I am converting my Miata into a track car and would like to find a hardtop. Prices for these seem to be all over the place and some of my racing friends even claim they are unobtainium.
I see used ones for sale on Facebook Marketplace for up to $2,000. I see brand new aftermarket ones for as low as $499 on e-bay. I also see Miata ads selling the car and claiming that the hardtop has already been sold-don't ask. I have even seen a couple of "restored originals" with bidding starting at $2,200. Everything seems to be sold by the time I call them.
I also hear that an NB hardtop will work on an NA. Are these the same?
These seem to be harder to find than hand sanitizer right now.
NA and NB hardtop are interchangeable. There were lots of discussions and people told them they won't fit in the early 2000s . I prefer them without defrosters, but to each their own.
Here is my 1991 OEM Hardtop that I took from my NA and it fit perfectly on my NB MSM.
I have 3 hardtops, and have paid $300-$800 for them. Locally $1,100 these days seem to be the going rate. Unless you run into a "I know what I got" type of person.
https://www.miata.net/garage/hardtop/
Around here, like-new ones can fetch $1500 and "well loved" ones get $900-1000. Even totally trashed ones get $700-800.
mr2s2000elise said:
NA and NB hardtop are interchangeable. There were lots of discussions and people told them they won't fit in the early 2000s
Here is my 1991 OEM Hardtop that I took from my NA and it fit perfectly on my NB MSM.
I have 3 hardtops, and have paid $300-$800 for them. Locally $1,100 these days seem to be the going rate. Unless you run into a "I know what I got" type of person.
I live in Dallas. Everybody here seems to be an "I know what I got" person. We even have what we call the "North Dallas Price" here, which is 30% more that it is worth in Fort Worth plus whatever else you can get.
In reply to Snowdoggie :
Yup too many of my family are in Irving, Preston Hollow, and Bluffview. Sadly I know all about "N. Dallas" 
No question they are interchangeable, but the options such as headliner, etc varied.
However - the latches changed in 2003. If you mix and match across that line, they're not really going to latch properly. It'll look like it works, but it's not as solid as it should be. Change the striker plates or the latches to match each other.
Hardtops have always been around $1k. I got my first hardtop in something like 1994 and that's what they cost then. What's changed is the number of haggard ones out there. The average quality is dropping, so the really good ones are going up in price. They're also a finite supply, so they are gradually getting harder to find used. There are new ones available but they cost what new ones have always cost.
I've seen a couple of track versions and they've not been all that impressive for street use. If you're looking for aero and don't mind a lack of seals around the sides and a riveted in rear window, go for it. But it's going to be a different beast than a factory unit.
And yes, just like cars, every once in a while you get an outlier.
ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) said:
Around here, like-new ones can fetch $1500 and "well loved" ones get $900-1000. Even totally trashed ones get $700-800.
Trashed? I don't mind painting one and doing a little body work, but how does one get trashed? Apart from the car getting rolled.
Wasn't Mazda recently selling brand shiny new ones for like $1300 again? And didn't a member here get one? I'd have to think really hard about buying used for a grand plus if Mazda will deliver a brand new one for a few bills more.
I got one for a grand back in like 2008 in Southern California. Nowadays all the usable ones I see up here in the PNW are $1500 and up. Treasure Coast sells a race-only one for $600 sans window. It's definitely race-only though.
RevRico said:
Wasn't Mazda recently selling brand shiny new ones for like $1300 again? And didn't a member here get one? I'd have to think really hard about buying used for a grand plus if Mazda will deliver a brand new one for a few bills more.
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/ordered-one-of-the-new-from-mazda-nanb-hardtops/153935/page1/
I wish I could find one for $1,000. Most of them here are $1,500 and up and they are usually gone by the time I call. And shipping for one from somewhere else isn't cheap.
It's strange. Since the coronavirus hit, I have been seeing entire almost running cars and all kinds of projects for sale for $600 to $800. There were hardly any for sale six months ago. Now I could fill my driveway with NAs for the price of a couple of hardtops. The cars are actually cheaper than the tops that go on them!
thatsnowinnebago (Forum Supporter) said:
I got one for a grand back in like 2008 in Southern California. Nowadays all the usable ones I see up here in the PNW are $1500 and up. Treasure Coast sells a race-only one for $600 sans window. It's definitely race-only though.
I actually looked at those. Why is it race only? Road noise?
mr2s2000elise said:
Snowdoggie said:
Trashed? I don't mind painting one and doing a little body work, but how does one get trashed? Apart from the car getting rolled.
