153.365

I've had various things keeping me from my 365 project, and I'm starting a series on one of them: my Miata. A little background: I bought this car in '96 with 52k miles on it. I had planned on test driving three or four different cars but I drove a Miata first and was in love. It was the closest thing to a motorcycle on four wheels, was no frills, and wasn't terribly expensive. It's also been the most reliable car I've ever owned. Over the years, it's always been cherished but age started taking its toll and I started thinking about fixing it up.

Miata Rehab project #1: broken back window

The back window snapped in three pieces on a night of extreme cold. The soft top is in good condition and I didn't want to replace the entire thing. The window is plastic, so I started searching online for a replacement window and found a couple of people who'd cut the old one out and put a new piece of vinyl in place.

I found some heavy gauge vinyl and bought a yard or so for about $20. I then carefully cut out the old window, used it as a template to cut a new one, sanded the contact points and then glued it in place. I had a hard time finding adhesives, but finally found a vinyl cement that was flexible at Lowes. I glued it in place and let it sit for a day or two before using black tread tape (stuff you put on running boards - AutoZone) and used that to run around the seal to finish it off. It definitely doesn't look stock but it doesn't look bad for $25. And if it doesn't last, I have enough vinyl to cut two or three new windows, all for $20. Had I cleaned it before taking the photo, you'd see that the replacement is crystal clear.