soft top not closing

Hi All,

 

New to MX5 ownership and this site.  I purchased a 1990 eunos recently with hardtop and decided to go for an open top spin, when i got back i couldn’t be bothered replacing the hard top so i reached back for the soft top and pulled it forward and it just will not fully meet with the front windscreen and therefore I can’t fasten it down.

 I’m led to beleive this is the original soft top and has rarely seen the light of day as the previous owner only ever liked the hard top.  Could it just need a little lubrication?

Have you opened the latches fully, they are designed to pull the roof down hard, onto the top rail of the windscreen?-----

Have you lowered the windows (an inch or two)?

The rubber seals on the roof make contact and make it very hard to get the roof close enough, as well as not sealing properly at the doors if you do.

Usually, I lower the passenger one slightly, and have the drivers door open since I’ve had to take the tonneau off anyway.

 

 If it has a zipped rear window try unzipping it. Worked for me on a new soft-top that was tight for a while.

If only people would put their location they might just find willing help close by!

It’s not unusual for a hood to be difficult to get back in place after long disuse. I had the self-same problem with my garage queen.

This cold weather won’t help though. If you’ve got a garage try doing it there.

Partially raise the soft top and then unzip the rear window.

Unclasp the hood latches, drop the plastic locking clip (exposed when you drop the latches) and wind out the hooks to their maximum extent.

From the inside, pull the hood into the best position you can.

Go outside and gently push down on the leading edge of the hood in a pulsing motion. [Much better use of your muscle power out there :wink:

Get back inside the car and try to do up the latches. Should be possible now. Grab the latch and use the centre pull in order to get one side latched, the other should then be easier. You might find that doing the passenger side first is easier. Stronger right arm for pulling on the centre pull. Also, you’ll get more leverage if you have the door open and sit at an angle with your feet outside the car.

If not, leave the hood to settle/stretch under its own weight for a little while, then try the pressing down from the outside, moving inside to the latches again routine.

You’ll find once you’ve got it latched, the next time should be easier and you will need to tighten up the latches a bit, etc. etc.

Warm weather or a warm garage helps though, as the vinyl shrinks a little and hardens somewhat in the really cold weather we’re experiencing.

Good luck.

Oh- and ‘exercising the hood’ i.e. using it instead of the hardtop, will improve things over time too - both your technique and its fit.