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Autokonexion 1 piece fastback

42K views 91 replies 54 participants last post by  Wesley Pipes 
#1 · (Edited)
First, this top is on my daily driver and will stay on it full time. It is being evaluated from that standpoint and looks first and as a functional fastback second

So I recently picked up the new fastback from mike (Grinder). First, his shop seems to be in the middle of nowehere on a dark night and I was ready to pull over and call him to verify I was going the right way then I saw the light at the end of the tunnel(kind of litterally....he stayed open with all the lights in his shop on just so I could pick it up and head to kinod after that :eek: two huge thumbs up for customer service

I usually rate on a 1-10 scale with a total # and an overall percentage at the end.

Customer service categories:
Communication 10/10 Mike let me know once everything was ready to be picked up because he knew I wanted this badly.

actually staying late when I told him I was running behind 10/10 (I can't count the number of times I've called a shop on my way only to have nobody be there once I arrive)

product advisement and installation help 10/10 (Mike litterally installed it for me and told me everything I could ever want to know about installing it and gave me some foam so the fiberglass wouldn't scratch the paint)

he didn't have the brackets in at the time of me picking it up(had to use a set I had on my NB already) so he offered to take some $ off or will ship those to me at a later date (Still need his set them to put the OEM hardtop on my NA) very cool guy, most places would say tough luck on the brackets

he also told me the proper sealant to use for the windows to try and weatherproof the top

overall customer service 100%


Product fitment

top to car 10/10 the top actually seems to fit BETTER than my other hardtop(OEM style like what chaser sells, which fit pretty good) notice in the pics the fitment opf the front edge of the top to the windshield frame

trunk to car 10/10 the trunk fits perfectly to the car with even body gaps at both sides. only thing I'm not totally happy with about the trunk is the pull out design but I knew that going into it so can't complain.

top to trunk(edge where both fiberglass parts join) 8/10 to be expected when using multiple fiberglass parts, I'll need to do a little block sanding to eliminate the raised edge of the trunk from the top ....sits up about 1/8" from the last ege of the top

lexan windows 10/10 mike did a damn good job at making the templates for cutting the windows they fill the ridge where they belong on the top perfectly

B pillar trim to top of the top 9/10 seems a little odd, on one side it's almost a smooth transition on the other side it's a slight bulge which I'll sand down to be smooth like the other side. other than that it's fine. makes for a nice decorative trim piece to what would otherwise be a plain edge of the lexan side windows

Overall fitment 94%


Functionality shall be unrated since I can not provide any concrete numbers but, I will say on the freeway driving 50-65 mph there seems to be a slight difference, after 80mph though the ass of the car seems to be firmly planted on the ground more so than before.


So far having driven about 200 miles prois/cons I've came up with:
PROS
-sexy looks
- VERY light almost as light as the other top (OEM style, made of fiberglass with 1/8" thick lexan rear window held on with about 15 S.S. bolts/lock nuts)
-great overall fitment
-great customer service

CONS
-area between side window and main rear window creates a bad blind spot, just need to check your mirrors closely)

putting this as a pro and con:
-nobody knows what the hell car is anymore (causing lots of amusing questions....but they get old quick....best question so far...."WTF did you to that S2K.....why the hell would you go 4 lug?" LOL)

currently cons but should be fine later:
-lexan rattles abit due to not being sealed on... after they are siliconed on I'm 99% sure the rattles will dissappear
-since I got the top from the pics of Mike's thread on the silver MSM it was pretty dusty since he's currently worlking on the NB widebody and other projects, my car needed to be cleaned anyways(as you can tell from the pics :p ) so a little extra bondo dust isn't gonna hurt anything
-no provisions for 3rd brake light....plan at this time is getting an 10" LED bar from pepboys, drilling a mall hole inside the back of the fastback for the wire to go through and wiring it into the plug of the OEM socket and having the light be at the bottom of the main rear window
-no provisions for license plate lights....agaiun due to the design.....I will likely slit the top to the rear bumper just above the plate and put an "L" bracket to attatch the lights to




Pics from kinod last friday.


thanks to daniel(gunwoo) for taking the pics and to Haig (Haigog) for properly hosting the pics from flickr























close up pics of mentioned fitment issues:

Front of top to windshield frame = SUPER flush :eek:.....never seen an aftermarket top fit this well:



Pics of trunk-> top fitment....like I said I'm picky so this 1/16" - 1/8" edge is going to be sanded flush:









B pillars (again being fairly nit-picky since I bought this top primarily for looks :D :p ) :





pics of fitment near gas cap area, no particular reason for this pic was just requested.....gas cap is not effected at all:

 
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15
#4 ·
i spent a couple minutes looking at the pics, trying to think of something to say....but all I can think of is, WOW! lol, I can't wait to see it all finished!

