Help identifying a hardtop

[Desert Rat]

Need some help identifying this hardtop.
The backstory is that many years ago while driving home from work a stranger stopped my dad and asked him if he wanted to buy a BE hardtop. He followed the guy to his house and bought the hardtop off the BE in the guy's garage. The seals were well rotted out but did have the original rear glass still installed. Money was exchanged, they put it on dad's car and he drove home. Dad couldn't find seals for it so it's been siting in the garage all these years. Fast forward to Sunday and I replaced all of the seals and the rear window gasket, put it on Agnes and from pictures I've seen it fits correctly accept with the side curtains installed. The curtains hit the top and the doors won't close. The windscreen clamps line up and the B-pillar brackets are where they should be and the side curtains are the original that came with the car when my dad bought it in the 60s, so I'm confident they are correct.

Any way to identify what this would fit? It looks like every hardtop I see on Bugeyes on the interwebs. Or any guesses what this is or what my problem could be?

 

[Gerard]

That is a BMC factory hardtop, no question. There was also a DMH (Donald Healey) hardtop that at first glance looks identical, but takes taller side screens (by about 1 inch). Original side screens, if they are the aluminum frame/sliding perspex are Weathershield (brand) and should be labeled as such, so you might check for that. You may actually have the DMH side screens. That would be rare, and I would think only supplied with the corresponding DMH hardtop. I've never actually seen a pair in person, and don't know if those are also labeled "Weathershield" of something else, but they do look different. The tops were serialized, and you will find a number plate on the left hand B-post.

If you post pix of your side screens, I can tell you if they are the BMC or Healey ones.

Need some help identifying this hardtop.
The backstory is that many years ago while driving home from work a stranger stopped my dad and asked him if he wanted to buy a BE hardtop. He followed the guy to his house and bought the hardtop off the BE in the guy's garage. The seals were well rotted out but did have the original rear glass still installed. Money was exchanged, they put it on dad's car and he drove home. Dad couldn't find seals for it so it's been siting in the garage all these years. Fast forward to Sunday and I replaced all of the seals and the rear window gasket, put it on Agnes and from pictures I've seen it fits correctly accept with the side curtains installed. The curtains hit the top and the doors won't close. The windscreen clamps line up and the B-pillar brackets are where they should be and the side curtains are the original that came with the car when my dad bought it in the 60s, so I'm confident they are correct.

Any way to identify what this would fit? It looks like every hardtop I see on Bugeyes on the interwebs. Or any guesses what this is or what my problem could be?





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[Desert Rat]

Thanks Gerard! From memory the side curtains say Weathershields, but I'll confirm after work. I don't recall seeing a serial plate so I'll look for that also. How was the plate attached, glue or screwed in? The inside is coated with a grey textured substance, whatever it is it's been there a long time. It practically flakes off if you run your hand on it.

That is a BMC factory hardtop, no question. There was also a DMC hardtop that at first glance looks identical, but takes taller side screens. Original side screens are Weathersheilds (brand) and should be labeled as such, so you might check for that. You may actually have the DMC side screens. I've never actually seen a pair in person, and don't know if those are also labeled "Weathershield" of something else. The tops were serialized, and you will find a number plate on the left hand B-post.

 

[Gerard]

The plate is attached with 3 screws, and is actually the reinforcing plate for the hold down bracket that fits on the backside of the fiberglass, so that plate exists on both sides. The number is easily hidden by old paint and possibly glue from the door seal, and not visible with the seal in place anyway. It's not obvious and you'd have to look closely to see it.

I don't think the gray is original, as I think these were bare, rough fiberglass. Spraying them with a spatter paint or plain coating was, I suspect, not uncommon. I've owned at least a half dozen of them and currently still have 3. One, which I sold several years ago, was a completely original, unmolested one, but I don't remember the gray coating. All my others are either custom finished or have been repainted in their lifetime.

Thanks Gerard! From memory the side curtains say Weathershields, but I'll confirm after work. I don't recall seeing a serial plate so I'll look for that also. How was the plate attached, glue or screwed in? The inside is coated with a grey textured substance, whatever it is it's been there a long time. It practically flakes off if you run your hand on it.

