Applicable to: '90 - '97
Black, one-piece soft top without plastic window. The zipperless window design requires the rearmost bow (crossbar) to be "free-floating", so it's located by nylon straps (supplied) that run from the rear bow to to the B-pillar bow in front and rain rail studs in back. Both the rear bow and the B-pillar bow have to be drilled for rivets (supplied).
Pros: Quality fabric Sewn header bar pockets Velcro covers for "unused" bows 5-year (pro-rated) warranty Cons: No installation instructions Not all holes are pre-punched (all are marked) Holes for B-pillar retainer clips are mis-located Shipping estimate was 2-3 weeks, received in 11 days. I was very pleasantly surprised with the overall quality of this top, considering what I paid for it ($269.99 w/ free shipping). The lack of instructions was not a problem. Installation guides in the Miata.net Garage section were more than enough help. My install was very similar to Vern Scherbenske's. I didn't get the rain-rail version of the top, so I had to transfer the old rail, a farily simple operation once the rivets in the old rail were drilled out. Like Vern, I didn't have to drill out the cable rivets, as it was simple to thread the cables with springs attached using the supplied string. I did have to attach nylon straps to the rear bows between removal and installation, but thankfully very detailed instructions (and a picture) were supplied for this. Also supplied were two 3-foot strips of fabric with velcro on either side, and I guessed these were intended to cover the bare-metal rear bows, which they ! did very nicely. The top looks great, very original, and fits snugly. It's not entirely wrinkle-free in the front corner area, however this is very minor.
One note not related to this particular top: I bought the car 10 years ago from a guy who'd just had a new top professionally installed. Among several things they did incorrectly (or sloppily), the most egregious was leaving the rain lip down at the back of the top. For ten years we suffered from major rain slosh, thinking it was the design of the car, when in fact it was just a lazy top install. Suffice it to say the car is perfectly water-tight now. Do it yourself, and know it was done right.
Over 30 minutes to remove completely
Back to Product Reviews | 12 May, 2006 |