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TOP
#135 3260 INSTALLATION
Preparation
Rain Rail
The rain rail is a piece of plastic that is riveted to
the back edge of top cloth from one side to the other. Most of our
tops require you to remove the old top, drill out the rivets and attach
the rain rail to your new top. There are 13 bolts that go through
the rain rail and the top in addition to a dozen rivets that hold the thing
together, every one with it's own hole. Most of the holes are marked,
punch the holes in the fabric, lining them up with holes in the rain rail.
Rear window
All early model Miatas came with a clear plastic rear
window, you now have the option of replacing with glass.
The Process
The first step is to remove the carpet from the rear
parcel shelf. Put the top up for this. If your zipper is broken
or your window won't stay up then secure it out of the way before you start.
The carpet is held in place by a bunch of small plastic clips and two phillips
screws on the rear deck.
Once the carpet is out you will have exposed the 10 mm nuts that hold the back of the top to the car. There are also two more of those plastic clips that hold the rain rail to the car at each end, but you will have to lower the top to get to them. Remove all of the nuts, and take out the three metal bars that they secure. If you are reusing the rain rail, be gentle. It is very fragile and you can easily tear then ends off.
Next you need to unlatch the top and open it halfway.
The top fabric is attached to the front of the top frame by a bunch of phillips screws that go though a metal strip that Mazda calls the 'setplate' in the Shop Manual. You don't have to remove the latches or the handle.
There are two screws on either side of the set plate that attaches the first (of 3) window moldings. Once these two screws are removed then you can just pull the rubber molding from the chrome weather strip mounts. The middle molding just pulls out and the 'bottom' piece is secured at the bottom by a pair of press on clips. After the rubber is removed then the weather-strip mounts are easily removed with a phillips screwdriver. Lay these pieces out exactly as removed from the car. You can probably figure out which one goes where if you have to, but its easier to just keep them together.
Now all thats left holding the top on is a few rivets. One rivet on each side holds a cable to the top frame. The cable runs through the top fabric. Use a 1/4" drill bit to get the rivets out. Other than the rivet that holds the cable in, there are 2 or 3 on each side that hold the top fabric to the frame.
Peeling away the old top. The other end of the cable is attached to the frame with a screw, but it also is attached to a spring which is almost impossible to pass through the top fabric. Be careful when drilling out the rivet, the tab of metal isn't the strongest part of the top and you don't want to break it off.
Notice the old top may have separated from the top bows, if so just peel it back. If not, use a plain flat blade screwdriver to pry the gap in the top bows wide enough to remove the old cloth. It has to be wide enough to insert the cloth from the new top, so go ahead and do the whole thing now. The rear most bow right above the window also uses velcro as an attachment. Once this is free, you should be able to lift the old top fabric off of the car.
The bottom bar isn't part of the top, it's a cockpit brace that fits between the seat belt towers.
Drill out the rivets and attach the rain rail to your new top. There are 13 bolts that go through the rain rail and the top in addition to a dozen rivets that hold the thing together, every one with it's own hole. Most of the holes are marked, punch the holes in the fabric, lining them up with holes in the rain rail.
Once the old top is off, drape the new one in place over the frame and start with the cable. The new top has a piece of string on each side to help thread the cable through, and re-rivet the cable end to the top frame. After the cables are in place, re-attached the set plate, then the weather stripping. Since the weather stripping adjustment is the most likely source of leaks, take time trying to get them back exactly like they were before. Go back inside and attached the back of the top to the car.
The final step was re-attaching the fabric to the top bows. Once you tuck the end into the slot, pull it tight and crimp it with a pair of pliers. You might want to use protection to keep the sharp edges of the pliers from cutting the top cloth.
