The Sprite Forum

Hi, all. I live in Western Australia and bought a hardtop from a bloke in NSW who said he had removed it from a Frogeye. As you can see from the photos (assuming I manage to attach them!), it is not a standard BMC hard top. I believe it is an Australian-made, aftermarket one.

The top sits on the rear deck just outside the tonneau cover fittings. There is, however, a slight upturn just aft of the doors which leaves a gap.

The main problem is that the side curtains do not fit. They are not even close.

Could this be for a Mark 2?

It fits to the windscreen with a metal channel across the front of the fibreglass that hooks into the windscreen recess. There is no tie-down or bolt down connection. At the rear, there is a horizontal connector which obviously needs a J-bolt of similar to attach to it. This aligns with the top of the car's soft top bow socket on each side. I don't actually have a J-bolt that is long enough to fit, but I am sure it would secure it.

Clearly, it does not fit adequately to my Frogeye, so I am hoping to identify the car it is intended to fit so that I can pass it on to a loving home!

Any comments / thoughts would be welcome - other than "You bought a duffer there, didn't you!" Alas, that much is obvious!

And some more photos!

A very interesting top.

It is close to being a fit but seems to be too far forward at the moment. Are you sure the metal lip of the top is supposed to connect with the top rail of the windscreen? It seems to be too far forward and tilting the front of the window opening down.

See what a spacer on the top of the windcreen does to the rest of the fit. It would also help determine what seal and fastening to go for.

Any chance of a close up of the silver/white fitting behind the door ? I can't make it out very well.

Not sure why the lower edge of the top sweeps upwards just before the sidescreen. but that would not make it a better fit for a Mk2 Sprite. It could be there to clear something like the moulding there on a Mk3, perhaps? But the top would be then wrong for the height and curve of the Mk3 windscreen.

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2025-04-22 07:21 AM by ACW270.

Thanks for the rapid response and good observations. I agree that the top does seem to be too far forward. I will have another go at pulling it further back. If that works, I could insert a piece of rubber as the spacer. However, there is probably only half a centimetre to be gained there and there is more than that needed to make the side windows fit.

I take your point about whether that lip is meant to engage with the windscreen groove. if the metal is meant to fit behind the windscreen, I am not sure how that would work.

My only problem now is time, as I will be away this weekend!

Watch this space!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025-04-22 08:04 AM by Fitzdiggers.

I was visualising you ending up with something like this, a rubber sealing strip, 10-15mm thick, and a form of simple clamp.

For the sides I use a shaped section of stud and wing nuts.

Have you considered asking the previous owner of the top if he has any photos of it on a Frogeye car and how it was fitted?

Good luck with it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025-04-22 09:45 AM by ACW270.

Thanks for those photos. That helps understand where you are coming from. I am not sure I could make that clamp arrangement work on the Mk 1 windscreen, but I will certainly give it a good coat of looking at!

I have attached a close-up of the eye-bolt arrangement that provides the clamping point at the rear. As for the previous owner, the bloke I bought it from deals in breaking old cars for parts and I was unable to get any more information from him.

Meanwhile, I have heard from a guy on Facetube who says he had a hardtop like this many years ago on a Mk 2A. He says that he does not remember a metal strip on the front. The fibreglass just hooked into the windscreen recess - and rattled a lot! He also commented that it was a bugger to fit!

Another chap asked if I knew why the rear of the top is sitting high. I think it is just because the rubber seal is raising it and I assume it will just compress down when the top is clamped down.

So from those and your comments, I am going to remove the metal strip and see if that will move it back sufficiently for a better fit for the side screens - whether the fibreglass lip hooks into the windscreen recess or sits on top. I will also see how much the rear seal compresses. If that makes it look do-able, I will see if I can re-fit the metal strip for strength, but in a position that does not force the whole thing back.

Some fun to look forward to the weekend after this one.

UPDATE with new Photos:

Thanks to several people for help and particularly Alan Roy Parke for bringing his Mk III Midget over to try it on (it didn't fit). Thanks also to others who responded to this post (cheers, ACW270) and to my Facetube post - particularly Billy Bob Mack who showed a near identical top on his Mark II Sprite.

The new photos show the top on my Frogeye with the metal strip removed, so it sits further back against the windscreen. Despite the rear rubber being easily compressed, it is still too high at the back. So the conclusion is that it does not fit the Mark 1 Sprite, but will fit a Mk II.

From information provided by others (thanks again), this is probably a J&S hardtop, which is an Australian make from yesteryear. It is not a standard BMC hard top. Condition is very good, with only crazing on the inner gel coat. It needs plexiglass for the rear window.

It fits to the windscreen with the fibreglass hooking into the windscreen recess. There are two metal strips to reinforce this, but as noted above I have removed one angled piece. There is no tie-down or bolt down connection to the windscreen, but it is held securely.

At the rear, there is a horizontal connector which obviously needs a J-bolt or similar to attach to it. This aligns with the top of the car's soft top bow socket on each side. I don't actually have a J-bolt that is long enough to fit, but I am sure it would secure it.

Having clarified that it won't fit my Frogeye, this is for sale to a Mk II Sprite / Mk 1 Midget owner. I have posted it on the Australian Sprite and Midget Parts Facetube page. I am happy to deal with Pack & Send or similar for freight.

I live in Perth, Western Australia.

And a few more photos of it on my Frogeye with the metal angle piece removed from the front.

Thank you for the update and I can offer a possible alternative to selling it, if you would like to use it yourself. It is a nice rare find.

My top was made for a later car, with the raised lip around the cockpit rear, and was warped from spending 30 years behind a garden shed.

I shaped a squashy weather proof foam strip as a rear seal. It goes from 20mm on the left to 5mm in the middle to 15mm on the right. I use the same foam at the sides too.

I wanted to use the top as I liked the shape and it went nicely with the bonnet swap.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025-05-16 05:45 AM by ACW270.