These instructions © Copyright 2007 Duetto Motors LLC All Rights Reserved.  They are intended for use by our customers only and are not freely distributable, nor can they be reprinted or posted on the Internet in part or in full without the express written permission of Duetto Motors LLC. 

NOTE: While care and testing has gone into the preparation of these instructions, Duetto Motors LLC cannot foresee every possible area of personal injury or possibility of material or mechanical damage, and warns the reader accordingly.  Duetto Motors LLC accepts no responsibility for personal injury or damage to your top or to your Miata which is in any way related to the use of these instructions or any other form of advice given.  If you use the information contained in these instructions, you accept full personal responsibility for the results.  

How Much Time Should You Allow For The Job?  Well, that depends on how handy you are, if you've ever replaced a top before, and on how many people you have to do the job (we recommend two, although it is possible to do the job with one).  We've had reports of the job taking anywhere from 4 hours to two days, but those are both extremes.  The average time is between 6-8 hours, so you'd better give yourself the entire day.

We strongly advise that you read these instructions completely and carefully before beginning your installation. 

Pre-Installation Note: Replacing your top will require a lot of squirming around in the interior in a multitude of uncomfortable positions.  You may find the job a lot easier if you first remove the seats.  It takes only an extra ten minutes or so.

Seat Removal: Under each seat are one or more electrical connectors for the headrest speakers and seatbelt sensor (how many connectors you have will vary by model year and options).  Carefully separate each connector.  Unscrew the four bolts that hold the seat rails to the floor, and the single bolt that holds the seatbelt buckle mount to the transmission hump.  Important: the seat belt buckle mount consists of a series of washers and brackets which must be re-installed in exactly the same order and position as they were prior to removal.  Immediately after removing each seat, put the bolt, washers and brackets back in their original order on the seat and tape them in place so that you won't forget the order in which they go back together. Reassembling the seats and/or the seatbelts improperly can lead to failure of the seats or seatbelts, which can also cause an accident and/or result in serious injury.  

Now we're ready to start on the convertible top removal.  Using an upholstery trim removal tool or a small pair of needle-nose pliers, carefully pry up the black plastic tabs on the rear deck that hold down the carpet.  These tabs break very easily so take your time.  You'll have better results if you grip the center shank of each tab with the pliers as opposed to prying on the head of the tab.  If you don't have needle-nosed pliers, you can also try using a pair of scissors or the tines of a fork; just be sure to lift with even pressure or the head of the tab will crack.

Fold down the top.  On the underside of the front lip of the top frame is a retaining bar that runs across the width.  Remove the screws from the bar, then remove the bar, label it and set it aside.

Put the top back up without latching it.  On each side of the car, remove the three pieces of rubber weatherstripping that seal around the door windows.  These pieces are held in by a pressure fit and should pull off easily.  The bottom of the weatherstripping piece that seals around the rear of the door window is also held in by two plastic tabs (similar to the ones that hold in the carpeting on the rear deck).  To access these tabs, fold the top down.  Before removing the tabs, on each side of the car stuff a clean rag below this area to catch any parts you may drop.  You'll soon be removing a screw from this area as well, so leave the rags in place until the installation is completed.  

Carefully remove the black plastic tabs, taking care not to damage them.

If your weatherstripping is old or brittle, be sure to handle it gently so as not to cause cracking. Using a Sharpie marker or grease pencil, label the frontmost piece #1, the middle section #2 and the rear section #3 and DS and PS for Driver's Side and Passenger's side.  Numbers should be written in an inconspicuous area where they won't be seen when the pieces are reinstalled.  We're going to refer to these pieces later by these numbers, so don't forget to label them.   

Removing the weatherstripping will expose screws underneath that hold in the aluminum weatherstripping retainers.   Using white-out or paint and a small brush, dab paint completely around the edge of each screw head on each retainer. After the screws are removed, the paint will show you the exact position of the retainers.  This will allow you to reinstall the pieces in their original positions, avoiding the need for readjustment.  If you don't have white-out or paint, you can instead use a fine-point Sharpie.  Just try to draw as tight and precise a circle around the screw head as possible.

Then number each of the retainers 1, 2 & 3 to match the weatherstripping pieces you just labeled.    Remove the screws and the three aluminum weatherstripping retainers on each side of the car.     

Next we'll remove the B-Pillar Retainers.

These instructions © Copyright 2007 Duetto Motors LLC All Rights Reserved.  They are intended for use by our customers only and are not freely distributable, nor can they be reprinted or posted on the Internet in part or in full without the express written permission of Duetto Motors LLC. 

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