MX-5 Power Retractable Hard-top

[mxfive]

Is there anyone manufacturing a MX-5 Power Retractable Hard-top like the one on the new model but designed to fit old NA's like mine?

I wrote to Mazda about fitting an RS retractable hard top but they said they were totally different vehicles and it wouldnt work.

Being a lazy bugger I would really like to be able to press a button to put the roof up and down without having to get out of the car.

If I cant find a product on the market I am thinking about adding a few motors and some control arms to the existing soft top in order to automate it.

Does anyone know of such a product on the market?

[Jeo]

I think I've seen a kit around before but no idea where, when, how, price, if it even worked.

In my personal opinion I'd say don't bother. The roof on the NA doesn't work like that, you can't just slap a motor and some wires on it and hope that it will work. It would cost a stupid amount of money to save you a marginal amount of effort.

[Hammer]

If there is one available, it will be very expensive and will most likely require cutting a bit of the metal parcel shelf behind the seats.

It probably would better to buy a 2nd hand NC Roadster Coupe.

[Juffa]

I have seen some pics of a home made one in Japan. All of the arms/joints were on the outside of the softop. It did look somewhat strange.

You could remove it all together and run topless all of the time, or have a hardtop on all the time... a number of motorsports people have done this in order to reduce overall weight.

J

[bruce]

Does anyone know of such a product on the market?

Yes, it's called an NC.

Pretty much a pointless product which would cost a bomb to make and still not work properly.

[mxfive]

Ok I have just outlayed some significant cash (in my terms) on a NA 1993 Red LE model so purchasing an NC model at around an average cost of AUD $35,000 (based on the quick search of carsales.com.au and drive.com.au that I just did) isnt an option.

In July 2006, Mazda unveiled a coupé convertible version of the NC with a three-piece folding hardtop, named "MX-5 Roadster Coupe" in Europe, "Roadster Power Retractable Hard Top" in Japan, and "MX-5 Miata Power Retractable Hard Top" in the USA. Adding 36 kg (79 lb) to the weight of a comparable model with soft top, the hard top takes 12 seconds to raise or lower; in a departure from the competition, it does not take any of the existing trunk space when folded down. The first units were delivered to customers in late August, for a price premium less than the cost of a separate hard top

I am really surprised at the negative response to this question as I thought this would have been a common request. I dont think Mazda would invest so heavily in producing one for the NC and later models if it wasnt.

We have just had a serious bout of wet weather in Brisbane in recent months and it can be sunny one minute and then pouring the next so having the convenience of pressing a button from within the car to raise the roof when it starts to rain would be great. Right now I have to pull over get the boot cover off and then raise the roof.

It appears I have to invest about AUD $2500-3000 anyway to get a red NA hardtop as being second hand the car didnt come with one.

The reason I asked the question was that so far I have found that a lot of the parts of later models are suitable for the NA and I was just hoping that someone had retrofitted a later models retractable roof to their NA so I would have invested my AUD$3000 in that instead of a fixed hardtop.

[NMX516]

A good NA hardtop shouldn't cost you more than probably $1300, and there are often ones for less than that... That would be the best bet

[Tezzax5]

Have a look in the for sale thread

[Jeo]

I'm not sure you quite grasp the difficulty involved in this. Firstly, its not like you're swapping something like a pair of seats or a set or wheels. The folding metal roof is built in to the car design itself, it certainly wasn't just tacked on at the end. Have you actually looked at the NC to see the mechanisms involved? It is really, really complicated.
Secondly, the parts that are swapped between the models are normally between the NA and NB. The NC is an entirely different car which shares almost nothing with the older models.

This would cost so much money it isn't even remotely fair comparing it to a standard NA/NB hardtop. I can understand not wanting to part with something that you've already spent money on improving it but this would be such a large task that I wouldn't even know where to begin.

[Uncle Arthur]

I am really surprised at the negative response to this question as I thought this would have been a common request. I dont think Mazda would invest so heavily in producing one for the NC and later models if it wasnt.

There is no negativeity - only honest answers to what is the most unusual question I've seen asked here since I joined the forum when it first started. Two reasons the NA/NB were so successful - they are what they are and don't pretend to be what they're not - a 2 seat soft top roadster. The hardtop was an extra convenience for softies and cardigan wearers

We have just had a serious bout of wet weather in Brisbane in recent months and it can be sunny one minute and then pouring the next so having the convenience of pressing a button from within the car to raise the roof when it starts to rain would be great. Right now I have to pull over get the boot cover off and then raise the roof.

Then drive without the boot cover, or practice your pit crew roof installs - seriously - it takes like 15 seconds dude, and even less to put it back down - Chk Chk Boom - or whoosh as the case is.

It appears I have to invest about AUD $2500-3000 anyway to get a red NA hardtop as being second hand the car didnt come with one.

The reason I asked the question was that so far I have found that a lot of the parts of later models are suitable for the NA and I was just hoping that someone had retrofitted a later models retractable roof to their NA so I would have invested my AUD$3000 in that instead of a fixed hardtop.

There's really only one way to get a solidly fixed roof on a MX5 - buy a Commodore instead.

[Mr Morlock]

my impression of this forum ia that most contributors are very supportive and not inclined to be critical. The idea is not flying because it is not a practical suggestion. The MX5 is actually renowned for its fast assembly of the soft top- it probably has no equal and I would not be surprised if it is actually as fast as the powered version. The latter device has the advantage of more security and being designed by OEM engineers. Fabricating a custom version may also require an engineering certficate and watching an OE one in operation surely indicates this to be a complex device.

[mxfive]

Ok I get it, sorry if I have offended anyone it was not my intention.

I am now looking into getting a hard top instead.

[Hammer]

I am now looking into getting a hard top instead.

Contact graemebc if you hven't already. He's got one for sale.

And whatever you do, I recommend you don't get deperate and buy the silver one from eBay. It went from $1700 down to $900 but IMO it's still way too expensive considering its damaged.

[SuperMazdaKart]

an electric sunroof into a hardtop is the more simple practical solution. plus it'd be resellable for a good amount of money still.


this folding roof was a prototype at the time, don't know how far they got.

the female android seems to be remote controlled too, crazy japs. bringing anime & manga to life.

[Hammer]

Be interesting to see the profile of the car with the roof up and down. Got more pix?