 

[Trevor Jessie]

I have two and they are both bare fiberglass on the inside.

 

[Desert Rat]

Great thanks guys. No telling when the PO put that grey paint in there but it's old! I found the serial plate right where Gerard said it was. I'm thinking it's a side curtain problem and will try adjusting the brackets that hold the curtains to the doors. Here's the serial and my side curtains attached.

 

[Gerard]

Those look a little different from the Weathershield frames you normally see. The typical ones you see have a pronounced stepped edge around the outside of the frame, while yours are smooth. Also, the top front corner is angular, while yours is rounded, though not as much as the DMH ones. Yours resemble the early type frame that would have had the fixed Vybak (vinyl) panel. The frame would have been vinyl wrapped too. Maybe they were modified to accept the slides perspex?

My frames (aluminum frame only- top to bottom) is 10.25".

It could be an illusion, but if you compare your photo to mine, and look at the height to width ratio, yours look to be proportionally taller.

Great thanks guys. No telling when the PO put that grey paint in there but it's old! I found the serial plate right where Gerard said it was. I'm thinking it's a side curtain problem and will try adjusting the brackets that hold the curtains to the doors. Here's the serial and my side curtains attached.

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[Desert Rat]

Interesting, I called my dad and he said the car originally came with what he calls the fixed, soft side curtains, what you describe. Those got beat up so he purchased these from the Austin-Healey place in town. The soft curtains are in a bin in the garage somewhere, I'm still looking for them.

These have the divider in the frame for two windows and the anti-rattle felt, I'll measure mine tomorrow and see how tall they are, I'm really curious as to what these are.
I recently replaced the seals on these curtains and the new seals are pointed in the corner like yours. Also the old seals were considerably wider all the way around and at the bottom rear (by the B pillar) the two ends of the seal were stapled together. This was definitely factory since both curtains were the same way with the same quantity staples. When we swapped out the curtain seals I asked him how long those had been on there. He said: "When I bought the car."

Those look a little different from the Weathershield frames you normally see. The typical ones you see have a pronounced stepped edge around the outside of the frame, while yours are smooth. Also, the top front corner is angular, while yours is rounded, though not as much as the DMH ones. Yours resemble the early type frame that would have had the fixed Vybak (vinyl) panel. The frame would have been vinyl wrapped too. Maybe they were modified to accept the slides perspex?

My frames (aluminum frame only- top to bottom) is 10.25".

It could be an illusion, but if you compare your photo to mine, and look at the height to width ratio, yours look to be proportionally taller.

View attachment 45349

 

[nomad]

I've ended up with quite a few sets of side curtains. I have Weather Shields with a fixed front panel and I have them with a sliding front panel. I also have some that look like yours with both panels sliding. The ones that I have that look like yours were once sold by JC Whitney. Don't remember where I found that out now though but it seems that in the days of side curtain cars there were quite a few manufacturers.

Kurt.

 

[Desert Rat]

I've ended up with quite a few sets of side curtains. I have Weather Shields with a fixed front panel and I have them with a sliding front panel. I also have some that look like yours with both panels sliding. The ones that I have that look like yours were once sold by JC Whitney. Don't remember where I found that out now though but it seems that in the days of side curtain cars there were quite a few manufacturers.

Kurt.

I'm going to see if I can jog dad's memory a little more about these. He never gave them a second thought since they worked with the soft top and he bought them from the place the car was sold from. Who knows what they were doing back then.

Now to track down a set of side curtains I can use with my hard top. Moss has them but I'd rather find a good used set.

 

[Desert Rat]

Thanks to everyone. Instead of paying $550.00 bucks for a new set I scored a good looking set of correct frames on eBay then ordered the felts, rubber seals, brackets and Persplex from AH Spares. All the parts are trickling in so this weekend I'll be assembling the correct side screens for my hardtop and for way less than buying a new set.

Next item is to round up a set of the earlier vinyl covered side screens. So far I have not been able to locate my original set.