Highlights
- Comprehensive five-year rebuild from barn find condition to "Café Racer" style sports car
- 101 bhp Swiftune-engineered 1,310cc engine
- Quaife ATB limited-slip differential and straight-cut close ratio gearbox
- Front Line Developments 4-pot alloy calliper disc brake conversion
- Impressive history file including old MOTs, invoices and a period petrol ration book
The Appeal
The Austin-Healey Sprite Mk1 "Frogeye" is an iconic British sports car that captured hearts with its diminutive size, nimble handling, and the distinctive upright headlights that give it its name.
This particular example has been transformed from a barn find into a high-performance "Café Racer" style sports car while maintaining the classic Frogeye aesthetic. A comprehensive five-year rebuild has resulted in a vehicle that combines vintage charm with significantly enhanced performance capabilities.
This particular example has been transformed from a barn find into a high-performance "Café Racer" style sports car while maintaining the classic Frogeye aesthetic. A comprehensive five-year rebuild has resulted in a vehicle that combines vintage charm with significantly enhanced performance capabilities.
This 1960 Sprite boasts a Swiftune-engineered 1,310cc engine producing 101 bhp, paired with a close-ratio gearbox featuring straight-cut gears. The handling has been transformed with gas shock absorber suspension and a Quaife limited-slip differential, while stopping power comes courtesy of a Front Line Developments disc brake conversion.
Finished in classic Speedwell Blue with retrimmed interior and new chrome work, this Frogeye represents the owner's vision of "a proper '60s sports car" - perfect for spirited drives to events like Goodwood or simply enjoying country roads.
Finished in classic Speedwell Blue with retrimmed interior and new chrome work, this Frogeye represents the owner's vision of "a proper '60s sports car" - perfect for spirited drives to events like Goodwood or simply enjoying country roads.
History and Paperwork
- Right-hand drive
- Purchased as a barn find and rebuilt over five years into what the vendor terms a "Café Racer" style car
- Comes with lots of old MOTs, invoices, and even a petrol ration book
- Odometer replaced/reset during restoration
- Exempt from road tax and MOT
The Condition
- Bodywork is mostly standard on the outside; original panels are only the bonnet, bulkhead, and rear wings with all others replaced during the restoration
- Painted in period Speedwell Blue
- Features Minilite alloy wheels
- All chromework is new
- Tonneau cover included but not fitted (left for purchaser to install)
- No hood or side screens included
- Rear roll hoop can be removed without leaving holes in bodywork
- Standard seats and dashboard retrimmed in blue
- Rev counter and speedometer from a Midget (higher RPM limit and MPH reading)
- All instruments and switchgear are reported to be in working order
The Mechanics
- 1310cc engine capacity
- Close-ratio gearbox with straight-cut gear set
- Rear axle, petrol tank, and suspension components have been black powder-coated
- Gearbox is a 1275 Midget casing with straight-cut close ratio gear set
- Rear axle has a Quaife ATB limited-slip differential and uprated half-shafts
- Front and rear gas shock absorber suspension conversion
- Brakes and suspension perform better than standard car
- The vendor reports that the car is great to drive with a powerful engine and handles very well compared to a standard Frogeye
- The vendor states the underside is in pristine condition, and the photographs support this
Engine rebuilt by Swiftune Engineering:
- Modified from 1275cc Midget engine to 1310cc
- Produces 101 bhp
- The engine has been run in and set up on Swiftune's Engine Dyno
Brake system from Front Line Developments:
- 4-pot alloy callipers
- Disc brake conversion
- Midget brake master cylinder
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