Are you keeping it blue?
 
#9 ·
ryoku rob, I thought the same thing for the car as a whole, but the top itself is closer to the spoon s2k.

will be paintmatched to the 10 AE blue within the next couple of weeks. plan at this point is to have the b pillar and strip under the side windows be satin/trim black
 
#10 ·
New pics added. sorry some of them are blurry, I haz da parkensinz :p

since I've been asked several times, I will make a short video of the pullout trunk even though I can't believe some people don't know what the hell it is or grasp the concept :rolleyes:

since I'm only allowed 20 pics per post

2 random pics:


 
#79 ·
since I've been asked several times, I will make a short video of the pullout trunk even though I can't believe some people don't know what the hell it is or grasp the concept :rolleyes:
Anyone know if this was ever done? or anybody got any links to how the boot comes off? (sorry i'm from Australia [so ofcourse i can't go and look at one ] and tossing up whether I should get one or not)
 
#14 ·
Broketuner made an amazing review and score card for Mike at Autokonexion. Having just got my Miata on the road this week, I concur with most of what he has written. I purchased my top almost two weeks ago, for my 91 NA...it's funny because the hardtop is the most valuable component on my car. I ordered the parts from San Francisco, with the plan to drive the car south, topless, and have both the one-piece top and carbon rear finish panel installed at Mike's Rialto location.

Over the phone and via email, Mike's customer service and attention seemed adequate and I feel I was treated with first priority. Unfortunately, my car did not run to make it south, so a rented van was in order to collect my parts. When I got there, Mike arrived promptly, at an early hour in the morning. He was very thorough in prepping the top and rear panel to ensure a seamless fit with my car. If only I had my car with me though...:(

My face-to-face interaction with Mike couldn't have been better! He is a really cool guy and very passionate about what he does. We hit it off really well, and I enjoyed my time in his shop. He's also got a lot of cool eye candy on wheels!

Now that I'm home and have my car running, I'm pleased to say this top was a great investment. Aesthetically, I don't think there is a better option; it completely transforms the looks of the car. It might just be that my car looks so beat and pieced together, but it seems to get a lot of attention on the road. Cars pace me on the 101 with a clueless face, as if to say..."what the hell is that?" Around town...I've gotten some cool attention and comments...people are shocked to find out it's a Miata. I absolutely love the way it looks; I can't wait to complete the body work on my car and see the car in it's element!

On the road, it's fairly quiet, and should be silent when I put the rear gasket on...and the window seals. Once the latches are tight, there is hardly a squeak or rattle. Mike's cool...I'll be headed down south in a few weeks and we'll get the top fitted to the car the right way...He knows what he's doing!

All said and done, my experience with Mike at Autokonexion has been great!
 
#18 ·
Wow this thread took off since I last checked it. thanks for all the compliments, Mike(Grinder) does some damn good work.

goal for today is finishing bodywork then tommorrow get it primed/sealed, paint hopefully by the end of next week
 
#21 ·
WANT!!!

BETTER looking THAN the OEM NB coupe

Fixed ;)


thoguh I would LOVE to turn my car into a coupe.....so much rigity could be added by doing that


body work 90% done. hope to have it primed tommorrow....new pics after primer
 
#23 ·
I don't necessarily feel james bond status but it is cool to have people tail you, switch lanes & speed up and just have the dumbest looks on their face LOL
 
#25 ·
Log another positive experience at Autokonexion here. Mike went out of his way to ensure that my fastback hardtop fit perfectly. The fastback is a first rate piece, great quality throughout. GREAT service, too...so good, in fact, that I look forward to doing business with Mike again in the future for other custom projects.

The fastback looks exceptionally good on the Pitcrew Miata, too. I'll post pics soon.
 
#28 ·
One bad pic now to keep heads from exploding. Lighting is all wrong (messes up contrasts and hides body & window lines), plus I'm a terrible photographer.

I'll post more pics later in the afternoon when I can get better lighting.

 
#31 ·
damn woolery, when that thing is paint matched nobody is gonna know what that is. looks awsome. Are you deleting the b-pillar trim piece all together?
 
#33 ·
I think I might delete the trim piece, as it looks cleaner. I'll find another way to cover the weatherstripping as necessary--maybe aluminium trim or something like that.
 
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