Shopping advice: hardtop & tools
 

$1100 for a hardtop, local to me, "l/n condition," and one of the right colors. FWIW, it's worth ~$100-200 more to me being local. Does anyone think I can find one for less than $900 anywhere? Worth 11 hunge?

On tools. I need a set for the box I'll be bolting to the trailer. It will stay in the trailer box, the tools I use in the garage are in a roll-away, and I don't want to move them in and out every other week. I'm tempted to go really cheep and do a full harbor freight set. Will I regret it? Any other suggestions on brands or sources, H-D, Cobalt, f-it and do craftsman? Other than making sure I get a full set of metric sockets, handles, extensions, combo wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers, hammer, duct-tape, what other tools should I have around? I'll be dragging to autocross and track days.

Does it need any parts? Something that keeps me from buying a hardtop is the $400 of parts I would need to adapat a non 01+ version.

I vote for cheapest tools possible. HD and craftsman are meh and aren't worth the extra IMHO

Ok, it's from an NA, and I have an NA. I do have the 'nubs' for the rear mounts. I have the standard HD roll bar, I understand I can use spec miata bolt on mounts on the seat belt towers? Anything else I need with the top to pop it on?

I suppose it's "worth it" but I can't ever see paying that myself. If you don't need one right now, wait until spring when everyone starts pulling them off and don't have anywhere to store it. Might get cheaper.

IDK if you yankees have Cost-co up there, but crescent makes a really good 200 piece tool set for $80.

Kinda like this, I have two, one in the trailer, one in the garage.

Attachment 200284

Dude go to miata.net and look in the garage for the hardtop faq. All your questions you'll ever have about hardtops will be answered there.

if the hardtop is local, then you can easily find out if it's worth 1100 in person.

and for that price, it should come with covers and racks and hoists and shit.

I would stay cheap-ish on tools that will live on a trailer, except for the wrenches IMO. Cheap sockets, ratchets, screwdrivers, pliers etc. usually don't fail on me, but I've broken the open ends of a few cheapo 10mm and 12mm wrenches. Yes, this was usually doing stupid shit like smacking them with a hammer trying to loosen a stuck bolt, but you never know what kind of abuse you might subject them to if you are traveling away from home and they're the only tools you have available. The open end wrenches I've broken have all been Chinese or Taiwanese.

^Honestly I would splurge on the rachets and get cheap wrenches. I have never broken a wrench even with cheater bars and snaping off bolts etc. Crappy ratchets drive me batshit when they quickly wear out and stop working right, such that they dont lock properly and you cant get bolts loose in tight areas and all. And I hate huge bulky ratchets that are probably strong but cant fit anywhere too.

Cool, thanks, I'll check out Sam's Club. If it's good enough for your primary set, it'll be good enough for me for a traveling set.

Dude, I can't effin read. Pick on my deficiencies some more.

The FAQ doesn't give really good advice on using THIS roll bar with the top.

I got the top, $950 quick cash, pretty good shape except a little paint scrape along the bottom. The rest is perfect, no cracking, the paint is even shiny. And, it's factory, which SHOULD fit over my HDHC bar, I just need some new side latches. Thanks, everyone. My soft top is so bad, I'm looking forward to tossing it.

Thanks for the tool advice, too.

Pics of the frikken top or i will ban you.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4024/...069715e289.jpg

Oh, wait, you can't quite see it behind those pesky empty boxes. It's back there, in the bed of the truck!

I'll post a pic of it on the sad engine-less Miata later. Black top will look cool on the classic red, I think.

Nice boxes 15x9 4x100 +36 nickel, hmmm wonder what was in those?

I guess if I said 10 inch Keizers, no one would believe me, huh? :giggle: