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| All photos taken by Denny Aungst at Jeck's Service
Center. |
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I saw one of these on the net and decided I had to have one. I ordered
my removable hardtop from Graham Ware at www.japanparts.com. Send him an email if you want
one of your own.
Graham was great and kept me posted through the entire process. That's important
with a $2,000 part. He even contacted me to see if I was happy with the top after
I installed it.
Well, I took delivery of my new hardtop on Thursday Morning, 12-11-2003. What a day!
The power was out, roads were flooding, and we were overloaded at work. You know
how it gets.
I just got off the phone with the shipping company the evening before. Apparently
there was some sort of communication misunderstanding between the two shipping companies
that got it to me. They lost my number to contact me for a few days and failed to
set up a delivery time. Everything straightened out smoothly and they promised delivery
first thing the next day.
Once it was here I got nervous about the looks of the crate and made the shipper
wait till I unpacked the top. What a surprise! There wasn't a scratch on the top
and the glass wasn't broken. I signed and my plans for the weekend were set!
Of course I couldn't wait till the weekend and started that evening. |
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(See my Hard Top Wall Mount Installation pics.)
some frequently asked questions about the top
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The first step involved unpacking and reading the directions thoroughly.
I recommend this, because, if you have a good understanding when you start, the process
goes faster. (Look at the parts, there are different bolts for certain places!)
These pictures show the first mechanical step. (That is, the first step after lowering
the soft top and latching it.) Remove two trim plates, one on each side near the
trunk lid, and install the two anchor plates for the rear section of the hard top. |
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The next step is to remove the lower seat belt mounting bolt with
a 14 mm head behind the seat. I put it in the console for quick finding when it needed
to go back in. Remove the two top push lock plastic retainers at the top of the plastic
panel and the pull the whole panel toward the front of the car to pop it off. Not
much effort was required but be careful anyway. It's only plastic!
Again repeat process for the other side.
Notice the difference between the two photos to the right. On the passenger's side
there is another panel that needs to be removed to access the defroster wiring at
a later point in the installation. Two more push lock retainers are removed to take
this panel out as well. |
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After the panels are removed and set aside, you can install the rear
latch's anchor hooks. There is a left and right so check them closely. They are marked
with an L and an R.
There is also two different bolts. The top bolt has a shoulder where the bottom doesn't.
They look alike so check them carefully. Once you start the bolts run them in till
the ALMOST touch the bracket. It needs to be loose for a later adjustment. |
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The next step is to run the defroster wiring for the hard top. There
is a nice harness included that plugs right in to the lower plugs in the storage
bin on the passenger side that you removed the second smaller panel.
Once you plug in the lower section there is a diagram of where to route the harness
to get it to the top. I felt this was the hardest and most time consuming part of
the process. Don't worry, the instructions show three pictures to get it right.
It should look kinda like the two pics to the right. Notice that there is even a
fabric loop sewn to the original top that you run the harness through.
By this point I have noticed that the car was BUILT to have the top as an option.
I wonder why they never offered it in the states? |
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At this point, I am now ready to set the top on the car to make final
adjustments. If everything goes well, you will not have to take it back off the car
till you want to go convertible again. Be sure to get a friend to help you lift the
top on. It is not heavy, but, why take any chances now? Make sure the latches are
open, the visors are down, and the rear hooks engage into the chrome loops before
latching. This ensures a good seal all the way around.
Now you can see how it will look. I feel it changes the whole appearance of the car.
Visibility should definitely be a plus. |
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| This picture turned out a little fuzzy, but adhere the top meets the
body at the top of the door, make sure these little rubber flaps are out to repel
water. They look like you could pinch them easily. |
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Now that the top is set on the body, I had to check the "adjustment"
to the latch brackets in back. They have slotted holes to allow the bracket to swing
back and forth and align itself with the top. To do this all I had to do was fasten
the front latches, just like when we put the soft top up, then fasten the rear latches.
They are exactly the same as the front latches so there was nothing new here.
Once that latches are tight and locked, the rear brackets should be aligned with
the latch. Tighten bolts to spec and you are done with the adjustment. |
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| The picture to the right shows the "new" quarter panel covers
installed. This is a really nice feature of the kit. You don't have to cut holes
to clear the new hard top brackets. The kit even sends new panel fasteners. Just
make sure all 4 of the old fasteners are removed before assembly of the new panels. |
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Once I had completed all the steps in the manual, I wanted to check
how the windows matched to the seals. Everything matched well and sealed nice. Note
the details of the headliner and interior panels. Nice.
The only adjustment I made was to adjust the passenger side window down a bit. This
had nothing to do with the hard top. I had done them before when I had a problem
with them going up too far and wanted to adjust this one further. |
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Total time involved including window adjustment: (45 minutes)
I plan on getting some better exterior pictures when the sun is out another day.
Right now, all I wanted to do was take it for a rip and see what it was like.
All I can say is I loved it. The visibility out the back window rivals when we have
the top down. Outside noise has been reduced drastically, as well as a more muffled
interior sound.
