[Spridgets] Story about a hardtop

[Tim Collins]

Back in  September of 2022 Rick Fisk posted a Spridget hardtop as a give
away item. After a day or so I sent Rick a note saying if no one else
wanted the hardtop I would take it rather than have it get trashed. Rick
responded; "Come and get it." Several others were interested until they
learned where Rick lives.

I'm 33 miles away from his home so getting the top was "easy." Easy is in
quotes because I don't have a truck. I drove to Rick's in my (at the time)
2002 Mercury Sable "grandma car." - inherited from my mother-in-law. The
top wouldn't fit in the car easily no matter how we twisted it. I finally
lashed it to the open trunk lid - partly in the trunk - and drove home.

My wife had passed away 5 months prior so I thought this would make a good
project to keep me busy.

Here's what I learned about restoring a fibreglass hardtop;
I don't like working with fibreglass
Free is quite expensive
Parts may be available - somewhere else in the world, but not nearby
Some parts are not available - anywhere
I had fun with the project! Maybe the most important part of this story.

The hardtop was missing one sidelight. I made a pattern and went to a glass
company with an aluminum pattern to be sure I would get a perfect fit. On
the second try they made a window that matched the pattern. The cost was in
the neighborhood of $168, but it is tempered glass as it should be.
McGregor British Car Parts in Canada was able to provide most trim and seal
parts except for the window seals for the sidelights. I never did find an
exact replacement so I ended up buying the closest size I could find and
then trimmed some off to fit. It's not perfect, I couldn't use the lock
strip, trade offs were made. I chose a MG blue paint, Iris Blue - I don't
know why, it just worked for me.

It isn't that heavy, but putting it on by myself wasn't easy and as I get
older it won't get any easier. So, I put a hoist on the ceiling of my
garage which also provides an elevated storage location. That's another
story.

Thanks again to Rick for the hardtop!!!

Here's some before and after pics.
[image: sprite top 2.jpeg]
[image: 20240912_163214.jpg]
[image: 20250528_084837.jpg]
I couldn't find a good pic of the sidelights in the weather seal. These
pics have temporary plastic sidelights.

Tim Collins
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