Total cost of soft top vs HT
#21
Your soft top price sounds too high.
I paid about $350 for my top with the rain rail already attached plus like $40 for new tension cables/springs. Miatatopsource.com they're actually running a sale right now, you can get the non-zippered top I got with the rain rail already attached for $288, and like another $40 for the tension cables.
I paid about $350 for my top with the rain rail already attached plus like $40 for new tension cables/springs. Miatatopsource.com they're actually running a sale right now, you can get the non-zippered top I got with the rain rail already attached for $288, and like another $40 for the tension cables.
#23
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Yeah, soft tops can be had quite cheaply. And I was really quite surprised by how easy it was to install when I did my first one. I generally consider myself to bee damn near incompetent when it comes to body work and related issues, but this is something that genuinely is pretty hard to screw up.
Rain rails...
Avoid buying the cheap ones- trust me, they're just utter garbage. And forget this myth about the being to be pre-attached. The rail doesn't need to be attached to the top at all- the body molding holds them together.
On both of my cars, the old rail was a bit cracked, and I opted to repair it with some bicycle inner tube and rubber cement. Worked like a charm.
As for hardtop vs softtop, I sometimes hear weight mentioned. A complete soft top assembly including frame, especially if you use one with a plastic window, is extremely light as compared to an OEM hardtop.
Rain rails...
Avoid buying the cheap ones- trust me, they're just utter garbage. And forget this myth about the being to be pre-attached. The rail doesn't need to be attached to the top at all- the body molding holds them together.
On both of my cars, the old rail was a bit cracked, and I opted to repair it with some bicycle inner tube and rubber cement. Worked like a charm.
As for hardtop vs softtop, I sometimes hear weight mentioned. A complete soft top assembly including frame, especially if you use one with a plastic window, is extremely light as compared to an OEM hardtop.
#25
I did enjoy going top down when I first got my NA, but cowl shake was nearly a deal breaker for me. If I couldn't fix it I would have had to get an NB. A hard top fixed it. Then, the only time the HT came off was when a friend's wife borrowed the car to go joy riding with her friends.
Bolted down the HT top with these. Now NVH is further improved and nobody ever asks to borrow the cute little convertible. And I don't miss the sun in my eyes at all.
Bolted down the HT top with these. Now NVH is further improved and nobody ever asks to borrow the cute little convertible. And I don't miss the sun in my eyes at all.
#26
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I did enjoy going top down when I first got my NA, but cowl shake was nearly a deal breaker for me. If I couldn't fix it I would have had to get an NB. A hard top fixed it. Then, the only time the HT came off was when a friend's wife borrowed the car to go joy riding with her friends.
Bolted down the HT top with these. Now NVH is further improved and nobody ever asks to borrow the cute little convertible. And I don't miss the sun in my eyes at all.
Bolted down the HT top with these. Now NVH is further improved and nobody ever asks to borrow the cute little convertible. And I don't miss the sun in my eyes at all.
#28
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OTOH, the HT is quite beefy. I could easily see 45 lbs or more- that big ole' piece of glass is a monster.
OTGH, I find it hard to take weight-based arguments seriously, esp. when we're talking about differences of 20-30 lbs on a street-driven car. This seems like an excuse that people use to justify eccentric behavior.
Both of my NAs ('90 and '92) have been rattly, flimsy beasts. This was never a deal-killer, though I'll admit that I have mostly only owned old, rattly cars.
I did own a hardtop at one point. I bought it years ago, shortly before moving to North Carolina into an environment where the car was going to be parked, unused, most of the time, outdoors, in a moderately high-crime area. With the top on, the level of squeak / rattle was greatly increased.
I was glad to be rid of it after I left that town. Moved to FL and then CA, and the only time it was ever back on the car was when I needed to transport it from one home to another. Finally sold it for beer money a few years later.
Given the option, I would probably elect to buy a car with a PRHT as opposed to a conventional soft-top, simply from a standpoint of durability and quietness on those days when it's raining / snowing sufficiently much for me to have raised the top while driving. But as to having a rigid, detachable HT again? Probably not. Different strokes for different folks, I guess, but I didn't care for it at all.
#29
My first Hardtop I scored on craigslist for 250... Matching my first red car as well.
2nd I traded a good soft top and install for... Matching my second black car. Sometimes you get lucky.
I have a soft top assy. behind my shop I'll weigh it today and let you know
Edit: Yup 37.4 minus plastic window
2nd I traded a good soft top and install for... Matching my second black car. Sometimes you get lucky.
I have a soft top assy. behind my shop I'll weigh it today and let you know
Edit: Yup 37.4 minus plastic window
Last edited by Tmorgan; 02-11-2014 at 11:22 AM.
#30
Mine would rattle and squeak if the latches weren't adjusted tight enough. Eventually I ran out of adjustment. I'm not sure what changed, but I just couldn't get one of the latches tight anymore, which is why I went to the bolt-on brackets. Now I own a coupe.
But, even when loose the top still killed cowl shake. Rattles and squeaks I can live with (my Subaru is worse than my Miata!) The cowl shake I couldn't cope with. I have experience with only this one Miata; maybe it's worse than others, I dunno...
I will add that after removing the soft top the rear shelf is actually useful. Stuff slides around a lot... I don't put anything that'll kill me back there.
But, even when loose the top still killed cowl shake. Rattles and squeaks I can live with (my Subaru is worse than my Miata!) The cowl shake I couldn't cope with. I have experience with only this one Miata; maybe it's worse than others, I dunno...
I will add that after removing the soft top the rear shelf is actually useful. Stuff slides around a lot... I don't put anything that'll kill me back there.
#33
I can't imagine not having a soft top. What happens if you're in the middle of a drive and it starts raining?
I guess it depends on the purpose of your car. Mine is a "fun car" but I still use it plenty for commuting and other non-sunny-weekend trips.
When I had a hardtop, I really, really liked it, except I rarely wanted to stop and remove it, so I rarely drove with the top down.
I guess it depends on the purpose of your car. Mine is a "fun car" but I still use it plenty for commuting and other non-sunny-weekend trips.
When I had a hardtop, I really, really liked it, except I rarely wanted to stop and remove it, so I rarely drove with the top down.
#35
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Even when I lived in SoCal, and "never" put the top up, there were still rare occasions when it was nice to have. (eg: for the few days a year that it did, in fact, rain.) I'd never have wanted it gone altogether.
I can't fathom wanting a permanently (or semi-permanently) attached hardtop, though. I've only ever owned two hardtop cars in my life, and I hated both of them. No reason at all to deny yourself the experience of open-air motoring.
#40
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In fact, it's been my experience that the expensive tops can actually fail sooner than the cheap ones. The first top which I put on my '92 was a nice Robbins top with a glass window. After two years, the window started to de-laminate and fall out. I made the mistake of thinking I was buying something that was built like an NB top, but no- it was just a cheap top with a piece of glass literally glued into the fabric.
On the '90, I installed the cheapest no-zip plastic window top I could find. It was still in near-perfect condition when I abandoned the car in a parking lot in Santa Clara 3 years later.