Why do you want to get rid of the soft top? For reduced weight or to make money on the sale? I would be worried about driving topless without the soft top. What about a sudden rain storm or an unscheduled stop that you need to cover the car for? What if you have car troubles when you are driving around topless? It is great that we can have both.... why limit your options? Plus you really screw yourself on re-sale.

 

The brackets where the seatblets bolt too and the hartop rear latches clamp are part of the soft top. There is a riveted pivot point that you can drill out and remove to get the top off and keep the brackets. ORRRRrrrrr You can find a spyder in a savlage yard and buy just those brackets and simply unbolt the softtop then bolt in those salvaged brackets.

FWIW If anyone can find the brackets let me know. I need a set and or a complete softtop witht he brackets.

 

Originally posted by 71spud+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (71spud)</div>

Why do you want to get rid of the soft top? For reduced weight or to make money on the sale? I would be worried about driving topless without the soft top. What about a sudden rain storm or an unscheduled stop that you need to cover the car for? What if you have car troubles when you are driving around topless? It is great that we can have both.... why limit your options? Plus you really screw yourself on re-sale.[/b]

The hardtop would be permanently attached . I'd remove the softtop for both reduced weight and to make a little money.

The bracket thing will be a problem, but something that's probably fixable.

<!--QuoteBegin-LittleRocket
The brackets where the seatblets bolt too and the hartop rear latches clamp are part of the soft top. There is a riveted pivot point that you can drill out and remove to get the top off and keep the brackets. ORRRRrrrrr You can find a spyder in a savlage yard and buy just those brackets and simply unbolt the softtop then bolt in those salvaged brackets.

I'll try the latter. Thanks.

 

I had to saw off the brackets... I don't think there's a nice way to do it without damaging the old top (mine already had a slash through it)

 

The junk yard idea is probably your best bet

 

I sawed off the brackets as well. It was just the easiest way to get the brackets off.

 

wihtout the soft top, think of the STORAGE you'll have!

 

Originally posted by supunna_picta
wihtout the soft top, think of the STORAGE you'll have!

its really not that great... but if you keep the bar off, you can recline your seats...

 

Anyone have pictures of this bracket?

I love using the top well for storage on trips and I too would put the hard top on to never be removed again. I love my Spyder but hate convertibles.

 

When my hardtop finally makes it here I will be gutting my softtop as well as the hardtop will stay on permanently. I didn't know that the two shared mounting points but I have to problem taking the saw to my softtop to get the brackets I need. :twisted:

 

Well, if anyone can point me to which brackets these are, I'll see what it would cost to fab up some replacement pieces so that you don't have to destroy the soft top to remove it.

 

Originally posted by mkawada+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (mkawada)</div>

The hardtop would be permanently attached.[/b]

<!--QuoteBegin-greenstreak
When my hardtop finally makes it here...the hardtop will stay on permanently

Well to each his own, it is your car, but as reminder to others - the MRS is a convertible!

 

Originally posted by fizxtoy+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (fizxtoy)</div>

Originally posted by mkawada@
The hardtop would be permanently attached.

<!--QuoteBegin-greenstreak

When my hardtop finally makes it here...the hardtop will stay on permanently

Well to each his own, it is your car, but as reminder to others - the MRS is a convertible![/b]

A fact that many, many people view as a huge mistake on Toyota's part....

 

Originally posted by David Hawkins
Well, if anyone can point me to which brackets these are, I'll see what it would cost to fab up some replacement pieces so that you don't have to destroy the soft top to remove it.

Soft top delete brackets would be welcomed by many (including me).

 

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy driving with the top down. I just enjoy a solid chassis more. 8)

 

Originally posted by rando+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (rando)</div>

<!--QuoteBegin-David Hawkins

Well, if anyone can point me to which brackets these are, I'll see what it would cost to fab up some replacement pieces so that you don't have to destroy the soft top to remove it.

Soft top delete brackets would be welcomed by many (including me).[/b]

Then someone tell me what brackets we're talking about!

I've got the car, I just don't know what soft top parts people are talking about. Judging from the hard top install photos I've seen, it doesn't look like the soft top comes into play at all...so I'm obviously missing something.

On the hard top/soft top issue....I also enjoy putting the top down on occaision - but it's a very rare occaision and I wouldn't miss top down motoring at all if I could get better visibility, more rigidity and a quieter chassis.

 

Courtesy of Spydermagazine:

I do not have a hard top (yet) but I am pretty sure it is the bracket receiveing the two partially installed bolts (as shown above) that is part of the soft top and required for the hard top side mounts.

 

Thanks. The bottom bolt appears to be going into the body, but the top bolt is probably the one that everyone's talking about. I'll go pull some trim and see what I can find out now that I know the general area. Since a hard top is on my wish list once our house in San Diego sells, this is of particular interest to me.

 

I think I'm missing something...I just looked at the soft top and it appears to be mounted using a recessed bolt that is between the two used by the hard top clamp (which uses the same two bolts as the Autopower bar that's in my car IIRC). It would appear that the soft top does not share any bolts with the hard top clamp...but that's why I must be missing something.

EDIT - I just looked at the BGB and I think it get it now...the entire black metal part that the HT clamps bolt to are part of the soft top.

 

Why not fab the bracket from aluminium and just bolt it to the chassis so you can take the top off without hacking stuff?

 

Originally posted by CIN
Why not fab the bracket from aluminium and just bolt it to the chassis so you can take the top off without hacking stuff?

That's the plan...I just need to know what bracket it is.

 

Originally posted by David Hawkins
EDIT - I just looked at the BGB and I think it get it now...the entire black metal part that the HT clamps bolt to are part of the soft top.

Yeah, the large, black, metal assembly shown in the pic above houses what you might call the Main Pivot of the soft top. That part needs reverse engineered. From a production standpoint, it would probably be best replicated in plate steel welded together or maybe a steel sheet flat pattern bent to shape and welded.

 

can you take the black piece off the car? Maybe disassambling part of the soft top off.

 

Based on what the BGB shows, the black piece is part of the main support structure for the top.

 

This should be a very easy fix. An enterprising member of SC who can fab stuff up, corky for example, just needs these pieces off of someone's junk soft top that got slashed.

He could then fab the brackets for everyone in the future and make a buck at the same time. Meanwhile, everyone else comes out ahead not having to destroy perfectly good soft tops.

What an idea.

So who has a junk top and where's our fabricator? Jeez, I shoulda patented the idea and made my own revenue.