[RalphinOrmondBeach]

I have not owned a sports car for a great many years. The tonneau cover was then an important part of the experience. If it happens that the Spider is produced without the dashboard attachment, does anyone know if the car can be modified without too much trouble? Thanks.

 

[Chas H]

I haven't seen a tonneau cover for sale for the MX-5 version nor one for the 124. Do you plan on making the item yourself? I think making the tonneau cover would be a much larger task than attaching it.

 

[spilner]

Have you by any chance contacted a shop that does custom upholstery? They might be able to do a one-off for you. How much of a rush are you in to get one?

 

[124 Spider News]

hmmm... just put the roof up?

 

[Busta]

in all honesty i would imagine those are far more popular in europe then in NA

 

[RalphinOrmondBeach]

You Don't Have To Be European to Like a Tonneau

Thanks for your responses. Actually the Miata does have the capacity for the dashboard attachment. You can see the little removable square. http://www.duettomotors.com/miata/tonneaus.htm scroll down on the page. Tonneau covers are wonderful! Riding on a cold day with the heat on, or in a light rain, is a great pleasure. It closes up the car when you are out running errands or parked at the beach. You can leave the car overnight in the driveway if there is no rain expected. I'd like to be able to go for days at a time without raising the roof.

 

[Chas H]

I used a tonneau cover often when an Alfa was my DD. I have not seen any yet for the new Miata ND.
Duetto doesn't yet make one for the ND.

 

[Busta]

Thanks for your responses. Actually the Miata does have the capacity for the dashboard attachment. You can see the little removable square. http://www.duettomotors.com/miata/tonneaus.htm scroll down on the page. Tonneau covers are wonderful! Riding on a cold day with the heat on, or in a light rain, is a great pleasure. It closes up the car when you are out running errands or parked at the beach. You can leave the car overnight in the driveway if there is no rain expected. I'd like to be able to go for days at a time without raising the roof.

you can drive with the tonneau in place?? How cozy!

 

[spilner]

By the way, come to think about it, with the amount of convertibles i've seen, i haven't seen a tonneau cover on any of them, only once seen a Jaguar E-Type with one

 

[RalphinOrmondBeach]

Diy

I sent an inquiry to Robbins Auto Tops over a month ago and have received no response. Giving it a moments thought, I have come to believe that I can make a nice tonneau cover without any metal hardware or modifications to the car.

 

[JFernald]

hmmm... just put the roof up?

Since the roof is way easier to put up than a tonneau cover would be to put on, I see no value in it.

 

[wedgewa]

And here I've been thinking, after 40 years of walking around Austin Healeys and Triumphs snapping snaps, how great it is that my top goes up and down with one seated hand, and with windows up, the heater and AC do a remarkable job even with the top down.

 

[Chipshot]

you can drive with the tonneau in place?? How cozy!

It's kinda like a kayak skirt.

 

[Bob Z]

I had one on the '94 Viper I used to own and it was pretty cool to use it, as long as I was by myself...the wife did not like being slumped over in the front seat (but I didn't mind).

 

[Seagas]

Many fond memories driving around in my MGB with the Tonneau cover on. In those days, it was quicker and easier to put the tonneau cover instead of the top. Also, most of us just removed the top which freed up space behind the seats for stowage. The spare tire pretty much took over the trunk/boot, so to have any usable space, you either drove with top up or remove the top and its frame and used a tonneau cover. Even my '68 rag top Mustang had a tonneau cover, it just covered the top when it was down, but it made the top down look much better.

 

[rdass623]

with the simplicity of the tops on these cars, I feel a tonneau cover would be a waste of time. there are really no true advantages to one of these other than oooooh that looks kinda cool. up or down in these cars takes less than 30 seconds. a tonneau would take more time, and would probably cause damage to the finish on these cars. the attachment points would need to be drilled into the body for installation of snaps or other fasteners. the end of the tonneau cover largely ended with roll up windows on convertibles, which facilitated much easier up and down for the top. if you look at cars like the Porsche 550, the tops had plastic windows made into them, there were no roll able windows, so there were attachment studs or snaps on the doors and the tonneau was a common accessory, probably as much for convenience, because you could half open (and close) the top. just my $ 0.02

 

[pikeman]

Romanticized misery?

My first roadsters was a Datsun 2000. It was a 1970, sold at the same time the 240z. It came with a tonneau cover and I promptly removed the folding top. I was "all in" as they say in Texas Hold 'Em". This was less dicey than it sounds. I was living in San Jose and there is a long dry season, so I was optimistic, but ultimately mistaken. My paramour and I headed to Laguna Sega for a race weekend that I had high hopes for cementing my relationship with her. I was punching above my weight class. This was an XKE, or 911 woman. The weather turned bad once we arrived on Route 1. It rained so hard we had to stop and she was wet, cold, and sullen. By the time it stopped raining, there was so much water in the car I had to open the floor drains after pulling out the carpet. With the top missing there was plenty of space!
The weather finally cleared into a glorious sunny weekend, but she got badly sunburned at the track. I knew by then that she was done with me.
The top remained in storage, and I began using my sedan for dating.
Best regards
Pete

 

[Roadscum]

My first roadsters was a Datsun 2000. It was a 1970, sold at the same time the 240z. It came with a tonneau cover and I promptly removed the folding top. I was "all in" as they say in Texas Hold 'Em". This was less dicey than it sounds. I was living in San Jose and there is a long dry season, so I was optimistic, but ultimately mistaken. My paramour and I headed to Laguna Sega for a race weekend that I had high hopes for cementing my relationship with her. I was punching above my weight class. This was an XKE, or 911 woman. The weather turned bad once we arrived on Route 1. It rained so hard we had to stop and she was wet, cold, and sullen. By the time it stopped raining, there was so much water in the car I had to open the floor drains after pulling out the carpet. With the top missing there was plenty of space!
The weather finally cleared into a glorious sunny weekend, but she got badly sunburned at the track. I knew by then that she was done with me.
The top remained in storage, and I began using my sedan for dating.
Best regards
Pete

Friends nicknamed my yellow Datsun 2000 the giraffe because of the height of the top. Hehe. I say bring back the tonneau for the unique sports cars experience..... please!

Paul