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I have been on a mission to SAFELY store, install and remove my ’93 Allante hard top. My first and paramount concern is safety, as there were not many ’93 hard tops and they are bringing up to $6,000.00. I don’t want to be replacing mine because of a cheap mistake. I say this as I was given a 4 point sling with clips that was made for a Mercedes, but a friend told me some horror stories of these failing and damaging both the top and car. A member of the Atlanta Miata club told me about E-Z top hoist www.eztop.com. E-Z’s top attachment which costs $250.00. It is the best I have found. Delicate parts, like our seals that are not replaceable are not touched, and they have a positively safe locking system to hold the top. I also like their Multiple Point Support Bracket (MPSB) $40.00 that allows you to fasten to, in my case three overhead beams/joist for super support.
I chose not to go with E-Z’s manual or electric winch, but to use a Jet model #WRH-880 wire rope hoist instead. You can view them at W M H Tool Group’s web site http://www.wmhtoolgroup.com stock #107002 . List price $200.00 but it is available from Bibb Tool Supply for $149.00 phone 478-743-7299, email . The Jet hoist has a pendant control so you can operate it with one hand and guide the top into position with your other hand. It is rated at 880 lbs. lifting, but the inspection certificate in mine showed they had lifted 1100 lbs. Either way, it is ten times the weight of my top. There is also an auto stop switch at full retraction so when you lift the top up you can’t strip a gear or something if you don’t get off the button when you should. To adapt the Jet hoist to the MPSB I first drilled 3/8” holes into the hoist mounting brackets then the MPSB to match. It was a simple installation I recommend it to all hard top owners. A picture is worth a thousand words so take a look
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