Hardtopped Mk IV Sprite: RTE 662G
This car belongs to Mr Andrews, whose son Phil got in touch with us from the States. In Phil's own words:
"I called my father up (I now live in the USA) and let him know [about the website]. So I'm
emailing you on his behalf to add another GT hardtop to your list.
My father stated thus:
"I saw one of those hardtops in a storefront in West Kirby in the early 70's, and thought it'd be a good addition to the car. At that point it only had the factory soft-top ... so I contacted the Williams and Pritchard works in London, and had the hardtop made up in
Snowberry White to match the car's paintwork. I drove over to London,
collected and fitted it there and drove back. I still have the receipt
for it somewhere. It made a great difference to usability of the car,
especially in the wintertime where the heater actually then had a chance
to catch up and warm the cabin. People would also stop me and ask what
the car was. Most of them would think it was a Lotus."
It's been on the car ever since, with the exception of a few summers
where the weather was clement enough to remove it and put the soft-top
on. It does have just about what's left of the SEBRING badge on the back
(well, now it's just a crusty sticky outline but I do remember it as a
child) and the gelcoat is beginning to yellow with age but it's in
remarkably good condition with no cracks or bubbles.
The rubber is beginning to go dusty around the back window and the
silver inset has gone all black but the original material for the
headlining is still there, with new foam backing that we put in around
1995 when the old had disintegrated and the headlining was sagging down.
I have a feeling that's done the same by now though. The side windows
are original too and in good shape, as well as the rubbers as they are
shaded by the lip.
Only non-factory option is a Smiths electric rear heater which has made
the perspex go a bit crazed. Sadly we only ever had a carport to stow
the vehicle under, so it has seen a bit of sunshine, but has been spared
the worst of the weather.
The car has been off the road since 1982 when my parents bought
themselves a '78 Ford Fiesta, as by that time I was age 2 and a Sprite
isn't the most practical vehicle for a family, even with a suction-cup
boot-rack and bungy cords to haul the associated pushchairs, baggage
etc. on the back!
... As an odd side-note it also has another
fibreglass addition, a centre console made by Heron Plastics that has
fold-up armrest/storage, ashtray, radio speaker and some indicator
lights and switchgear for foglights and some other ancillaries. That was
fitted to his previous '65 Midget (sadly written off after a nasty wreck
where he stopped for a line of traffic but the car behind didn't and
sandwiched the car into a concertina. This is why this Sprite has
headrests from a Ford Cortina slipped over the seats, as my mother got
bad whiplash from that - and a roll-over bar hiding under the hardtop
after she got scared seeing what happened to occupants of a TR5 after it
had flipped over on the then newly-opened motorway) ...
The Sprite has become my father's
retirement project, after having been his 26 year non-retirement project
that had just kinda sat there and got started up every few months. My
mother then decided the house needed redecorating as soon as my father
retired... You know how that goes!"
We look forward to hearing more from Phil and his father as the restoration progresses.
amongst the pictures taken by Phil in January 2009, of particular interest is the nice original black nylon headlining, and the ghostly SEBRING inprint on the boot lid
