[Spridgets] Story about a hardtop

[Weslake1330]

Looks for very nice so does your car on wire spoked wheels.

On Tue, 24 Mar 2026 at 13:17, Tim Collins via Spridgets <
spridgets at autox.team.net> wrote:

> 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
>
> ------------------------
>
> spridgets at autox.team.net
>
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