> You have not seen the original I was planning to cut up.
DOn't cut the bonnet, just replace the whole thing with glassfibre.
> But I was not aware that they are available, at least not in the US. If
> anyone knows where fiberglass Sebring Sprite bonnets are available here, I
> would appreciate knowing. I do mean replica Sebring front ends, BTW, not
> any of a half dozen lumpy looking fiberglass fronts that were available
> when the bugeye was current.
IMHO, the prettiest of the aftermarket Spridget bonnets was that
produced by Speedwell, a tuning firm that made race bits for Sprites
as well as for the then-popular Formula Junior that used the 948cc
A Series motor. Speedwell bonnets are now available again from,
surprise surprise, Speedwell Engineering in Canoga Park.
This isn't the original company, but (as they used to say about
Beatlemania) "an incredible simulation." It's Tom Colby, ex-manager
of the Austin Healey Store, who started his own vintage racing
business. He made molds from an original Speedwell Sprite and
was selling FG bonnets that duplicated the look.
The price used to be exorbitant, as there was a lot of hand labor
invoved in laying the 'glass (and also paying the owner of the
Speedwell that Tom used some ludicrous fee for the use of the car).
It was about $2000 a couple years ago. However, what you get for
this is a Sprite that looks like an open version of an early Lotus
Elite. VERY pretty, with little headlights in the fenders (wings)
and a symmetrical oval grill opening.
It would work, of course, on any Spridget through 1979.
There's also a company in the UK that makes (or made) FG roofs that
duplicated the look of the long-distance Sebring M.G. Midgets. These
are quite attractive, with a sort of 5/8-scale DB6 look to them. If
you were really interested in making a unique small GT coupe, a
Speedwell bonnet and a Sebring roof would be an easy addition to a
later Midget; losing the heavy bumpers would make it handle better
as well, and you'd have a snug car that was reasonably quiet on the
highway.
--Scott
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