Cracked....
They get dropped, and chipped, and crack at the top of the side window opening, and people paint then with rattle cans, etc. Definitely stay away from one without a window because I think they're NLA. The one on my race car was a trashed black one (dropped, cracked, no window) and it's worked well for a race car application. But that's all.
For a street car, a new OE hardtop is a pretty solid option.
Snowdoggie said:
The cars are actually cheaper than the tops that go on them!
Buying a car with a hardtop and selling the car is a legit way to get a free hardtop. Or, depending on which part you sell, a free car :)
The Treasure Coast tops I've been involved in didn't have any seals or real provisions for a rear window. You could retrofit seals with some work, and rivet in a rear window, and paint it - but you'd never mistake one for a factory top. We put one on a race car for a customer here. One thing to know about them - they can ship two for the same price as one, so if you're looking at this option see if you can find a friend who wants one as well.
Snowdoggie said:
I wish I could find one for $1,000. Most of them here are $1,500 and up and they are usually gone by the time I call. And shipping for one from somewhere else isn't cheap.
It's strange. Since the coronavirus hit, I have been seeing entire almost running cars and all kinds of projects for sale for $600 to $800. There were hardly any for sale six months ago. Now I could fill my driveway with NAs for the price of a couple of hardtops. The cars are actually cheaper than the tops that go on them!
Yup I went to Reno NV to pick up a mint 1 owner
95 R that was traded at lexus dealer 3 years ago. They priced it at $4800. 58 k miles . As soon as ad hit, I bought plane ticket and wired them $3k deposit. I knew mint R was way underpriced
auto-x the car for 2 years. Ran great.
Sold it last year for $9,100. Kept the HT.
my first NA HT was same way I got it back in 1999. Saw a for sale NA by a UC Santa Cruz Professor (older woman). Car was listed for $3500. Had like 140k miles. I called her and asked if she would sell HT separately. She was hesitant but was listening. I offered $500, which she gladly and excitedly accepted. I drove up in 3 hours and got the HT and drove home.
My plan is to put in a full roll cage and a racing seat. I want to run SCCA and NASA time trials and possibly vintage racing. I will also drive it on the street from time to time but just on weekends. It won't be going to work. Would the Treasure Coast top work for that?
In reply to Snowdoggie :
You probably want to check with your local SCCA/NASA for the actual answer. However I suspect that for Time Trials you should be ok if you have a roll cage. Not sure about vintage racing but IIRC Spec Pinata requires/required an OEM hardtop, which is one of the reasons why they're so sought after.
Keith Tanner said:
They get dropped, and chipped, and crack at the top of the side window opening, and people paint then with rattle cans, etc. Definitely stay away from one without a window because I think they're NLA. The one on my race car was a trashed black one (dropped, cracked, no window) and it's worked well for a race car application. But that's all.
For a street car, a new OE hardtop is a pretty solid option.
I thought you are still able to get a non-OEM Lexan rear window for the OEM hardtop, or am I misremembering that? Although I also seem to remember that the seal around the window is also NLA.
The other damage mode I remember is that people drop them on the rear latches that go around the 'stein bolts and break off one or two of those latches. And those are not easy to repair either.
Keith Tanner said:
Snowdoggie said:
The cars are actually cheaper than the tops that go on them!
Buying a car with a hardtop and selling the car is a legit way to get a free hardtop. Or, depending on which part you sell, a free car :)
Mrs. Snowdoggie said no more cars or dogs can follow me home.
In reply to Snowdoggie :
Does having a car or dog delivered count? That way they don't technically followed you home.
BoxheadTim said:
In reply to Snowdoggie :
Does having a car or dog delivered count? That way they don't technically followed you home.
I have this vision of a Miata with a hardtop filled with Alaskan Malamute Puppies getting dropped off at the house.
So much for the headliner.
RevRico said:
Wasn't Mazda recently selling brand shiny new ones for like $1300 again? And didn't a member here get one? I'd have to think really hard about buying used for a grand plus if Mazda will deliver a brand new one for a few bills more.
that was me, i ended up holding onto it for a few months and sold it in 20mins fir what i had in it on a miata group on FB. but the new mazda ones are fully loaded with headliner and defrost. they come in gelcoat, ready to paint. and are $1850ish
What about the Treasure Coast tops. Do they just look worse than the original? Road Noise? Do they fit properly?
I swear I've described them twice already :)
It's a cover that's shaped like a hardtop. For aero on a track-only car, that's what they're for.
