1958 Austin Healey Sprite with added shove
Discussion
I’m a GM fanboy - I can thank my old man for that. He always had Cavaliers/Vectras/Astras as company cars. Always as boggo as possible, but he had his Frogeye in the garage as his weekend car so never really wanted much from his daily.
He bought it in Beaulieu autojumble in 1981, two years before I came along, and spent the next 7 or 8 years getting it welded up, painted and fettled ready for the road. It had been off the road for a while when he bought it but it had a stack of interesting, period correct mods including:
Wolseley back axle
Cooper front discs brakes
Wire wheels with proper splined hubs, not bolt on
Speedwell door handles and steering wheel
A boot lid (?!)
A back seat (??!!)
Early 3 bearing B series engine and MGA gearbox
He rebuilt the brakes, fitted uprated front springs, had a family friend weld some bits up and got the paintwork done at a local bodyshop. Most of the money was ploughed into making it go faster. He elected to keep the early MGB engine so had a local tuning place, Mosley’s (still going strong), to rebuild it. It’s all proper old school mods, topped off with a side draft Weber but the end result was just over 110hp at the wheels.
He never got to drive it much, and my abiding memory of almost every trip, sitting in the back with my little sister, was of it breaking down and having to phone my mother from the nearest pay phone to come and get us. Happy times
After nearly 20 years of inactivity, and my Dads cancer diagnosis around 10 years ago, I decided to do something with it. He was getting frail by this time so I had a local power steering company make up a EPAS system for it, incorporating a QR steering boss so dad could get in and out easier. Mosley’s fitted a mappable dizzy which made starting it amazingly easy, and it was gone through to try and get Dad back out in it. Unfortunately by the time it was done he was too weak to get himself in, so it was stuffed in my barn awaiting more surgery…
He bought it in Beaulieu autojumble in 1981, two years before I came along, and spent the next 7 or 8 years getting it welded up, painted and fettled ready for the road. It had been off the road for a while when he bought it but it had a stack of interesting, period correct mods including:
Wolseley back axle
Cooper front discs brakes
Wire wheels with proper splined hubs, not bolt on
Speedwell door handles and steering wheel
A boot lid (?!)
A back seat (??!!)
Early 3 bearing B series engine and MGA gearbox
He rebuilt the brakes, fitted uprated front springs, had a family friend weld some bits up and got the paintwork done at a local bodyshop. Most of the money was ploughed into making it go faster. He elected to keep the early MGB engine so had a local tuning place, Mosley’s (still going strong), to rebuild it. It’s all proper old school mods, topped off with a side draft Weber but the end result was just over 110hp at the wheels.
He never got to drive it much, and my abiding memory of almost every trip, sitting in the back with my little sister, was of it breaking down and having to phone my mother from the nearest pay phone to come and get us. Happy times
After nearly 20 years of inactivity, and my Dads cancer diagnosis around 10 years ago, I decided to do something with it. He was getting frail by this time so I had a local power steering company make up a EPAS system for it, incorporating a QR steering boss so dad could get in and out easier. Mosley’s fitted a mappable dizzy which made starting it amazingly easy, and it was gone through to try and get Dad back out in it. Unfortunately by the time it was done he was too weak to get himself in, so it was stuffed in my barn awaiting more surgery…
One of the things Dad has always complained about was the fact the doors wouldn’t open if the car was jacked up, or parked on a camber……..
As it turned out, when the engine and box was fitted way back when, the transmission tunnel (which presumably provides most of the shells strength) was cut out and replaced with a glued in fibreglass thing…. The floor had been strengthened with 1” box section but the only diagonal bracing front to back was the doors!
I made up a new centre bulkhead section and rolled a new section for the right side of the transmission tunnel in steel. I welded it in with an access panel for the gearbox mount.
Because the car has a flat floor with no access underneath for the gearbox, I had to make the left side of the tunnel detachable so the gearbox could be removed without having to cut it out!
I replaced the coach bolted piece of 6x2 that was holding the gearbox in place with a full width folded steel version. This also now acts as a sturdy seat mounting point, rather than relying on 4” bolts with hundreds of washers to pack it all out
Once that was in, the car could be jacked up with the doors open
This takes us up to about 2 years ago, and although Dad got to see what I’d been up to, he never got his last drive in it, and he passed away late last year.
BUT his death gave me a kick up the arse to get the car properly sorted so it could be enjoyed by me, my kids, and hopefully their kids - that’s a while off yet though!
As it turned out, when the engine and box was fitted way back when, the transmission tunnel (which presumably provides most of the shells strength) was cut out and replaced with a glued in fibreglass thing…. The floor had been strengthened with 1” box section but the only diagonal bracing front to back was the doors!
I made up a new centre bulkhead section and rolled a new section for the right side of the transmission tunnel in steel. I welded it in with an access panel for the gearbox mount.
Because the car has a flat floor with no access underneath for the gearbox, I had to make the left side of the tunnel detachable so the gearbox could be removed without having to cut it out!
