mx5cartalk.com

first things first i have no connection to this seller but wanted to give a good wrap to a bloke who gave me great service. if theres any issue about him not being a forum sponsor ill edit the post but i think its of use to the forum members

anyway finally got the cash up to have my roof replaced after an issue a few months back with some little pos slicing it open to steal loose change so after long searching etc etc it was looking like i would have to import from gomiata or the uk etc. however after looking around ebay etc i stumbled across this bloke in sydney

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/MAZDA-MX5-SOFT-T ... 27b3736ae9

very experienced guy and very helpful went out to his house on the weekend to pick up the top because i couldnt get to his shop during the week and he ran me through everything in his driveway about how to install it in great detail he will also install tops for you for an extra charge but im a bit of a sadist and thought id give it a crack myself

roof fitted perfectly and im pretty certain its actually a mazda top due to stickers and part numbers being on the top, he mentioned he imports them
these days rather than making new ones due to it just being quicker and easier but i didnt ask from where

anyway tips for replacing your soft top.
1. pay some one ( seriously it took about 9 hours even with all the advice in the world and two people)

2. if you do decide to do it yourself definately try to buy one with a rain rail already installed as that was the worst part of the job all the pop rivets

3. have a good pop rivet gun with some good size rivets,an uphostery clip remover, several small gclamps or vice grips a second set of hands and a very large work bench so that your not bending over for 9 hours working on something on the floor

4. these instructions are very useful for either na or nb http://www.miata.net/garage/MiataTop2/index.html

5. try and get your dad or son or what have you involved as its a good excuse to do the whole bonding father son working on cars thing


anyway cheers

paul

Thanks for the Info
Any pictures of your completed top Paul

Thanks
Dale

yeah im going to try to sort out some pics tonight when i get home. ill post them up when i can

interior view ( really bad photo ) basically this was intended to display that the hood has all the interior bow wrap stuff to make it all look nice and tidy inside

this is how it matches up along the front haven't run it under a hose yet but the seal looks good so im not expecting leaks

roof even has the proper oem window heater elements had correct terminals to plug straight in ( nice ) and roof has proper drop out for window so it folds properly unlike most aftermarket hoods i saw roof was just put back up when this photo was taken and as the vinyl is still quite stiff you can see it keeping a little shape from when it was folded down but im assuming this will settle down over the next few weeks



so yeah all in all pretty happy with the end result and would definitely encourage any one else to contact Sergio if they're in the new roof market

cheers

Paul

hey

sorry to hear bout the tear.

though good job on sharing your info and on fitting the new roof!

i need to look at my rain rail install this weekend and am a little concerned as so many people its a bit of a mission....

yeah its not the most fun job in the world.

jsut make sure you have a GOOD pop rivet gun and some decent length pop rivets

if you have any problems feel free to pm me and ill shoot you my number if you have any questions. its not the most brain tasking job in the world but its pretty fiddly

Last weekend, I pulled my rain rail out, did a few repairs and reinstalled it, and it took about an hour or so. Easy. It is not essential to rivet the rain rail to the soft-top. My Rod's workshop manual confirms this. However you need to make sure the old rivet holes are all sealed up on both sides with electrical tape or gaffer tape. Apparently it is also important to torque up the nuts for the retainer plates in a certain order:



http://www.miata.net/garage/rainrail.html

Guran wrote:Last weekend, I pulled my rain rail out, did a few repairs and reinstalled it, and it took about an hour or so. Easy. It is not essential to rivet the rain rail to the soft-top. My Rod's workshop manual confirms this.

haha bugger couldve used that advice last week ah well

nice find.

just incase that link one day dies, the seller's name is bochini and the shops name is bochini classics

Your soft top looks great thanks for sharing the info its good to know we can now get a good soft top relatively local

Cheers
Dale