Thanks again Graham. More pics soon.
See full size
finished picture here. |
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Click images to see full size pics.
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Some questions people have asked me and the answers I provided:
Could give me more information regarding your hardtop for your MR2 Spyder? I am
looking for one for my Spyder and am having a hard time locating one.
- I bought it from Graham Ware at www.japanparts.com in Japan. There was a group
buy on www.spyderchat.com that I was able to get in on for a large discount. We had to have five
buyers. I was one of them. I paid 2,100 total with the air freight shipping, insurance,
customs, bank transfer/credit card fees, and everything. Normally they are about
2,499 with ground shipping and everything to the 48 continental states. (Sorry, but
the buy has been closed for several years now.)
- Graham was great and kept me posted through the entire process.
That's important with a $2,000 part. He even contacted me to see if I was happy with
the top after I installed it.
- Here is the Toyota Part number from the box of the complete kit.
63201-17231-B0 (This was on the box for the liquid silver. I'm not sure on the number
for other colors, but, I am pretty sure the last 2 or 3 digits designate the color
code of the car. 1D0 is the color code for liquid silver.)
I am having similar trouble in the UK, as I have bought a new MR2 without taking
up the overpriced option of the hard top (only available with air-conditioning) at
£2500 (pounds sterling). Toyota UK has said you cannot retro-fit a hard top,
and is only available to purchase for accident repairs where the original specification
included a hard top.
- I have found, as did everyone I have spoken to worldwide that
retro-fitted a hard top, that all Spyder bodies have the same configuration. We have
discussed it pretty thoroughly on the Spyderchat boards. They just do not offer the
hard top here in the states at all. Never have. From what you say, they only offer
it with air conditioning there. When we order the Spyder here, there was actually
no options beside colors the first couple years. They all had AC. I've only heard
of a couple over there that don't have AC.
Was there any difficulty getting the top from Japan? How bad is the shipping?
- The shipping was pretty good. It takes a while if you do it by
ship, but air takes a week to get here. Either way you must send the shipper a Power
of Attorney to get it through customs which can take a couple days. No big deal.
The box is built prety good and can take a beating without damaging the top as you
can see in the pics at the top of the page.
How did the paint match? Was there any difference in color?
- I put the top on my car that was 3 years old and the paint matched
very well. You actually give them your paint code from Toyota and it comes in the
color you want. In Japan, these must be a factory option as the come in Toyota packaging
and a Toyota part number.
Does the glass in the back of the hardtop have defrost?
- Yes, there is a defrost on the hard top. There is an extension
wire harness included in the kit.
What about the soft top? Can you use both tops together?
- Your question about using both together is a bit confusing. The
soft top MUST be down to install the hard top, but you don't remove the soft top
from the car. That way you have a top to put up if you get caught in the rain with
out the hard top. Everything functions the same as before, there are just the mounting
hardware which doesn't interfere with soft top operation.
From viewing your pictures my car seems exactly the same as your own (although
I have not yet removed any panels). Is it really as easy as your illustrations indicate?
- The hard top is actually a very straight forward installation.
It is as easy as I have shown it. They include very good illustrated and detailed
instructions. The only snags you may run into can be prevented, which I will list
below.
- Make sure you separate the bolts and use the ones they call for.
There will be extras.
- There is a wiring harness included which is a little time consuming
to make sure you run it through the cloth loop on the soft top and through the plastic
retaining holes. This prevents it from getting pinch and keeps it in a handy place
to get at when you remove/install hard top.
- When you remove your existing interior panels, take the door sills
off first. It makes it much easier. Then make sure all the little white clips came
out before installing new panels.
When your remove your hard top and go topless are the anchor plates visible
and do the rear latch's protrude above the line of the car? if so do the look ugly?
- The rear latch hooks do stick up about an inch and a half or about
30 mm or so. Don't sweat that. They don't look bad at all and the kit includes leather
covers to go over them if you want to use them. I haven't used them because I don't
mind them. Actually the chrome anchor plates are more noticeable than the latch hooks,
but in my opinion, they actually look nice. They make for a conversation piece when
the top is off and people ask what they do.
From your explanation it would appear your hard top came with all the necessary
converting bits, is this the case?
- The kit comes complete and includes the top, the well illustrated
instructions in both Japanese and English, bolts, small wiring harness (no cutting
wires at all), the anchor plates, rear latch hooks, latch hook covers, and a leather
"zipper" pouch to keep the parts nice and clean in case you ever wish to
remove the top permanently and go back to stock.
Is any drilling of the body or electrical modification required?
- There is NO drilling and NO cutting of anything. Like I said,
everything is already there. All Spyders are equipped with the places to install
everything, it's just a matter of installing about 8 bolts into existing holes and
a 2 foot long wire that plugs in at both ends. It may take you a little longer than
me and it is a good idea to have a friend help you lift the top on, but it doesn't
take a mechanic. Just a little reading and patience.
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