I replaced the coach bolted piece of 6x2 that was holding the gearbox in place with a full width folded steel version. This also now acts as a sturdy seat mounting point, rather than relying on 4” bolts with hundreds of washers to pack it all out
Once that was in, the car could be jacked up with the doors open
This takes us up to about 2 years ago, and although Dad got to see what I’d been up to, he never got his last drive in it, and he passed away late last year.
BUT his death gave me a kick up the arse to get the car properly sorted so it could be enjoyed by me, my kids, and hopefully their kids - that’s a while off yet though!
So, not long after Dad died, I took the car to a customer of mine to start some work….. it actually started 3 weeks ago. The work however is shaping up nicely!
The initial brief was to tidy up the cosmetics, something that Dad was never particularly bothered about. The car was pretty tidy looking, considering it was painted over 35 years ago, but it was painted a VW color which looked a little off in my eyes, so I decided to have it stripped to make sure it was solid underneath and get it back in a BMC colour. It was originally primrose yellow but it had been black, blue, white and red in the 20 years before Dad had it. I think I’ve elected for Cherry Red, but that’s a few months off yet….
Nick at NJ restorations started by stripping the shell to bare metal to see what he was working with. For a 67 year old car that’s had minimal work done it’s in surprisingly good nick. Both A pillars need work, the scuttle is a little scabby, the lower rear quarters are frilly and the bonnet needs work. The underside is perfect so I’ll just strip and tidy that when the top is done.
The biggest headache was remaking the boot aperture. The boot never sat right so Nicks fabricator Chris cut out the whole section and started afresh. By the time a remote release is fitted to clean up the rear panel, the boot lid will look like it’s always been there
One of my bugbears is when swage lines and seams are welded over, so Chris has been sure to put back any lines that were lost when it was welded/filled/painted back in the 80s.
He’s also reinstated drip rails under the bonnet, fitted new T-shaped sections between the panel joins on the bonnet, TIG’d up an old bonnet vent and fitted Sebring-style bonnet catches in front of the A pillar. Once all the work is done it will be lead loaded and painted
Sorry to hear about your dad but you're doing the right thing in doing the car and keeping it for future family use. I'm sure he'd be proud.
You've been lucky with condition and lack of serious rot!
Dont think ive ever seen a B series in one of these. I like the boot idea too, especially with a concealed release.
I would also vote ot goes back to primrose yellow, it's a lovely soft colour and will be a nice contrast to the mods.
Primrose yellow and palm green are my two favourite BMC colours of the period.
You've been lucky with condition and lack of serious rot!
Dont think ive ever seen a B series in one of these. I like the boot idea too, especially with a concealed release.
I would also vote ot goes back to primrose yellow, it's a lovely soft colour and will be a nice contrast to the mods.
Primrose yellow and palm green are my two favourite BMC colours of the period.
Thankfully my old man has left a legacy of a lifetimes 99% completed projects, so there’ll be more getting worked on in the future!
Originality would have been my preferred option but the fact it’s been hacked about so much, and that he chose to paint it red all those years ago is swaying me to the cherry red. I’ll be going through some swatches in the new year so I may well put a poll up to decide!
The boot is surprisingly useable now that it’s properly accessible. The hinges that were used looked too modern so I’ve got a pair of Healey 3000 en route. The handle was a horrible generic ‘T’ handle which will look lovely in the bin.
The B series looks an odd choice but I guess 50+ years ago they were cheap and plentiful. The story he was sold by the seller was that it was built by someone that worked in the works racing department, and all the tuning and bodywork mods could lend themselves to that story. Either way it’s a fun little car with modern levels of grunt but with crossplies and lever arm dampers it slides all over the place from 20mph up
Originality would have been my preferred option but the fact it’s been hacked about so much, and that he chose to paint it red all those years ago is swaying me to the cherry red. I’ll be going through some swatches in the new year so I may well put a poll up to decide!
The boot is surprisingly useable now that it’s properly accessible. The hinges that were used looked too modern so I’ve got a pair of Healey 3000 en route. The handle was a horrible generic ‘T’ handle which will look lovely in the bin.
The B series looks an odd choice but I guess 50+ years ago they were cheap and plentiful. The story he was sold by the seller was that it was built by someone that worked in the works racing department, and all the tuning and bodywork mods could lend themselves to that story. Either way it’s a fun little car with modern levels of grunt but with crossplies and lever arm dampers it slides all over the place from 20mph up
That looks like it will be a lot of fun. It always surprises how much power can be had from the A and B series engines, which were fairly limited in standard form.
One of my customers spent tens of thousands having a Frogeye restored for his retirement. He remembered them from when he was a BMC dealer apprentice in the 1960's. What he didn't remember was how long they take to get to 30mph...and also to stop from 30mph, so he only drove it once after he completed the restoration before selling it as he felt like a sitting duck in it. It was a lovely light blue colour and I think the light colours do suit them, the yellow too as has been suggested, but understandable if you do go for a red.
On the mechanical front, I am surprised it doesn't suffer axle tramp on the original damper/lack of trail arm set up. I had a Morris Minor 1098cc with a 1275cc cylinder head, and this modest increase in power was enough to tramp the axle out of corners on the old lever arms.
