Tonneau cover and center console fitment

Hey guys: while these questions are directed at the usual suspects (Hotrod, Jerry, Bruce, David, et all), I'll take advice wherever I can get it.
#1. will the standard (OEM) BJ7 / BJ8 tonneau cover fit a Saxon?
#2. will the OEM center console fit without major adjustments?
#3. will an OEM "boot" fit over the "convertible" top?*

*As we all know, aside from roll-up windows (a CR option) our cars are basically "roadsters," in the strictest British tradition, and Not real convertibles. That said, if the canvas top is folded back, will an OEM boot cover it and allow for a snug snap-fit?

I purchased the requisite snaps--simply replacing two of the self-tapping panel screws on either side(behind the front seats).

Oh, and an update on my grille saga. I should receive the OEM grille later this week. I'll know then whether they work or not. If not, I suspect I'll be back to bugging you guys on that too.
Thanks for listening
Joe

Hey Joe!
Hate to be the bearer of bad news but to answer your questions:

#1 if the Saxon body is the same as a Sebring body minus the flares (so roughly 50 inches across from interior door panel to interior door panel) then the tonneau cover is probably a no-go since the Sebrings are wider than the original Healeys.

#2: Maybe with some aggressive modifications, but less likely on a Sebring since the trans tunnel is clearanced for a large V8/Trans combo. You'll also notice the tunnel is probably wider on the passenger side and very square whereas the original Healey's had a rounded stamped sheetmetal tunnel.

#3: Probably not, for the same reason as #1. For all things convertible-top related on these cars we recommend finding a local boat builder who does Bimini tops as they're essentially the same as what we're rocking. I'd had a custom boot cover made for mine and ran into some issues with the top material pinching between the bows when I packed it into the boot cover. Next time I had the top up there were two nice 1/4" gashes in the middle of my top Live and learn I guess. If you get a boot cover made I'd recommend leaving a little extra room in it. It does decrease your rear visibility when it's on since everything bunches up high. I usually either take the top off entirely now or have two matching straps with the requisite snaps made up just to hold it down over the deck area.

Hey there Joe,
Well, here's my $.02 cents
#1 is no.
#2 I seriously doubt it
#3 is no.
For 1 and 3, your best course is to find a local upholstery shop. Earlier this year i loaned my top and cover to a fellow lister to use for a pattern. The shop made him a new top - he had a frame - and cover. Came out well.
When a shop has the car, they can line up the snaps on the top and cover with those on the body. They are not the same on every kit that was built.

I'm late to this thread, but I have to agree with the others.

One thing to keep in mind is that the Sebring/Saxon is physically larger than the original Healey.  The Saxon was actually available as a kit to bolt onto a VW Beetle chassis! Yuck!!!!  I have seen a couple of those kits for sale.  This is why the wheelbase is 95" instead of 92" like the original cars and this was carried over to the front engines cars.

They are also wider by a 2-3" than the original.  All of this is due to the body needing to fit on or over the chassis/suspension of another car.  This was just the way kit cars were done in the 60-80's.  Nowadays, you would most likely see a completely custom chassis/suspension setup that more closely duplicates the original.  Back then, not very many people would have paid for that.  In that time period, original Healeys were still available as used cars and were still affordable, even for hot rodding.  The kit car business of that time period was a cut throat, low margin business model.  Cheap was what people wanted, so there was no other way to do it, except to make the body fit on something else that was even cheaper than a used Healey.  The downside to all this stretching and widening is the that nearly everything on the car had to be changed to keep the proportions close, so virtually nothing from the original Healey will fit.

The only things I'm aware of that will interchange are:

Trim badges
Trunk hinges
Trunk handle, but not the latch without custom fabrication
Bumpers, maaaaybe, I have seen this done in pictures, but don't think they fit as is.
Electrical items like switches, Lucas, use at your own risk

If anyone else has anything to add, please do.

Sorry, but what you have is a car that looks like a Healey, but is a whole 'nuther animal.

You guys are the best. Thank you for the tips, and for your insight. As I've said before, I owned a BJ8 in the 1970's and early '80's, and as I stumble through my senile years, I'm trying to duplicate that car, near as possible. Well, sans the rust-prone body panels, frame, and that ungodly hot cabin, and likely a half dozen other unpleasant traits of the "real deal."
Plainly put, I'd much rather have the car that's presently occupying space in my shop.

For what it's worth, I'm writing a book about Donald M Healey and his band of brothers. The men and women who worked for him or drove his cars. The folks who made up the Donald Healey Motor Company, circa 1945-72 (I only touch on the years following his discharge from the RFC after WWI.
I only mention it because in writing his story I've chosen to get down in the weeds viz. the particulars, the specs, beginning with the Healey Hundred, which as we all know, morphed into the 100/4, and the versions that followed, including the M & S cars.

So, while I know the dimensions and composition of the BN1 thru BJ8 models (length, width, WB, front & rear tracking, etc, etc) I know almost nothing about my own Saxon.
CR claims it's 155" long (vs 157.5 for the BN4 and BN6, through the convertibles: BJ7/. And as you guys point out, while the BJ cars (as well as the 100-6) are 60.5" wide, the Saxon is a full 4" wider).
All of which explains why I'm always coming to you guys with questions.

Oh, and if it sounds like I'm complaining, far from it. I can assure you I am truly having a ball! This combined project is a real joy, and I am so grateful for having met you guys, even if it is through this semi-detached medium.

Again, my many thanks,
Joe

HOTROD, Hey, Mike, just re-reading your last post re. comparisons between our cars and the BN4/6 thru BJ series.
Question: I agree, the width of the Sebring/Saxon is 64.5" vs 60" with the Healeys.
Their length is 157.52" while ours is 155.0.
That said, their W/B is 91.73, ours (as you said) is 94.0.
So, if our cars are 2 1/2" shorter, why is the W/B nearly 3" longer?
I get it, could be something silly, like the bumpers, or a shorter trunk. Just strikes me as odd.
Your thoughts?
Oh, and, of course, anybody else can jump in. I just love feeling stupid!