No Longer Topless:

Now that I have my tools in the shop, I had the correct rivets to continue working on the Miata top. I quickly riveted the two tension cables in the correct location and started reattaching the top to the frame. Once everything was attached and ready to go, I tried to close the top.

I say tried because the top appeared to be much, much to small and would not come close to closing. Frustrated, I started to undo what I had just done to give the canvas a bit more slack. With as much adjustment as I could give it, I buttoned everything up again and.... no dice. The top was nowhere near closing.

Now it was time to look up whether I was missing something. With a quick search on the internet, I discovered that new tops are often hard to close, particularly when they are cold, as mine was.

With this knowledge I loosened the latch bolts, put my gloves on and got ready to force it. After about a half an hour of wrestling with the top, I finally got it closed. The general rule is to let it sit for 3 days in the closed position and it will be ready. For now, I think it looks great.

After that I did some more welding on the boxes, finally figuring out the best settings for the welder and getting the desired "stack of dimes" look on my welds.

Finally I brought some dedicated shop coveralls to the shop so I can come straight from work without worrying about getting my clothes dirty.

It's all coming together.

-W.W. SBSS