match the shape of the Jimny roof then drill the roof to suit them. I've ditched the OEM roof rails and made up some bars to fit the original roof mounting points, but the position of the bolts means the bars are slightly too widely spaced for most standard roof accessories. You have a good opportunity to avoid this issue.

 

the original bars are a light duty item. Used mine for years with no problems though.

Now very pleased with the jimnybits aluminium roof rack.

I weigh in at a bit above 0.1 metric ton but no problem for me to walk around on the roof now if you are into that sort of thing.