Putting roof down

[davekmoore]

Sorry to sound like a newbie but ..... I'm a newbie.

So far I've always unzipped the plastic rear window before putting the top down because I've read that this is what you should do.

What happens if you don't? Is damage caused and how long would it take to happen?

Does having a glass rear window avoid the need to do any unzipping and, if so, how much do these cost?

[Szemen]

It is best to unzip it. Otherwise after a while, you will get 2 crease marks on the rear plastic. have a towel in the car as well and insert it above the unzipped window to prevent scratching from the top when folded down.

If you get a glass window, the fram is designed to have the window fold face down, then the rest of the rood folded over it. But you lose the ability to just unzip the rear.

[Jeo]

I've known some people who put a rolled up towel on the outside of the window before they put the roof down. Theroy is that there is no definite fold, so no crease.

However that seems like more effort than just unzipping the window to me, so that what I've always run with.

[PUR157]

If your top is in relatively good nick, there's no fear of it cracking if you inadvertently forget to unzip
Once it starts going brittle though, and in cold weather it may crack if you don't unzip

Glass tops are a popular mod on the NA for the exact reason that all you need to do is unlatch to drop the top

There are a few options, aftermarket glass window top to fit NAs (I think)
or later model glass top (but they need to come with the later model soft top frame as well) it will still bolt straight in though

[Juffa]

Yes, unzip the window or get something like a pool noodle to put between the two halves of the folded window. This is said to reduce the crease. Even if you polish the plastic window with plastic polish UV damage will make it brittle. When I sold my first 5 the window was perfectly clear, but when the new owner forgot to unzip it it snapped.

As already mentioned the later model MX-5s (1998-2005) have a glass rear window. This can be retro-fitted to a earlier model, but the frame does need to be modified to ensure the glass window will fold flat. You can buy an aftermarket soft top with glass window which includes everything you need to modify the current roof frame. I have a Robins cloth soft top with glass window. It took around an hour to mod the roof frame using the supplies parts and instructions, and then a few more hours to fit the new soft top.

In case you are not already aware there is the miata.net site and associated Forum that have a great number of threads from people all over the word that have made similar mods.

miata.net ==>> http://www.miata.net

Forum ==>> http://forum.miata.net/vb/

If you are bit more adventerous try club roadster ==>> http://clubroadster.net/forum/index.php ... 7b58d0cf4a

ps update your forum profile with your location and details of your 5. Helps us to help you.


J

[davekmoore]

Being of a certain age and having a certain lack of flexibility in my right shoulder I've found that a piece of string around the zipper pull helps in unzipping and zipping it.

[Mr_Q]

... get something like a pool noodle ...

I was reading too fast and got that as "... get something like a poodle ..."

Of course, that would still work but the poodle might scratch the plastic.