Highlights
- Fully restored throughout
- Outstanding condition underneath
- Excellent Iris Blue paint
- Retrimmed leather interior
- Ready to drive and show
The Appeal
This ‘Frogeye’ Sprite has evidently been the subject of extensive restoration work to bring it up to a high standard throughout. Even from a distance you can tell that this is a very well finished car, with its bright Iris Blue paintwork gleaming along with the excellent chrome trim.
And when you get closer you can see that the interior has been fully retrimmed in beautiful deep blue leather, which looks almost unused. Even the underside of this Sprite appears to have seen very little tarmac since its restoration, with the pale blue paint still remaining in great shape and the running gear similarly well preserved.
In all, this is a beautifully presented example of an early Austin-Healey Sprite. It is ready to be enjoyed on the open road, although you’ll probably want to spend a while just staring at it first.
The History and Paperwork
- First registered in 1959
- Imported to the UK and registered on 1st October 2020
- Road Tax and MOT exempt
- Recently completed restoration
- Extensive invoices on file
- The car is said to be in its original colour of Iris Blue
The Interior
- Beautifully retrimmed leather seats and door cards
- Deep blue carpets in great condition
- Dashboard, gauges and switches well presented
The interior of this Sprite has been beautifully retrimmed throughout. New dark blue leather covers the seats, and features contrasting piping. The seats look almost unused and show no signs of wear we could see. And the leather continues onto the door cards and the padded dashboard top, all of which are in similarly excellent condition.
The dashboard itself is painted Iris Blue to match the body colour and shows no wear. All the switches appear to be in good, used condition and the Smiths gauges are present and correct.
All the controls fall easily to hand: the chromed handbrake lever protrudes at a jaunty angle, the Bakelite steering wheel is tactile and light and the short gear lever is well positioned.
The Exterior
- Resprayed in Iris Blue, believed to be the car’s original colour
- Wire wheels in good condition
- The underside is very clean and tidy
With its jolly little smile and distinctive ‘frogeye’ headlamps, it’s surely not possible to be annoyed with a Sprite. It’s doubtful that anyone has ever suffered from road rage while driving one. How could you, with the persistent smile lifting the mood?
The car is believed to be finished in its original shade of Iris Blue, and having been recently resprayed it remains in superb condition. There is hardly a scratch or blemish to be found anywhere on the car.
The chrome bumpers and trim are in a similarly fine state, with no pitting evident , and the badges are all present and correct. The car runs on wire wheels with chrome plated hub spinners, and they are shod in a set of four matching tyres.
Underneath, the structure of this Healey looks excellent and it wears its Iris Blue paint with pride. The car has evidently seen little use on the open road since its restoration.
The Mechanics
- 1,098cc A-Series engine
- Four-speed manual gearbox
- Beautifully clean engine bay
Opening the bonnet gives easy access to the 1,098cc A-Series engine, which is presented in exceptionally clean condition. The vendor tells us that the car has been completely restored mechanically.
Twin S.U. carburettors provide plenty of ‘go’ and the engine has evidently been treated to a fresh coat of paint recently. There is no obvious evidence of leaks or overheating and the engine is extremely clean and tidy.
Underneath, the running gear looks very well presented, and it would appear that a new fuel tank has been fitted. There is no evidence of any corrosion that we could see.
Summary
A beautifully restored example of this capable little sports car. It’s extremely tidy throughout and should provide many miles of enjoyable motoring.
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