Hard Top Time
Tim M.
sleet and freezing rain for tonight, I decided that this afternoon was
the perfect time to put the hardtop on the Miata for the winter. My
son and a friend of his helped bring the top up out of the basement
and around to the garage. We installed the replacement Frankenstein
bolt for the right side (with two working together, bolting it on with
the de-welded and now-loose weld-nut proved to be no problem) and
installed the top. Plugged in the rear window defroster, and took it
out for a test drive. Snug as a bug in a rug!
The extra rear quarter visibility is immediately noticeable, as is the
additional headroom (I'm only 5' 8" but little of that is in legs (29-
inch inseam) and even thought the car does not feel at all cramped
with the softtop up, the hardtop makes it roomier and nicer). And
QUIETER! I had to turn down the radio from its previous setting, and
even had to turn off the ALC to keep it from getting too loud as I
increased speed.
No chance to see if the rear window defogger is working, but I guess
I'll find out in the morning. But the car is snug in the garage; no
freezing rain or sleet will envelop it tonight.
Chris D'Agnolo
involve really cold weather but you mention another, that visibility issue
is a big one. The hard tops look like a huge improvement and quieter is
almost always good ;-)
cd
99BBB
"Tim M." <tomorrowat...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:fd145dbd-206c-4d61...@c3g2000yqd.googlegroups.com...
Iva
"> Ya, there are several good things about the hard top and most
of them
> involve really cold weather but you mention another, that
> visibility issue is a big one. The hard tops look like a huge
> improvement and quieter is almost always good ;-)
>
I've sold my hardtop - after not putting it on the car in 2
years, it seemed silly to keep it hanging around when I could
have some cold cash in my pocket instead. When I had the '90,
the hardtop went on every winter; but now with the back window
defroster in the '04, I just haven't bothered.
Iva & Vixen
2004 Classic Red
No more winkin' Miata
Rob
I have a narrow driveway with a brick wall on one side, and my
neighbour's car (usually) on the other side, that I reverse into. With
the hardtop on it is so much easier with the extra visibility. In the
summer, when the hardtop is off, I always drop the softtop (if it is not
already down) to reverse in.
--
Rob - Shropshire
So many cats,
So few recipes...
Chris D'Agnolo
touched in super cold weather seemed insane to me. That glass window is
another lovely upgrade on the NB!
Chris
99BBB
"Iva" <iv...@ptd.net> wrote in message
news:4b22dc58$0$15220$ce5e...@news-radius.ptd.net...
miker
> touched in super cold weather seemed insane to me.
?? Have I just been lucky? Window always seemed ok in super cold... plastic,
but ok.
miker
Bob McDonald
some nicer top-down weather in late October and throughout November, but put
the car away a couple of weeks ago (gas stabilizer, etc.) It is supposed to
be -38C here tonight with windchill of -51C. I guess that I will not be
driving the Miata again until spring. Sigh!
"Tim M." <tomorrowat...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:fd145dbd-206c-4d61...@c3g2000yqd.googlegroups.com...
Stuart H.
my weather experience sounds very similar to yours. Hardtop on October
8th when we had first snow. Now tucked away with 1 amp trickle charger
on for the winter.
Stuart H. near Stony Plain, Alberta
Chris D'Agnolo
you're on my 07 list, not sure but, jump in if you will. Love to hear from
folks in the great white north wherever they might be.
Later,
Chris
"Bob McDonald" <bob.mc...@sasktel.net> wrote in message
news:qr2dnSIknsKrqLnW...@posted.sasktel...
Chris D'Agnolo
brush or, heaven help you, scrape, your rear (plastic) window in super cold
weather, it could / would shatter. I didn't figure that was the biggest
problem for the actual owner of the car, who was probably aware of the issue
but it always worried me that a friend or significant other who would, with
best intentions, try to clean the rear window as a favor and have a
disaster.
Chris
99BBB
"miker" <nob...@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:aqSdnXdL2KPiV77W...@earthlink.com...
Carbon
> Good point, the fact that the plastic window could virtually shatter
> if touched in super cold weather seemed insane to me. That glass
> window is another lovely upgrade on the NB!
I've seen lots of plastic windowed tops around but assumed they were
aftermarket. I didn't know the NA came with a plastic window. Why would
Mazda have shipped that instead of glass?
Carbon
> Bob McDonald wrote:
>
>> Yeah, put my hardtop on in early October when we got the first snow.
>> Missed some nicer top-down weather in late October and throughout
>> November, but put the car away a couple of weeks ago (gas stabilizer,
>> etc.) It is supposed to be -38C here tonight with windchill of -51C.
>> I guess that I will not be driving the Miata again until spring.
>> Sigh!
>
> my weather experience sounds very similar to yours. Hardtop on
> October 8th when we had first snow. Now tucked away with 1 amp
> trickle charger on for the winter.
Jeez! Transplanted Canadian here, living in Florida. Spent about a dozen
years in Lethbridge, Alberta. Do not miss the winters. Right now it's 11
PM and it's still 72F.
Grant Edwards
>> Good point, the fact that the plastic window could virtually shatter if
>> touched in super cold weather seemed insane to me.
>
> ?? Have I just been lucky?
Yes.
> Window always seemed ok in super cold... plastic, but ok.
My bother touched his NA plastic window a little too hard last
winter and it broke rather badly. The NB glass windows are a
lot tougher, but they're still way too small for comfort.
--
Grant
Grant Edwards
Plastic is a lot cheaper and lighter.
--
Grant
Frank Berger
Cheaper?
After bragging a couple of years ago that the plastic window in my '96 was
aside from a few scratches from neighborhood cats, virtrually new even
though I haven't uses the boot or a window protector since the first year or
so. That was the kiss of dearg, of course. Since then it has browned
severely, and last winter, in freezing window I poked it with something and
it cracked in several places.
I've found a place that says they will remove the top, stitch in a new
plastic window and replace the top for $150. That seems too good to be
true, but that's what they said.
miker
>
> Yes.
Sounds like it. I've brushed mine off a few times with no bad effect, but
mine normally sits in a garage and doesn't often get snow build-up, so it's
rare I have to brush it off. I'll be more careful in the future.
miker
pws
> Plastic is a lot cheaper and lighter.
It's not why they used it, but only a plastic window will fit under the
HDHC double-diagonal roll-bar.
In fact, this roll-bar will not work with a hardtop either, so I haven't
worried about one in 5 years.
Even in Texas, the idea of having a hardtop for at least a month or two
was nice, when I had a Miata with A/C installed, but I really don't know
how often I would use it.
We got up to over 70 degrees yesterday, with perfect clear skies, so I
would have removed a hardtop for that if I were driving far.
Today looks to be the same, but we did set some record lows for the
central Texas area recently.
If I had a PRHT-equipped Miata, I would use it almost every day, just
because I like it both as a convertible and a coupe depending on whether
or not I want a wind blast for that drive.
I have still not heard of a PRHT breaking yet, though it almost has to
have happened. Pretty impressive.
Pat