MX-5 OC Forum

Hi guys, haven't posted in a while, but..............

Have been using the soft-top since about March (hard top on for the winter before that). When I bought the car (Nov '11) I was told/shown that the top had recently been replaced, and hardly if at all, used. (just kept folded under the HT).

Waited till the weather warmed up to remove the HT and then it took two of us to stretch the ST & latch. Left for about a month before folding the first time, but even now, the ST is VERY hard to get latched (really just rthe last inch or so) & it's quite frustrating as it's not a "quick latch" jobbie. Enjoying the top-down motoring but latching the top again is a pain.

Any ideas, or does it just take more time..................? (Car lives in the garage normally though does get left out in the sun fairly often). I have loosened the latch adjusters to their limit, but can't get them to "catch" easily due to reach, and also they seem to misalign sideways quite easily (I s'pose 'cos the ST can/does move when being pulled down tightly).

 

Oh BTW, the ST is a vinyl HRW type and does seem very new.

 

Oh and one more thing..........

Rain water drips in from near the front of the moveable glass section, don't know if it's the hood seal against the door glass, or other leak eg blocked rain channel..............

 

Any info appreciated!

 

Bill

Yours sounds like mine on Sunday. Mine was in the garage unused for two weeks, I left the top down. Come to put the hood up whilst parked up after a drive and it was very stiff to try and close it. Usually it's really easy to close.

I suggest once you have it raised and clipped closed leave it like that if you can for a while, it will help stretch it back into shape.

 

Mick

Thanks Mick.

That's what I did on first "unveiling" the ST after it had lived folded up under the HT.

It's better now that it was, but still very stiff to re-latch after top-down driving.

 

Bill

 Keep it up as much as possible for a  couple of weeks, it will stretch

A few things I found helped with MGBs,

leave the hood up when not driving, even in the garage; stops them shrinking and keeps out dust, spiders, and mice,

if it's tight in winter put an electric fan heater inside the car for a few mins with the hood closed as far as possible to warm it,

once up stand it in the sun if you are lucky,

then go for a good blast at death defying speeds (well, ok, on the motorway) with the hood up  for half an hour which soon stretches the thing  

 When i bought mine from a dealer with a hard top, i asked if I could have a look at the soft top. The hard top did not look like it had ever been off. The rag top looked brand new (6 years old), and would not go beyound the last 6 inches. The dealer said we would leave it for a few mins to let the sun warm it up a little.....and sure enough about 5-10 mins later it locked into place. It looked very tight. So i would concur that a little heat will help, and leaving the rag top up in place will help. i have had no problems with it since. Don't forget to lower the windows a little first before lowering the roof

watchnut:

Don't forget to lower the windows a little first before lowering the roof

 

One of those things you do automatically and don't think about for someone new to the cars, either windows down a couple of inches or doors open when putting the roof up, also when the roof is up and you put the windows back up I think it pays to open and close both doors as it lets the window sit on the roof side rubbers nicely rather than the windows pushing the rubbers up and getting the odd drip coming in

 

very helpful thread - same with my ST. which I believe is newish - always leave the hood down as parked in the garage and hardly ever driven with top up. Takes a lot of effort and maybe 15mins to put roof up if i have had to. Will try putting it up when not in use - that seems the way to get it stretched and to get a quick latch up in the long term.

 MX5 hoods are great though aren't they, folding and latching so quickly. My old MGs had build-it-yourself frame tents for roofs which took several minutes by yourself. If the weather was set fair the hood came off and the tonneau went on. I haven't seen them on MX5s myself but you can get them. We didn't have a garage, so many was the time I'd unzip the driver's side in the morning and swill the water off the other side before going to work. Still luxury compared with the motorbike though! We had a few good summers back then with 2 and 3 week stretches at a time without the hood at all in 1975 and 1976, happy days 

Thanks for all the info guys!

I keep the hood up all the time except if I'm gonna drive with it down, then it goes up again when finished..............

Yep I open the windows or doors when putting the ST up.

 

So looks like just more time required ( & more weathering with hot/cold temp cycles) to stretch it some more. Maybe I should leave the car out in the elements more, still tend to "baby" it, avoiding birdy t*rdies & rain where possible ( want it to last as long as possible!)

 

Thanks again!

 

Bill

We've got the same problem, but vinyl hood at least 5 years old (and  more I think). No hard top so hood's always up when on the drive. been Ok until this year, but now when ever you drop the hood it's a pig to get the catches to engage when you put it back up.

We treat ours with vinyl roof restorer a couple of times a year. Do the vinyl roofs lose their elasticity with time?

 Not really, the hood on my last MGB was vinyl and 12 years old and was fine. As said before really, a warm day, then take it for a blast down the motorway for 20 mins which is a gentle and effective way of stretching them back a bit. I've had several daily drivers over many miles and they all go through these cycles of tightening themselves up then getting stretched again at speed.

Another question:

Noticed there are two internal straps at the rear corners (looks like to keep the hood shape around the rear curves) rivetted onto the frame internally. Have noticed they're VERY (drum) tight with the hood up/latched & wondered if these might be pulling against the effort to close the latches............ Might these straps have been fitted too tight? Just a thought............

Still struggling as it spoils the ease of closing the ST after driving (sometimes still takes 2 of us to pull the front down enough to latch).

 

Regards, Bill

Ours is also getting worse - will soon have to sit on the front edge to get it near enough for the catches to engage. Impossible for wife to close it on her own that's for sure.

 Have you tried a good high speed run with the hood up? The hood goes like a soggy paper bag