MX5 Hard top

jos28

Thinking of buying myself an MX5 and would prefer a hard top. I haven't got a huge budget (€5K approx). Lots of nice soft tops around, anyone got an idea how much it would cost to convert one. Any recommendations of where to have it done please ?

colm_mcm

The hard top just clips in.

cajonlardo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u9asxZfxRc

jos28

colm_mcm wrote: »

The hard top just clips in.

DOH !! Hides in the corner feeling very stupid

unkel

Was thinking about getting a hard top too. It's never that cold in Ireland, but condensation would be less of an issue and most importantly visibility through the rear window (which is pretty much non-existent in a soft top, especially in winter) with the real heated glass of the hardtop

After some hard thinking I've decided against it. Main reason is that it takes 2 people to remove / fit the hard top. Major pain in the neck and removes the great flexibility of being able to put the roof down anytime you want. Any hardtop I see is permanently on summer and winter. Meh. Might as well buy yourself a coupe instead.

And did I mention it's never cold in Ireland? Only last weekend I was driving around in the car with the roof down all afternoon with my 6 year old beside me. Warm clothes, hats and the heater on full and it was great craic

I can put the roof up or down by myself in a few seconds without even having to take my seatbelt off. Love the open air and drive around with the roof down as often as I can.

Alun

A few notes on this .. if it's a Mk 1, the view out of the plastic rear window isn't great, especially in winter when it can fog up, even worse if it's a bit old and slightly scratched or yellowed. The Mk 2 and upwards had a heated glass rear window, which largely negates the need for a hard top IMO. Having said that, the rear visibility is better with the Mk1 hard top vs the new models though as the glass area is bigger and wraps around more.

Anyway, in the case of the Mk 1, the hard top just clips on, although there are two lugs that need to be fitted in place of screws on the chrome parts on the back for the hard top to attach to. Also, if no hard top has been fitted before you'll need the switch for the dash and a relay that fits in the boot area somewhere. All the wiring is (or should be) already present. You need to connect it up when you attach the hard top, that's all.

We had a hard top for our Mk 1 MX-5 when we lived in Holland, and it only went on in the winter. We kept it on a special stand in the garage, and it was a dead easy job to do.

Agree with unkel though regarding driving with the top down in winter, a great feeling! The MX-5 has a heater that could literally roast you if you turned it up too far.

jos28

Thanks for all the advice folks. It never entered my head to drive with the roof down in winter. I thought you'd only get to do that for the annual 2 days of summer that we get.
It's the condensation and visibility issues in the soft top that made me think the hard top might be better. I'm not in a rush to buy so I'm going to keep a look out bearing in mind what you've all advised.
Keep yiz posted !

Alun

Hard tops come up for sale second-hand from time to time, so there's no need to necessarily buy an MX-5 with one already on it, and you can get them resprayed fairly easily if the colour isn't right. As I said, if the MX-5 hasn't had a hard top fitted ever, then there's a few bits and bobs you'll need to fit it, but you can get them either from a Mazda dealer or from MX5Parts in the UK.

http://www.mx5parts.co.uk/hardtops-c-376_294_248.html

cajonlardo

unkel wrote: »

And did I mention it's never cold in Ireland? Only last weekend I was driving around in the car with the roof down all afternoon with my 6 year old beside me. Warm clothes, hats and the heater on full and it was great craic .

Yep, a day like today and a spin under a crisp blue sky is a major dose against the winter blues. Its great to hear birds chattering above you as you motor down the lanes. Wife thought I'd lost the plot when I lowered the roof but she was grinning ear to ear after a few minutes. I've a hard top for my MR2 MK3 but it hasn't been on the car for years

hi5

I had an Mx5 with a hard top, I rarley used it, the soft tops are very good and I found the heater to be powerful enough to clear the rear screen from the centre vents on the dash.
And here's a tip if selling an MX5 , advertise the hard top separately after you sell the car, you will get an extra four or five hundred as a lot of buyers won't pay a premium for the top with the car.

unkel

jos28 wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice folks. It never entered my head to drive with the roof down in winter. I thought you'd only get to do that for the annual 2 days of summer that we get.

Believe it or not but Ireland has one of the highest number of convertibles per capita in the world. From my own observations, the average convertible in this country has the roof up 99% of total driving time...