As for tyres, will you keep to cross ply? I always think it's a shame when modern tyres are put onto classics...but on the other hand, radial tyres were available in the 1960's when all the upgrades would have been done, and some of the old school radial tyres are now available again (Pirelli, Michelin) from Longstone or Vintage tyres. They are pricey, but I have them on a 1970's classic and wouldn't go back to modern radials.
One of my customers spent tens of thousands having a Frogeye restored for his retirement. He remembered them from when he was a BMC dealer apprentice in the 1960's. What he didn't remember was how long they take to get to 30mph...and also to stop from 30mph, so he only drove it once after he completed the restoration before selling it as he felt like a sitting duck in it. It was a lovely light blue colour and I think the light colours do suit them, the yellow too as has been suggested, but understandable if you do go for a red.
On the mechanical front, I am surprised it doesn't suffer axle tramp on the original damper/lack of trail arm set up. I had a Morris Minor 1098cc with a 1275cc cylinder head, and this modest increase in power was enough to tramp the axle out of corners on the old lever arms.
As for tyres, will you keep to cross ply? I always think it's a shame when modern tyres are put onto classics...but on the other hand, radial tyres were available in the 1960's when all the upgrades would have been done, and some of the old school radial tyres are now available again (Pirelli, Michelin) from Longstone or Vintage tyres. They are pricey, but I have them on a 1970's classic and wouldn't go back to modern radials.
I love the fact that you're restoring the car as your late father would have wanted, and that it will be a family heirloom, so please keep up the good work, and keep the updates coming.
My former brother-in-law had a Sprogeye Fright, which he and my late father-in-law restored and then fitted a Webered-up 1275 lump and took hillclimbing. They really are great fun, so small and light that they seem to change direction using telepathy. Top Gear once did a run-off between a hillclimb Sprite and a chavved-up Peugeot at either Shelsley Walsh or Prescott. The Sprite won.
One thing - did these actually have a boot lid? I thought that the rear end was one-piece, with access to the boot space behind the seats?
One more thing - this car is the same age as me, and probably in better condition. Keep up the good work!
My former brother-in-law had a Sprogeye Fright, which he and my late father-in-law restored and then fitted a Webered-up 1275 lump and took hillclimbing. They really are great fun, so small and light that they seem to change direction using telepathy. Top Gear once did a run-off between a hillclimb Sprite and a chavved-up Peugeot at either Shelsley Walsh or Prescott. The Sprite won.
One thing - did these actually have a boot lid? I thought that the rear end was one-piece, with access to the boot space behind the seats?
One more thing - this car is the same age as me, and probably in better condition. Keep up the good work!
Sounds like a fun car! I had a Midget 1275 and on narrow radials it was fun sliding around but safe (145s from memory) so they may be a worthwhile upgrade.
As everyone has mentioned colour....hopefully you will decide and not need a poll. I'd be conflicted as I don't like red cars... but if it was my Dad's and had the memories it would stay red.... and annoy me in a way that reminded me of more memories!
Keep going with the updates.
As everyone has mentioned colour....hopefully you will decide and not need a poll. I'd be conflicted as I don't like red cars... but if it was my Dad's and had the memories it would stay red.... and annoy me in a way that reminded me of more memories!
Keep going with the updates.
Need to see the rear seats and boot lid.
Back in 1970 I wanted a "Frogeye" as my first car, jump forward two years I ave up looking and bought an MG Midget, had 3 Midgets all together, great fun cars. (yes 145x13 tyres, Cints were popular, later I fitted alloys and IIRC Colway G800 replica remoulds which were the rally favourites).
Puzzled by the external door handles, you must have added loads of internal linkages and stuff as the original Mark 1 had no external handles.
Oh, and it needs to be Speedwell or Iris Blue
Back in 1970 I wanted a "Frogeye" as my first car, jump forward two years I ave up looking and bought an MG Midget, had 3 Midgets all together, great fun cars. (yes 145x13 tyres, Cints were popular, later I fitted alloys and IIRC Colway G800 replica remoulds which were the rally favourites).
Puzzled by the external door handles, you must have added loads of internal linkages and stuff as the original Mark 1 had no external handles.
Oh, and it needs to be Speedwell or Iris Blue
Thanks for all the positive comments!
As far as wheels and tyres go I’m probably gonna blast and repaint the wires and stick a set of crossplies back on. I don’t think it’ll sit quite right on radials.
The door handles are Speedwell items. There’s a little linkage that hooks up to the original internal handle. They’re not in the best state but I’m hoping S&T plating in Bristol can work their magic on them seeing as they’re pretty much the only bit of bright work on the car!
I’ll be at the garage next week checking on progress so will take some pics of the back seat and boot lid for those who are interested
As far as wheels and tyres go I’m probably gonna blast and repaint the wires and stick a set of crossplies back on. I don’t think it’ll sit quite right on radials.
The door handles are Speedwell items. There’s a little linkage that hooks up to the original internal handle. They’re not in the best state but I’m hoping S&T plating in Bristol can work their magic on them seeing as they’re pretty much the only bit of bright work on the car!
I’ll be at the garage next week checking on progress so will take some pics of the back seat and boot lid for those who are interested
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