Does my hood look OK

I've fitted my hood to the header rail at the front, and before I go ahead and trim the excess fabric I wanted to check if the fit looks OK.

There are a couple of small depressed areas in it, I couldn't get it completely flat. Does it look OK, or do I need to have another try !

Jon that fabric makes your top look fat!
No it does look good. Be sure to take it into the sunlight for 2 or 3 hrs to see if you get any extra sag. You may need to pull it tighter.

Sunlight ? I'm in the UK. I can't wait until May to check if it's OK !

Thanks, I'll trim it as it is, if I need to pull it tighter that shouldn't be a problem

Jon:

I just got my top on last November, and yours looks just fine in the picture.
If it sags this Spring after you get it all glued on, then wait for that one hot sunny day you expect next Summer, put the top up, soak it with water and let it dry in the Sun to shrink. Might take a couple of doses to get it to where you want it (you can soak/shrink selected spots, if you wish) but that should do it.

Gordon

Looks awesome Jon. Nice job.

Thanks chaps. It's one job I've not been looking forward to doing, so I'm glad it looks OK. I'll trim off the excess fabric and finish it off tomorrow.

"It's one job I've not been looking forward to doing"

I know EXACTLY what you mean!!!! Had me worried sick, but I was planning on trailering my car to South Carolina last November and the date was about two weeks away, so I didn't have a lot of choice. I NEEDED that top to keep it dry during the trip (it got SOAKED on the return from Carlisle in May without a top).

Finally, I just roughly put it on and started tweeking here and there until I got it to fit the way I wanted (and there were several calls to Alan Merklin which, for you, would be pretty long distance). I ended up using a VS stayfast top with CMC header and top bows (which had to be shortened almost 2 inches on each side to make it all fit), but the end result looked pretty good. I modified my top by adding another line of stitching between the top and the side flaps, an inch or more outboard from the original stitch line to tighten up those flaps on both sides - THAT makes all the difference in sealing things up versus lots of air leaks.

The only problem I had was with the side windows popping/sucking out at the top leading edge when at high speeds (65 mph+) and being passed by a Lorry (truck). I solved that with a couple of small metal tabs attached to the upper, front corner of the side windows, which tuck inside the windshield frame when the door is closed and hold the side window in no matter what. Worked like a charm on the recent trip back North - never popped out once!

Gordon
One of the "Speedstah Guys" from Rhode Island

P.S: do those Mazda MX-5 seats fit without mods? How wide are they??

Thanks Gordon. The MX-5 (Miata) seats are quite narrow, but still give good lateral support. They're also very 'low' so allow me a good line of sight through the screen. I'll get a width measurement tomorrow if you're interested.

I like 'original' buckets, but since a car accident a while back, I need something with head restraints (just in case it happens again. Hopefully the high level brake light will help prevent it . . . )

Wait on pulling it tighter until it has had a chance to get wet and dry. The top may shrink a little and if you cut it too soon you will be out of luck

Jon:

Yes, I would be interested in the width of the base of the seat where it would fit between the tunnel and the door sill. Lots of people are asking about different seats to fit these cars (especially CMC's) and I hadn't heard of the MX-5's, or that they were especially narrow.

Welcome to the (dubious) car crash club......last bad one I had, I was riding a ten-speed bicycle and got head-on'd by a full size pickup truck (I was doing over 35mph). Sure made the drive home a lot longer.....I was 33 years old at the time and I remember that there was a notice of the crash in the local newspaper....on the obituary page!!!

The very base of the seat is 17" across.

The widest point (across the side bolsters, near the top of the seat base) is 19"

If this doesn't make sense, or you need any more measurements, let me know

Gordon,
Post some pics of your little metal tabs on the side curtains. Sounds like a good fix

JOn: Thanks, but they're just a tad too wide for a CMC. I had to shoe-horn the 914 seats in, and they're just 15" across the bases and 17" across the bolsters (I guess 914's were designed for young ladies or skinny guys). I tried fitting some Chrysler seats that werre 17" across at the base, but they wouldn't fit.

Troy: I'll post the pics, but it'll have to be later, as they're on a different PC right now.

gn

The MX 5 seats look a similar shape to the Porsche 911 seats, good choice.

Troy:

Here are the pics of the side window tabs. Sorry, but they may be a bit fuzzy.

I made them from the tabs commonly used on house-hold bi-fold doors to hold two adjacent doors together when closed. We had a door with those attached at Jack Russell Terrier level so I removed them and threw them into a drawer til I needed something like that (warning - NEVER throw anything away - you'll need it SOMETIME). A few minutes with a Dremel and a bend here and there and they fit pretty well.

Hope these views show you how they're made.......

Gordon
And the two Jacks, Bee-Bop and Hip-Hop (actually, Murphy and Sophie)

After reading this thread, I went out to the garage and decided to put up my canvas top just for the hell of it. Understand that I've had this car for nearly 4 years and have NEVER put the top up (one advantage of living in southern Cal). So I put on the front header just to see how it fits. I notice all the snaps at the rear window are about one inch short of snapping. Maybe (?) I could have snapped the back first and used the header pull-downs, but I was actually afraid of cracking the glass because the forces was so high. No way is anyone going to stratch this canvas one whole inch! Canvas is as new, plastic window perfect. Guess I better hope it never rains. New appreciation for the eastern league of speedster owners.

Believe me, Dave......I've never seen a Speedster here in the East with the top up. I've HEARD of one or two, mind you, but never actually SEEN them running around topped. I installed mine last Fall as I'm a snow-bird and wanted to trailer my Speedster back and forth between Rhode Island and South Carolina and not worry about it getting soaked on a two-day trip in Spring and Fall (two BIG rainy seasons).

I've found, however, that even without heat I can still drive top-up right down into the low-mid 30's and still be (reasonably) comfortable. That, alone, extends my driving year by months, even if I stayed in the Northeast. It is a laughable situation if I ever have to pay a toll and roar into the booth, open the door, get out, hand the money up to the attendant, then get back in and roar off. Of course, even if the top is down, I have to stretch way up there to hand them the money anyway!! Sometimes I find it easier to just stand up in the seat!!

Don't know what to tell you about the 1" gap. Typically, You release the tensioners at the bottom of the bows on both sides, then snap all the snaps on the back, then position the header and fasten the windshield frame latches, THEN gently pull the side tensioners tight as a last step. That should help you get everything tight without tearing the windshield off!

But then, we're hoping you never need it!!!!!

Gordon

Hey Dave,
Though my speedy hasn't arrived yet, I had the same problem with my jeep when I lived in CA. I took the top off and laid it outside in the drive way on a rather hot/sunny day. With it now warmed, I put the jeep top up and it stretched out just fine. I then let it cool outside when the temps dropped that night, problem solved!

, Pat