Gumby got the proverbial icing on the cake this week, first with his new hard tonneau, and then with a custom soft tonneau too, both of which look great! We hustled to get these done for The British Invasion car show which starts today in Vermont. As soon as this webpost is up, I’ll be on the road in Gumby and on my way North, looking forward to sharing this unique car at a great show, starting on Main Street in Stowe this evening. This will be the maiden voyage for this car, and our longest test for the new fuel injection system (and countless other modifications) we fit to this car.
Above and below you can first see Russ masking the green stripes on the hard tonneau to match the existing stripes on the car. He has already roughed up the painted green tonneau so that the silver will lay down over the green. Wet sanding and buffing will bring it all back up to a mirror finish once the silver is applied. He has to carefully apply the tape since the green underneath has to be aligned perfectly with the existing stripes on the dashboard and rear deck. He has the added challenge of aligning multiple stripes, and also dealing with the edge of the hard tonneau, which you will notice is painted silver as it rolls into the cockpit. It all works, and his paint work is flawless as you can see if you scroll down to the finished product below. The new hard tonneau stripes are perfectly aligned.
Each new detail adds an attractive layer to this car, and I am honored to be surrounded by such talented fabricators who have helped to create this Super Sprite. Each component is a fitting tribute to what we have learned from the 200+ Bugeyes that have passed through the building that this car spawned. So we feel this amazing attention to detail is a fitting acknowledgement of the business Gumby helped us create. This car is “off the map,” as we have created a head fairing and hard tonneau without reference, and only based on my personal vision. This is the one I wanted for myself, and I borrowed and improvised as we could to make the car that fits my taste. I was certain that Gumby had to look and feel like a Bugeye, but that it would be upgraded in every way without losing its soul.
With Russ’ paint work done, it was up to Kenny to take over and make the ultimate soft tonneau for the boss’ ride. We have made long and short tonneaus for Bugeyes, but never a half tonneau, until today. With the hard tonneau in place, the driver’s side is open, and so a fabric cover is required to keep the sun and water out when the car is parked.
This was a fun design project, as we needed to accent Gumby’s new hard tonneau with an attractive accessory that would fit the overall visual theme of the car. We also needed something that would keep the water out if this show car gets caught out in a shower. There’s a lot of handsome leather in that cockpit that needs protection.
First Kenny made a template for the new soft tonneau, to accommodate the steering wheel and the head fairing. It was essential that the quilted head fairing leatherwork be protected in the event of rain.
Next Kenny stitched up something beautiful from green everflex vinyl, which we had chosen to coordinate with the Aston Martin Green and silver on the car.
We had to add an additional lift the dot fitting to the hard tonneau, so we could tension that new soft cover. You can see that mounted on the new piece in the silver stripe, to the right of the head fairing. When we fit the new cover, we discovered that the head fairing portion of the cover would not stay in place if there was any tail wind when parked, so we put in two tenax fittings on each side of the head fairing and that did the trick. Now Gumby has a superb rain cover! Hopefully we won’t need it this weekend in Vermont!
See you at the show!
