convertible top
 

Hi All,

My top is shot. rips & tears. I need a replacement.

Where is the best place to get one? If different quality tops are offered, which is recommended.

Thanks,

91 convert

I had my top replaced by an upholstery shop under insurance as some assholes decided mine needed holes in it. I do know the shop used an aftermarket "equivalent" to the O.E. top which ended up being just a bit tight. It's been past a year and it has loosened up a bit. I would try these guys and ask them how their tops fit if you are planning to do this yourself. I remember the upholstery guy saying it was a tight fit on the specific top he ordered...

http://www.convertibletopguys.com/co...-92-Mazda-RX-7

Hope that helps....

you should do a search... there was actually a thread a few days ago about this.

make sure you select a S5 top.. even if you so happen to find a s4 cheaper.. i think the s5 have a updated design with rain guards and stuff. im beat right now so i cant really remember

The only difference between S4 and S5 is the ribs on the S5 centerpanel that act as rain guards of sort. The rear panels are exactly the same.

You want to get a top made by Robbins and have it professionally installed. Don't try it yourself, trust me. And I'm one that hates to have anyone else touch my car unless I'm at least involved.

The cheap ones you see on Ebay are made by a company in Long Beach called Acme as don't fit worth a damn. Been there, done that, won't do it again.

Finally, the search function of this forum is your friend. Loads of threads on this subject and about any other subject you might come up with.

We put the Convertible Top Guys canvas top linked above on our 90 vert. Came out really nice. I think the cloth tops look much more expensive than the vinyl.

We did it ourselves. Wasn't that hard but its very fiddly and next time I'd pay someone to do it.

thanks hozzmanrx7... i knew there was a different but didnt know what it was
and you also mentioned the company that i was thinking of last night but couldnt remember. i hear good stuff about there tops

I've heard good things about Robbins also, no direct experience tho

I also put a Convertible Top Guys (M&T Manufacturing) canvas top on my '90 Vert this past November. I LOVE it. It really dresses up the looks of the car. For what you pay for a Robbins vinyl top (which is good quality) you can have an equally good quality top in canvas. I paid an upholstery shop to install mine and it was worth every dime after hearing him say how difficult the FC tops are to install. From what I hear, on a scale of 1-10, it would rate in the 8 range for difficulty. In my mind, this is too expensive a project to screw up. Better to go to the pros if you don't know exactly what you are doing.

Fwiw
 

Of course the pro's tell you to let them do it. They are in the business for a reason, to make a living. There is nothing wrong with that, we all have to make a living.

That being said, people on this site rebuild engines, strip and repair rusty frames, redo fuel systems, change clutches, rebuild limited slip diffs all the time. I do not understand why there is so much fear of replacing the 'Vert top.

If you are handy, careful, fearless and take your time, it is a piece of cake. I have said this before, I could do one in a weekend now that I have done it once.

Once my car priorities come back to the top I'll be replacing mine myself. My income took a tumble with the economy so I went back to school for a second degree...thats got money tighter than tight. Once my rebuild is done I'll worry about the top.

But when that time comes I'll follow a couple of the write-ups on it, take my time etc. Only part that concerns me is cutting the window. Though I'm sure if I measure and check 3 times before I cut I'll be fine.

convertible top
 

Does anyone have pics or can they briefly explain how to replace just the top section of the top.

Diagrams are in the factory service manual. You can download it for free in the FAQ section of this forum that is posted as a "sticky" at the top of the thread listing.

I considered trying it myself, so I ordered the Robbins top to take a look and see how complicated it would be. It was quite obvious that I was better off paying my local professional shop $400 to install it for me. I definitely would have screwed it up.

I had a robins put on one of my verts aboyut 3 or 4 years ago and the quality is great!

Hope this helps

i'm going to donig my first vert top in the next month, just not sure which place to buy from, in one thread i heard they can be had for 350, i found a hertz pinpoint vinyl for 400 shipped, but i was curous were to order this:
I also put a Convertible Top Guys (M&T Manufacturing) canvas top on my '90 Vert this past November. I LOVE it. It really dresses up the looks of the car. For what you pay for a Robbins vinyl top (which is good quality) you can have an equally good quality top in canvas.

I'm curious how the padding in the top made by the Convertible Top Guys compares to Robbins.

I know the ones they sell on EBay (pretty much all made by ACME out of Long Beach, CA) SUCK as far as the padding goes. Rather than the smooth layout along the frame you get with a Robbins, the ACME one presents every lump the frame provides.

Anyone have a though on how durable canvas is compared to Vinyl? The sun shrinks the Vinyl over time leading to the all too common tears at stress points just behind the door. I wouldn't think canvas would shrink the same, but might have other durability issues to consider.

yeah i called a place on ebay that i was getting my 400 top from, come to find out there supplier is amce. negative.

I heard Acme Tops shine with domestics. Too bad it isn't the case for their RX7 product since they offer in a number of colors.