New Project - What Do You Think?

[enforcer]

Well after my son passed his test and we realised the futility of trying to find insurance for him on a car without spending at least £2000 he decided that he would wait a couple of years to get himself on the road, and is off to Uni in the Autumn anyway. Anyone who knows Alex will be aware that he spends every last penny he earns on AvGas in pursuit of his rather expensive flying habit (would be cheaper if it was a heroin habit), so he decided for once he'd like to have something to show for his money and asked me whether I would help him do up an old banger, "Wheeler Dealers" style. He fancied an old MG Midget so we spent a few days looking around before I tried to persuade him towards a mini. Until I saw that even old shed minis are going for silly money. Then we found this little beauty:

 

 

It's a 1966 Austin Healey Sprite Mk III which has been upgraded with the 1275 engine. The high spec for this model includes 'wind-up' windows! This car is going to be so much fun to restore. It's absolutely solid and with the exception of the bonnet which needs work, the remaining panels and the underside are all fully sound. The engine starts first time and runs well and we haven't found any horror stories yet!

 

 

It's never going to be concourse, but I think it will scrub up well and I'm particularly looking forward to the interior. It'll need a re-wire to be on the safe side, and work on the brakes (tandem brake and clutch master cylinder is knackered), but all in all we're really pleased with it. It's a lot of classic car for just over a grand, and will be tax exempt of course. Insurance for me (when we get it on the road) will be about £75 with FP! And of course it will have to (legitimately) have pressed steel silver & black plates!

 

 

Car's being delivered on Saturday and I've spent the last few days 'space-saving' in the garage ... thank goodness I had the sense to buy a house with a double garage otherwise the 2B might have ended up outside!

 

Anyone with any experience with these or expertise with the 1275 that I can come to in times of need???!!!

 

Rich

[fry61]

 

Windscreen will convert nicely onto a 2B

[Mitch]

WoW Rich that looks excellent, much more fun rebuilding that than the 2b, (and less cuts ) GOOD LUCK , and look forward to seeing it back on the road,

 

 

 

Mitch

[fry61]

Would use a 631 on the road, 649 rather lumpy around town, will need to drop the clutch & keep the revs up in traffic.

 

 

Sorry, old age = fewer brain cells, I thinks I ran a 731 cam

[Al Milton]

Good luck with the project Rich, looks like it will be a little stunner when completed

[steve in stockport]

Nice looking project there Rich, will be good to see it back on the road.

MG Metro inlet manifold was supposed to be the best flowing production manifold fitted to the engine along with the HF44 carb, it looks like you may already have these from the photo.

If it hasn't got it already try and get the electronic dizzy and amplifier from the same, gets rid of the points and condenser and from memory only needs a power supply to make it work.

Duplex timing chain is another good investment, it will stop or delay the onset of chain rattle

These engines only have 3 main bearings so a centre main strap was always a good upgrade if the engine was going to be given any stick

 

Look for books by David Vizard, he was a mini and A series engine guru

[enforcer]

Looks like I've found a few brains to pick then!

 

I was thinking of going back to the original twin carbs, but may stick with this one Steve if you think it's a good upgrade. Strangely a former owner as cut a nasty hole in the bonnet as the top of the carb just fouls it, but it would have been simpler to grind off a few millimetres off the carb cap!

 

I'd already decided that we would convert to simple electronic ignition, but thanks for the tip regarding the metro stuff. Its just occurred to me that I haven't got any 'old money' spanners, so a trip to Machine Mart is on the cards! Few more photos ...

 

 

 

[ibrooks]

http://www.sebringsprite.co.uk/

 

In my opinion the fastback is pure sex - I know it means losing the top-down ability but just look at it!

 

The engine is closely related to a Mini's and most of the tuning bits will fit. You've got an HIF carb and an alloy intake manifold but I don't think it's one from an MG Metro - it looks too goose-necked to me. Longer and straighter is better and you have more room than in a Mini. The block is different to a transverse A-series but there was an A+ version in the Marinas. I also think the Maestro 1.3 might fit - despite them being transverse they had a VW gearbox that was end-on rather than underslung so more in common with the RWD cars than the Mini/Metro. The Maestro intake is the best for torque but you'll end up with a massive bonnet bulge to accommodate it.

 

If you need to mess with the engine I can recommend R.A.C.E. in Withnell - Jim knows them inside out, upside down and back to front. Give him an honest assessment of what you want from it and he will give you good pointers on spec. His work is very good but can take a while as the work he tends to do for the big rally boys takes precedence and is generally more urgent than someone restoring an old weekend toy.

 

Iain

[steve in stockport]

there is a full dizzy, amp and coil on ebay now starting at £40

[Grim]

Rich, i have a pair of twin SUs that i belive are for an A series - see the photo below. Are these any use to you? If so make me an offer. I'd rather they go to someone on here than go on ebay.

[enforcer]

Well we've finally taken delivery of "Spridget" and have wasted no time on stripping her down to reveal the first of what I'm sure will be many horror stories! Admire the delicate wiring around the (broken) fusebox - I'm amazed the whole thing didn't catch fire when the seller ran the engine for us! All nicely fixed up now with a new fusebox in the post. The more we strip away the more confident I am in the solidness of this little car and its potential to go back out onto the road. We've decided to prioritise in getting it roadworthy again (just to present it to my tame MOT station) before spending any time and money on body and brightwork. This has to start with making the electrics safe, then it's on to the brakes (brand new dual clutch and brake master cylinder just cost me £120!). This is such fun!

 

 

 

 

[Longboarder]

Four fuses!!! Overkill! I'm sure my spitfire only had two.

I wonder how it would behave with a 649 cam and a pair of throttlebodies for fuel injection. Dave Walker is always saying that what used to be regarded as wild cams which would barely run below 3000rpm turn out to be perfectly docile if injected. It was just reversion/standoff/etc making it almost impossible for carbs to efficiently fuel a 'wild cam engine' at low revs. He says apparently you can have it all, if you go injected!

This is a pic of someones lovely restored version of my pile of rust still sitting in a barn waiting for me to get round to it.

 

Nigel

[Snapperpaul]

That is a very nice project, I have a friend also looking at the midge sprite car for his daughter who likes them, considering similar for my daughter who has a friend with a Mk1 1100 Fiesta, old cars universally get the "Coooool" response from the kids and liuckily most Dads can still fix them

[Shandylegs]

 

As you will probably already be aware body condition is everything when purchasing one of these. I've got to say, by the look of things you got a bit of a bargain there.

 

I'm about halfway through converting mine to run a k-series engine (In storage until I get round to completing the Zero!)