From the parts bin – a mystery tonneau cover

When we published the last “From the parts bin” mystery, reader Carl Pennauchi reached out for some help in identifying a tonneau cover he’d found on a $1 table at Hershey a decade or so back. The vendor was asked what car the cover fit, but his reply was simply, “If I knew that, it wouldn’t be on the $1 table.”

Here’s what we do know. The cover is made from heavy-duty vinyl, stamped underneath with FMVSS 302, the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard relating to flammability of materials used in automotive interiors. Carl believes the cover is from a British car, but if so, it was clearly designed for one sold in the United States. It isn’t from a big Healey, as Carl has owned several examples over the years.

As his pictures illustrate, the cover has three elastic-suspended hooks (15 ½ inches apart) and two snaps in the front, as well as a series of snaps to attach the cover to the decklid in the rear. The rear snaps are symmetrical, and starting from the snap in the center, the first one is 9 inches away, the next is 7 ¾ inches from this, the next is 4 ¾ inches from this, the next is 5 ¾ inches from this, and the final snap is 7 inches from this (all dimensions are center to center). The distance from the front to the white piping is 9 inches, and the piping itself measures 54 inches.

The other marking on the tonneau’s underside is BW(E), which could be an indication of the cover’s manufacturer. Can you help identify the convertible this fits?