NB top AND frame in an NA?

If you have the entire frame, then this is true. It is only 6 bolts that have to be removed once the interior panels are out of the way, then the old top/frame comes off and the new top/frame goes in with an exact fit. If fitting the NB top onto a NA frame, there are modifications that are required, which I did to my car.

Pat '96M

Yep. I did it 3 or 4 years ago. Remove the 13 nuts securing the back edge and rain rail. Remove the 3 bolts on each side. Remove NA soft top and frame. Replace w/NB soft top and frame by reversing steps.

NOTE: Don't drop a nut for the rain rail into the side drains. It's a pain in the *** to retrieve.

Jim

Leon

That's right, I forgot about the 13 nuts in the back. The ones in the back are also supposed to be tightened in a specific sequence, (I think that the instructions are on miata.net), something I learned after installing mine, but it has never leaked.

Pat '96M

Alright, I'll ask the stupid question.

Can you give me a scenario where you have an NA with a bad top/frame, and a good NB frame/top appears on your doorstep? If your NA top/frame needs replacement, why wouldn't you get NA parts to replace/restore/repair it? Where does the donor NB top/frame come from?

Or, is this a philosophical question? Like, how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

Well, I don't know of anyone dropping off tops on the doorstep (except, maybe UPS :) )

But from what I gather, the concept is *IF* you can get a good NB top from a donor car (I know it's painful, but Miatas' DO sometimes end up in junkyards ) Then it is much easier to install the entire top / frame assembly then it is to JUST install the vinyl.

Plus, of course the big bounus in installing an NB top is that you get the factory glass rear window!

Problem, from what I see though, is that they are PRICEY! and unless you really get a good deal on one, it's seems to be a break-even with just having a new top installed by a shop. *shrug*..

The NB top has a glass window and NO ZIPPER. The NB top fabric, however, is thinner than the NA.

Separate parts, I can understand. But the scenario posed by the original poster took a complete top/frame from an NB and installed it on an NA. I had a Robins no-zip top installed on my '96. It never would have occurred to me to seek out a complete NB top and frame. As a previous poster mentioned, the price -- even used -- of the NB parts would probably exceed the Robins price.

Something you might be missing: the NB top will not work on an NA frame, and is not the same as a Robbins NA no-zip top.

A few years ago, before there were any no-zip aftermarket tops for NA frames, a junkyard NB top/frame was the only no-zip solution.

There's another factor as well: to get a no-zip glass window to fold properly with the top on an NA frame, either the frame must be modified, or the user must arrange one of the bows manually when raising and lowering. The NB frame does this on its own, an advantage to some owners.

Finally, the ease of installation may encourage some owners to bolt up an NB top/frame themselves, rather than pay a shop to install an NA top on the existing frame. The savings in labor costs may pay for the frame.

Mine came off a totaled NB that was being turned into a race car. The soft top was superfluous to the racer and he appreciated the $250 I paid for it. I got a great deal because the car was only a few months old at the time of the accident.

Jim

1. Glass window that lays flat.
2. No drilling, riveting, etc. required.
3. The cost of the NB assembly is roughly equivalent to the cost of a Robbins top plus installation.

4.I really don't HAVE to replace the top & window; I can just keep re-gluing the velcro tabs every other year, and put patches over the pin holes in the top material. The top is down the vast majority of the year, the car is kept in a garage at night, and the hard top is on during the winter.

Dennis B. Swaney remove .zz to reply

Lanny, I assume you are talking about the vinyl top. Do you know anything about the blue top that came on the 10th Anniversary model? I've been told that it was cloth.

Dennis B. Swaney remove .zz to reply

Nope, I've never seen a 10AE with the top up.

IIRC, I saw three at the dealer in Fairbanks. I understand from Nora that they like them over there because white ones they cannot find in the snow. Looked vinyl to me, but I did not investigate.

Leon