Tonneau Cover Questions

[D110]

I have just acquired a 1966 Austin Healey MkIII Sprite and need to go pick it up in CA and trailer it back to WA. The one thing the car does not have is a top or cover so I was thinking of picking up a tonneau cover to install when I go to get the car. What are the thoughts on the different materials/ grades of vinyls and is there a preferred vendor to purchase one from? Is it difficult to install and are there other pieces I need to purchase for the installation (I believe there is a tonneau bar required but anything else?)

Thanks for the input in advance.

 

[nomad]

Unless you can come up with a good used one on flea-bay, you will have to fit all the snaps and fastener's to a new one.

Watch the weather forcast and go for it.

Kurt.

 

[AN6-TX]

I purchased one from overseas for my '62 Sprite - believe it or not, it was cheaper than the domestic suppliers. As stated above, I had to have all the fasteners installed and I had a local auto upholstery shop do the install. The key messages here are: 1) each tonneau or top may be cut a little different so it truly is a custom install and 2) although the snaps are "fixed" on the body (etc), there is still some variance to take into account make it tricky.

The moral of the story - purchase some tarps and bungee cords and use that for your travels (or find a cheap hardtop) . Good Luck!

 

[Trevor Jessie]

If the paint work is good, then don't tarp it. I'd just try to transport it on dry days. A light rain won't hurt anything and probably won't get into the car very much while at speed. Option 2 is to rent an enclosed 6x12 trailer.

 

[nomad]

I drove a car home without a top from about 500 miles away. Rain chances were pretty good and, sure enough, big ole thunder head blew up. Got to a good sized town and parked the car in a car wash while my friend and I got a hotel room for the night! Terrific thunderstorms all night long!

I have always kept my eye's open for the local car wash since no one wash'es their car when its going to rain!

Kurt.

 

[JPSmit]

Another thought - it is typically not too difficult to remove the seats - after that the carpet will likely want replacing (or washing) anyways and the sets fold up...

 

[Jim_Gruber]

Yes and two only 2 of the four bolts are nuts and bolts. 2 are welded in captive nuts. Don't go crazy trying to get those off. Hard to see under the typical gunk on the bottom. The rear IIRC are captive nuts?

 

[bug_sixty]

WA rain isn't a question of IF now its all about how much.... how's about blue tarp it over the cockpit area?

 

[bug_sixty]

Actually the OR Sis's are really bad for rain now too.. just take the blue one and run a rope through the eyelets under the belly and cincher down... I've found running a tonneau in place on an open trailer buffets badly and really was never designed to withstand that use if you think about it...

 

[Jim_Gruber]

With the seats out you've got drain holes in the cockpit. Possibly cover dash with plastic and you are good to go.

 

[bthompson]

I wouldn't worry about it too much, honestly. Spridgets are marginally watertight at the best of times. A single trip, even with rain the whole way, probably won't do any irrevocable damage.

I had stored my Midget at my brother-in-law's, top down, under a tarp, when I pulled the engine to fix the transmission a few years ago. We had torrential hurricane downpours for days, which kept me away. When I came back several days later, I found that the tarp had blown off early on the first day, and the brother-in-law never bothered to rectify the situation or even inform me about it. The car was soaked right through, really flooded. I pulled out the seats, the side panels, door panels, and the carpeting. The water drained out, I dried everything in the sun, and I was no worse for the experience. (I disassembled the seats to make sure they were thoroughly dry.)

At the worst, if it was me, I'd wrap the seats in plastic and leave it at that. You'll want to take the seats, panels, and carpeting out anyway when you get home; wet or dry.

 

[bug_sixty]

Yea, years ago I did a dumb thing and put the blue tarp over the BE one winter...came out in the spring to find green mold growing everywhere and....the paint was toast because the moisture couldn't escape. Same deal as the many vents in the roof of a house. FYI, NEVER keep a tarp on anything out in the elements for any length of time especially in a high humidity climate....

 

[D110]

Thanks everyone for the input! So I gave up on the idea of purchasing the tonneau and installing it since I only had one day to load the car - instead I made my own version out of a piece of picnic table cloth material (vinyl on the outside and flannel on the inside) then put blue painters tape around the edges of the cockpit and attached the material to that with duct tape. Had to stop once or twice to fasten a corner back down but other than that it held and saved cleanup from a few pretty heavy down pours along the way! It all pulled off easy with no paint damage or cleanup needed.

 

[drooartz]

Well done!

 

[nomad]

Glad that worked for you. Looks like you have a really nice Sprite there!

Kurt.

 

[smaceng]

Nice looking sprite!!!

 

[D110]

So now that I have the car home I'm back to thinking about what kind of tonneau I want to install - seems like there are several different materials from different manufacturers and I was wondering if anyone has thoughts on Everflex from Robbins vs. Prestige Tops "Classic British Vinyl" or are they the same thing? Also I was wondering if these holes on the doors are usually there and if they are for a tonneau
?

 

[SaxMan]

I went out to look at my '69 Sprite, which came both with a retractable top and a tonneau cover - it does not have holes like that.

Your Sprite looks great! What kind of shape is it in mechanically?

 

[nomad]

My 66 midget has a hole at the front for attaching the tonneau. Old marks make me think it had a snap though I don't know if it was stock or not. My 65 does not have the hole or snap nor does my 64 MK3 Sprite.

Kurt.

 

[D110]

Your Sprite looks great! What kind of shape is it in mechanically?

It's got a new 1275 installed and the engine bay is very tidy - little tough to start right now, but once it is warm it runs well... going to need to learn how to fine tune the carbs. Plenty of little stuff to be done as the previous owner had done a lot of things right but then kinda slapped it together when he went to sell. The two things I need to do right away is paint the footwells (paint is flaking with some surface rust) and figure out what is going on with the front end as it pulls to the right.