Can NOT get the soft top to latch. Doesn't help that it got chilly again here. Hoping that Saturday will be sunny and warm so that I can sit it out for a few hours and get it latched tight.

On the plus side, this arrived today.



So much nicer than the eBay wheel I had the last Miata.

 

Nice!

 

Have your wife push forward on the bar closet to the soft top, while you latch from inside.

 

Tried that. Actually, tried that with about 30 lbs sitting on the center of the first bar, wife pushing down/forward on corner, me sitting inside pulling it forward trying to get latch to slip over the hook, after I ran the heat full blast for about 20 minutes to get it softened up.

Still about 1/2" too short (that's what she said?).

 

You could try loosening the latches as far as possible.

 

The barrel adjusters? Oh, those were loosened all the way immediately.

 

Leather conditioner? Just leave something heavy on it overnight and see if it stretches.

 

Did it go on? Interested as I need a new ebay top asap.

 

65 degrees and sunny today...I let it sit for an hour and then was able to get both latches hooked over the striker plates. Haven't tried closing the latches yet but will do so in a bit and take a photo for you.

 

Got both latches closed, then individually tightened the barrel adjusters a couple turns for good measure. Went on a quick drive and then parked it back out in the sun to keep stretching.

This is how it looks now. The window seams are still not perfect -- initially I had the tension cables riveted in backwards, and even though I fixed it the cables are still not quite all the way against the edge but are getting there. Other than that it looks great. I'm not a fan of how the rear window doesn't match the curve of the body, but for the price I don't care that much.

 

Sold the Baywatch truck on Sunday, so the ratty Miata is getting daily driver duty until I find something I want. Threw the interior back together as best I could on Sunday evening. Man this car smells bad. I am not sure if it's the seats or somewhere in the HVAC system, but as soon as I have something else to drive, it's all coming apart.

 

Nice top man! Stoked to see this car come together, it's a bit ratty now.. but certainly a good clean starting point!

 

Looks like a good beginning to cleaning up the car! Let me check if I have the access panels from my old car and I can send them to you. Not sure what I threw out with the totaled car though.

 

Thanks guys. I did get some access panels so I'm good there. This car is going to cost me an arm and a leg replacing every missing bolt and bracket, but it's fun having a car that I'm not worried about messing up. It's already terrible, so I may as well tear it apart, right?

The forced daily-driver duty is a funny thing, though. It's a mostly terrible daily driver. It has a million rattles, it bounces wildly over the smallest bumps, there's no horn, the headlights are stuck in the UP position, every time I turn on the HVAC fan new particles with attending odors come flying out of the vents, the alignment is terrible, the interior smells of rancid cooking oil, the engine bay smells of hot motor oil, the alternator belt squeals on startup and at idle on cold days, the shifter gaskets are disintegrated to dust, the non-fitted floormats slide around on the bare sheetmetal floor, there's no stereo, the rear R-package lip is hanging half-off, the front R-package lip is mostly missing, and the steering wheel is so deteriorated that I have to account for the slop in the outer layer of the wheel when I make a turn.

That said...

I had a long, long day at work -- nothing but rebuilding clinicians' tablets -- extremely boring and tedious work, but still requiring concentration and focus. It was cold this morning but had warmed up to around 60 degrees mid-day and was still sunny when I left the office.

I dropped the soft-top for the first time since I got it latched shut after the installation and headed home. I managed to hit the on-ramp to the interstate with no one in front of me, and I punched it up through 2nd as I turned on to the ramp and then shifted into 3rd just before merging into traffic. That was pretty nice.

It's still a really smelly car, though.

 

+1 on DD an old Miata. My TX backroad commute is the best part of my day.

 

It seems like a big list Mark, but as you go, you can whittle it down pretty fast. As long as you don't get sucked into the "while you are in there" condition.

 

Here's the list as it stands. I'm not discouraged, just a little annoyed that I can't find a daily driver I want, so the progress on the Miata has to stop while I use it to commute.



In other news, these arrived today. I really wanted Torx head as I really don't like hex heads, but the combination I wanted could not be found, so I settled for anodized titanium hex head countersunk screws for the steering wheel.

 

Geez Jeff Bucc...picky much?

 

It is too late already isn't it...my name is already a simile for OCD.

 

OWN IT!!!