I have a top that has tears in the drain pockets on the inner part of the top on both sides and the tears go up about an inch in to eye view. There are two areas where the stitching threads came apart but not bad at all. I was wondering if anyone has had there top re-stitched and had any smaller tears repaired and if so how well did it hold up? I know a guy who does canvas repair and it known for doing good work. I just got the top off the parts car and about to swap it onto my project vert but wanted to fix it up before putting it on. The tears are really bumming me out. Any advice is appreciated, thanks.

 

I can take pics if itd help?

 

If it's a high-stress area, the stitching may pull out again. It's hard to say, but your repair guy can probably give you a better idea.

 

The OEM top is German diamond grain vinyl, so it sounds like you have an aftermarket top. Your damage is in a typical high-stress area, so it would be best to talk to your local fabricator. If your car was out in the rain with these tears then it is likely that the car has rust damage in the rocker panels just forward of the rear wheels, so you may want to get that fixed before it gets worse and rusts out the frame rails.

If you are looking for a replacement top, Car Tops Plus has the high-quality Robbins tops on sale right now. Professional installation should cost about $400.
http://www.cartopsplus.com/ccp0-catshow/rx7.html

Be sure to use proper cleaners and conditioners so the top will last longer.
http://www.303products.com/shop303/i...fm?category=58
http://wolfsteins.com/product-all.htm

 

Im pretty sure the top is a stock one. I took the top off of a completely stock not running s5 vert for my s5 vert project and the vert I took the top off of hasnt been touched since '03. The tears are on the seam of the drain pockets on both sides and have started to show about an inch into view. One seam came lightly unstitched going up the top on the driver side and on the rim seam on the back of the top where it mounts to the car. They aren't ripped through though which is good. On my s5 project vert there actually is rust outs right behind both seats and on the rocker panels. I have pictures of them in the album for my vert on my profile, they are already started to be fixed cause I can see the wires of the ECU through a small rust out haha. Thanks for the link to the new top, I know of one site to get one from too but I dont know if they are good. Ill leave the link for yous all to check out and if yous want I can try to take pics to show you where the tears are.

http://www.acceleratedsupply.com/ind...tovp5a03216gb5

 

It depends on the brand. The general consensus is that Robbins makes the best vinyl top and M&T Manufacturing (sold by Convertible Top Guys) makes the best canvas top. Aabestco (sold on Ebay) has mixed reviews, and Acme (sold by Kwiktops) originally had bad reviews although they supposedly fixed their fitting issues about 2 years ago. I would imagine that the skill of your local installation shop would be the main factor though. You can search the 2Gen RX-7 section for discussions on convertible tops.

I "upgraded" the top on my 1988 convertible to the 1989+ specs with the rain gutters, but I didn't notice any functional difference.

 

Damn I didnt know so many different companies sold new tops for the convertible Rx-7 but I guess the fitting of the top is going to depend on me then since I do all the work on my Rx-7. I dont think it will be that hard to align it good. I plan to use the top I get repaired for awhile until I feel like buying a new top or I have problems with it.