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After market 3000 fiberglass hardtop

RonR

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When I bought my 1959 Healey 3000 in 1971, included was an after-market fiberglass hard top, which, for whatever reason, I still have. I used it during the winter seson while I was in college. It probably has not been on the car since 1973.

The hardtop sits on the rear shroud, like I think it would for a BN7, even thought my car is a BT7.

The hardtop is heading for the landfill soon unless someone on here wants it.
I am located in Kansas City, Missouri

Ron
 

stretchit2

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Ron,

Are there any numbers stamped on the aluminum trim. Typically, you can find a stamp on the passenger side of the top. Here in the US that is on the right side of the vehicle. Anyway, if there is a stamp, the number should either start with a 4 or a 6. The number 4 designates a four seater and the number 6 stands for a two seater. If it starts with a 6 you might think twice about the landfill. The two seater hardtops are as rare as hen's teeth and are worth money.

Jeff
 
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Duane_Rhynard

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When I bought my 1959 Healey 3000 in 1971, included was an after-market fiberglass hard top, which, for whatever reason, I still have. I used it during the winter seson while I was in college. It probably has not been on the car since 1973.

The hardtop sits on the rear shroud, like I think it would for a BN7, even thought my car is a BT7.

The hardtop is heading for the landfill soon unless someone on here wants it.
I am located in Kansas City, Missouri

Ron

Ron,

Picture please!

If it's a factory hardtop, Jeff is correct, and for a two-seater, its worth at least $4-$5K depending on condition. Even the 4-seater tops sell for between $1500 and $2K. If its truly an aftermarket top, they are not as desirable, but still sell in the $300 - $400 range.

Thanks,
Duane
BN6 with Factory Hardtop
 
OP
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RonR

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This hardtop has been stored in the attic of my house for decades, right next to my collection of hen's teeth.
There is no aluminum trim anywhere on the hardtop.
There is an 8 inch by 8 inch raised area centered above the rear window.

At some point, the top was covered with vinyl. I peeled part of it off to show the fiberglass beneath.

In the process of researching hardtops, it is clear that my hardtop is not an aftermarket Parish hardtop or an aftermarket Universal Lamentations hardtop. As an unrelated side note, factory hardtops for BJ7s and BJ8s did not have the two aluminum-colored vertical support bars inward of the rear glass. All the BJ7s and BJ8s that I have seen with hardtops, have the vertical bars. I assume the owners of these cars added them under the false impression that they were part of the original design.

Coincidentally, yesterday a friend called who appears to have a different non-factory hardtop. He sold his Healey, which is in parts, to someone back east who was asking about his hardtop.

I am hopeful that, unlike this hardtop, my hen’s teeth collection is more authentic.
 

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John Turney

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My car came with one somewhat like that one (without the vinyl) and it went by-by when I got a factory one.
 
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Duane_Rhynard

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This hardtop has been stored in the attic of my house for decades, right next to my collection of hen's teeth.
There is no aluminum trim anywhere on the hardtop.
There is an 8 inch by 8 inch raised area centered above the rear window.

At some point, the top was covered with vinyl. I peeled part of it off to show the fiberglass beneath.

In the process of researching hardtops, it is clear that my hardtop is not an aftermarket Parish hardtop or an aftermarket Universal Lamentations hardtop. As an unrelated side note, factory hardtops for BJ7s and BJ8s did not have the two aluminum-colored vertical support bars inward of the rear glass. All the BJ7s and BJ8s that I have seen with hardtops, have the vertical bars. I assume the owners of these cars added them under the false impression that they were part of the original design.

Coincidentally, yesterday a friend called who appears to have a different non-factory hardtop. He sold his Healey, which is in parts, to someone back east who was asking about his hardtop.

I am hopeful that, unlike this hardtop, my hen’s teeth collection is more authentic.


Below is the link to an interesting article written by the late Ron Phillips all about the factory hardtops for the roasters and the convertibles:

https://www.mossmotoring.com/factory-...s-big-healeys/
 

Healey Nut

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Heres a few pics of my factory original hardtop .
It has the rear bars and the code numbers which were located on the underside of the passenger side allumimium trim about 4" back from the front corner .
She needs a little TLC but it will be going on my 62Tri-Carb side shift Rally recreation once I get round to it .
According to my BMHIT cert the car was sold with the hardtop .
So sorry it's absolutely NOT for sale !!!!
 

