I bought the car used with an aftermarket top and it doesn't seem to look right compared to others I've seen.

Here are the pictures:





The passenger side is slightly better but not as tight as seen here:


I notice a lot of (wind?) noise and I think that's the cause.

The windows don't go up any further either. What's my best course of action? Can it be fixed without getting a new top or frame?

 

they previous owner probably just did it himself, would be a real pain trying to take the top back off to fix it. i know this cause i put mine on myself, just try buying some new strikers

 

yea doesnt look right at all, btw what MY is your S?

 

you can always try to redo it buy your gonna have glue and rivets to mess with, took me 3 days on an off to put mine only by my self

 

2001.

 

That top looks like crap, excuse my bad way with words. I just had a new top put on and it looks pretty good. Nothing is as good as it is when it comes brand new. Good luck. My top was about 1500.00, btw.

 

Lots of wind noise? Does the top leak at all? I would assume yes with the extra wind noise?

 

if you have a steady jet of air coming from the two side when you rode on the highway, check the cable tension for the two side, it's a spring loaded tensioner that tighten the side for a better wind seal

the s2k top is 99 percent like the miata top, it has 2 cable on each side for cutting down the wind noise, the best way i could think of is by pulling down the top half way and inspect it there.

if it's not installed/not installed probably/broken spring the side will look and feel "loose" since there's no tension present

<---done number of top install including miata/s2k

edit: the side looks really loose,it could be a bad install or bad laser cut top, or a combination

 

It hasn't been in heavy rain yet but it doesn't leak when I wash the car.

What does the tension cable look like?

Also how much would you charge to install a top?

 

dealer charges about 8-10 hr, i think it's about right for a 2 mens installation.
For experienced installer(and good fitment top) you can get it done in 6ish hours, assuming no custom work needed in terms of fitment or rear glass conversion,etc

the tension cable is just a SS cable with a coil spring attach to it, it should be fully enclosed if it's installed right, try pull on the edge of the top(where the highest point of window meets the roof) to see if you can get some slack there.

it should be snuggly fastened if the cable is working/installed correctly.