My last project

I got a new top from R-speed. I ordered the NB economy top with defrost glass window. I like it so far, much better than a gaping hole. It looks just like OEM all I have to do now is get the window tinted again. It didnt come with instructions, but after an email they sent them to me the next day. The bad news is that by that point I had the top on. It was fairly simple to do with the frame off of the car. It took me most of the evening and a small bit the next day working slowly and taking trips to lowes for rivets, and plastic glue to seal the rivet holes in the rain rail. Over all for the price I would say it is a good buy.
This was the best set of instructions on the web. There is a wrinkle near the glass, but Ill see if time will fix it.

http://majik.smugmug.com/photos/663851001_ShTEF-L.jpg
http://majik.smugmug.com/photos/663850213_v9RQ8-L.jpg
http://majik.smugmug.com/photos/663851861_FwzXZ-L.jpg

Nice...about time you threw out that ratty old top.

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Originally Posted by sammm

Nice...about time you threw out that ratty old top.

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I still have it, want it?

Did you also wash the car! ::Spit::

Looks good!

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Originally Posted by Majik

I still have it, want it?

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I'll trade you a fat cat and some track-lights for it. ;)

Looks good, for some reason i can't get r speed's site to work though.

Marc put them out of business. :punchout: I could'nt get it to come up either.

Maybe their having an issue with their server.

Wow! New top and a real yard ::Banana::

He's movin on up now that the GF is the Mrs.

Rspeed is using pigeons for their site now...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8248056.stm

Also POS and I had a chat today, it seems like I made an installation mistake. I put the rear straps on studs 5 and 4, but it looks like the rear bow is sitting too far back. So I am going to install the straps on 6 and 7 and see if that bar will move forward to the seam.
http://www.miata.net/garage/top/37a.jpg

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Originally Posted by Majik

Rspeed is using pigeons for their site now...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8248056.stm

Also POS and I had a chat today, it seems like I made an installation mistake. I put the rear straps on studs 5 and 4, but it looks like the rear bow is sitting too far back. So I am going to install the straps on 6 and 7 and see if that bar will move forward to the seam.
http://www.miata.net/garage/top/37a.jpg

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That will probably fix that wrinkle too.

Are the straps supposed to be tight?? I just installed a Robbins canvas streamline with glass window. Mine straps hang about two inches away from the top when the top is up and latched. I thought this was a bit odd but didn't worry about it. Now I notice that the window catches on the seat belt tower brace, I have to force it under and over the bar, and when I pull the top up I have to physically separate the 4th bow from the 3rd, it's not smooth at all. Seems like if the straps were shorter/ tight they would force the glass window under the bar when retracting, and pull the 4th bow to the correct length when putting the top back up.

(I am talkign about the distance from the 4th bow to the rain rail hanging. The part between the 3rd and 4th bow are the correct length)

The straps are on the correct studs, I can't remember which ones since I threw the instructions away and can't go look at it right now, but I made sure they were installed on the correct studs for the NA as specified in the Robbins instructions for my year model (94).


I am wondering if Robbins shipped me the wrong straps, and these are just too long.

Mine are tight, and when they were installed in the OEM top they were tight. I understand they are to add strength to the top for the glass window so if they are hanging loose they probably aren't doing their job.

On my '99 top the point of the straps is to pull the rear bow backward as you raise the top. Springs pull the bow forward to allow the glass window to lay flat. The straps should be tight when the top is latched. Sorry, I don't recall which specific stud they attach to - I was installing a used top and the correct position was obvious at the time...

Hope this helps,
Craig

Hmmm...that's what I was thinking. I bet this is my whole problem. The straps are so long that no matter which stud they attach to they would be sagging so Robbins must have had the wrong straps in the package.

I think im going to sew in a fold on both of them, that way I can adjust it if I do something wrong and I won't have to mess with those bloody rain rail retainers. Now the question is how tight should they be...

My top is on an NA frame, does anyone know if I can retrofit a set of the springs into this top? I can already tell that bow with no springs is going to be annoying without a little help. Does anyone have a set of them laying around somewhere?


Oh yea, Mark, that R-Speed top looks real nice. I had debated getting one of them before Moss had a killer sale on the Robbins.

DId you have to punch holes your self in the straps? Mine came with a set of straps for an NA install also. It had one hole on one end, then the other end you would have to put your own holes for the rivets. They should have some tension on them, but nothing killer. For example mine are probably too tight because of my installation mistake. But I can still deflect them easily.

The straps had all the holes in them already, though I had to enlarge them. My top came with a few NB parts, the rubber sleeve things, but only one set of straps. The only difference in the instructions between NA/NB concerning the straps was which bolt to put them on, they may have sent me the NB straps. I didn't know there was that much difference in the tops. What was the length difference between the straps?

Im thinking now that I just have to tear out the rain rail fasteners and redo the straps with new holes, do it right but man I'll hate to have dig back in there again.

Ok I swapped around the straps today, and added the missing tension cables. Mine were toast, and I didnt realize until the top was off. I got a set off of ebay for $35. Swapping the straps helped the rear bar move forward to the seam.

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Originally Posted by Majik

Ok I swapped around the straps today, and added the missing tension cables. Mine were toast, and I didnt realize until the top was off. I got a set off of ebay for $35. Swapping the straps helped the rear bar move forward to the seam.

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So did it fix the wrinkle?

Yeah it made it better, I think I I may have caught a little of the material funny in the rain rail. So that is causing a little bit of the wrinkle. It looks much better now. The best news is that it doesnt leak at all.