Michael Oritt

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I guess someone must have liked the aftermarket tops that were made back in the day by Smoothline/Parish, but none of them look right to me. Conversely, the lines of the 6-cylinder roadster factory tops definitely complimented those of the cars and the later-day tops for the convertibles I have seen are well done and look proper.

Designing a top for a 100 must have been an especially difficult challenge since the car's wheelbase is several inches less than that of the sixes and the top had to be shortened accordingly. Nevertheless the designer of my NICAL top--there is some disagreement between several of the suppliers as to who actually came up with the top's lines and who copied whom--did a good job adapting the factory tops' design and the proportions appear proper, at least to my eye.

BTW the fiberglass shell on the 100 tops is much lighter than that for the 6-cylinder cars and until I installed the two bars in the back window the top flexed too much to allow me to install the back window and seals.
 

stretchit2

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Michael,

Your 100 looks great with it's hardtop. I have two factory hardtops, one for a two seater and another for a four seater....oh yeah, and a couple of Healeys to go under them.

I haven't seen the Nical tops in person, but from what I see on their web page, they look like the real deal, right down to the aluminum trim, very impressive.


https://www.nicalengineering.co.uk/austin_parts.html20151220_150438.jpgIMG_0722.jpg

Cheers,

Jeff
 

Michael Oritt

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Jeff--

As I mentioned the four cylinder NICAL top is very flexible and light--probably weighs no more than 30 lbs. Rather than aluminum trim the fiberglass is molded to the shape of molding which, I suppose, could be painted in silver to replicate the metal pieces, though I did not do that. The headliner is glued directly to the inside of the top without any furring strips, etc. OTOH the top for convertibles is heavily built and trimmed in the conventional manner.

Though I am a big fan of hardtops I think they are generally much bigger projects than first meets the eye. Healeys are to a certain extent handmade cars and there is enough variation between panels, hardware placement etc. to make it a challenge to get a top to fit well. I spent a fair amount of time getting the top on my 100 to "float" close to the surface of the rear deck, and even still the gap is anything but even. Waterproofing around the windshield stantions and side curtain fit is about on a par with that of a soft top.

I also had the experience of fitting a factory two-seater top for my ex-wife's BN7. I had to do the usual restoration of windlacing and rubber seals but the shape of the back rail was not a very good match for that of the rear deck and it would have taken a complete rebuild of the top to have reduced the air gap to less than 1/2" in several spots.
 

BruceAllcorn

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Back in February I took delivery on a Pete Farmer hardtop for my '62 Tri-Carb. It basically comes as a "kit" and, taking my time (about 3-1/2 months) to fit everything and get it painted and the headliner installed, the attached picture shows the final product. Note that I did have the "trim" painted in an aluminum/chrome color andIMG_0502.jpg I'm very happy with the way it turned out.IMG_0494.jpg
 

Healey Nut

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Nice top , im curious about the vent is it operable ? I found one of the original style rally vents on Flea Bay in great shape that im going to install on mine .
The one on yours looks very sleek .
 

BruceAllcorn

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I think that the vent you have can be closed off, and Pete offers both. The one I chose is riveted on rather than bolted, which makes it a smoother installation, and is not operable. The opening is far enough under the "hood" so that water likely won't get in, but since mine never gets driven in rainy weather its a moot point.
 
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I guess I wasn't aware that Smoothline (that took over the Parrish Plastics line) is still producing fibreglas tops for a number of popular modern and classic cars.

I too feel that only the Healey factory tops look "right" on the car, and I once let go of a Parrish 2-seater hdtp I had. The back was more of a swept design (not like the Acme fastback) but not as abrupt-looking as this one seen below. The issue I had was with how it looked above the windshield; looked like something you'd have found on a Model T Ford__it was hideous looking at best.

There's certainly no mistaking this as anything but a 2-seater!

6b7cde_529843b18eb24b72a77a4dbf297320ef~mv2.webp


Their website, for anyone interested (the 4-seater roadster tops don't look bad, but their BJ7/8 tops seem disproportionately heavy in the rear; strictly my opinion). https://www.smoothline.com/austin-healy-convertible
 
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