1969 Austin Healey Sprite

The work on converting ‘OVJ 543G’, a delightful little 1969 Austin Healey Sprite, to its current fast road/sprint specification started in 2002. It was a bit of a protracted affair apparently and ended up costing more than £20,000. For the parts alone.

Yes, this is a very well specified car.

Which is what caught the vendor’s eye in 2011 when he and his wife were looking for something to replace her hillclimbing Mini. She tried it but admitted she preferred the Mini she’d been using. He tried it but at well over six feet tall he simply couldn’t fit behind the wheel - but they liked it so much they kept it anyway, adding it to their small collection of classic cars. 

Thanks to a compelling combination of careful curation, light road use, and beautifully executed engineering, it still presents, starts and drives very well after a dozen years in their hands.

Originally purple, the Sprite is now finished in a fetching shade of blue and while we yield to no-one in our admiration for period colours the car’s current shade is probably easier to live with than the original.

But, we’re getting ahead of ourselves because first we need to tell you it was restored using a heritage bodyshell and an alloy louvered bonnet. Not a cheap option, the fact the owner at the time went to such expense hints at the money-no-object approach they took.

With a distinct lack of dents, dinks, and other damage it’s survived the intervening years well and still looks very smart indeed; even the wheelarches are free of rust and corrosion.

Other nice touches include a pair of chromed mesh headlamp protectors, bonnet pins for security at speed, stick-on numberplates front and rear to save weight, an alloy fuel filler cap - and that fabulous hardtop. 

A rare a much-prized addition, this one was made by Ashley, the well-known and highly respected purveyors of hardtops, bodywork conversions, and tuning bits for the Sprite (among others). 

Still very much in business, the quality of its work is apparent here; still in a good condition, its presence adds to the car’s looks and practicality.

The 14-inch Minilite-style alloy wheels aren’t only in great shape, they’re also fitted with matching – and expensive – 175/60R14 Yokohama A539 tyres, all of which still have plenty of tread left on them, including the matching spare.

We will never get tired of telling you that experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but it does perhaps give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

Flaws are few and seem to be limited to some crazing to the paint on the offside rear corner.

We’ll talk more about the Sprite’s fast road/sprint specification later but suffice it to say the interior has all the right bits to support the car’s mechanical upgrades including Moss leather seats, a Safety Devices roll cage, and a pair of full harnesses. There’s a three-spoke Mota-Lita steering wheel, too.
The engine’s health can be monitored via instruments that measure the oil pressure and temperature as well as the temperature of the cooling system. 

A fuel pump cut-off switch is fitted for safety and the boot contains not one but two matching Minilite spare wheels.

As for work to do, if you don’t mind a little wear here and there (and it is only a little) then there’s nothing here that would bother us.

The owner tells us the Austin has been finished to a fast road/sprint specification and at the heart of that lies a Minispeed 1275cc engine whose specification includes Powermax balanced pistons fitted to a Tuftrided polished and balanced crankshaft, a stage three cylinder head fitted with a 276 camshaft and a roller-rocker top end, a Duplex timing chain, and a modified oil sump to allow for the installation of an oil temperature sender.

A competition fuel pump supplies petrol while it breathes through a (rare and much sought after) Howley alloy inlet manifold and an SU carburettor. 

It exhales through a three-branch exhaust manifold and a competition starter motor turns it over speedily for prompt starting, something the yellow distributor and electronic ignition contribute to.

As you can see from the attached invoices, the Sprite has been fitted with a five-speed gearbox conversion that helps the car’s high-speed cruising and general driveability. As you can guess by now, the work was done properly and included modifying the flywheel to accept a new clutch pressure plate and a quickshifter.

The suspension comprises a front anti-roll bar, Spax adjustable dampers, and a rear Panhard rod. 

The engine bay is nicely presented and contains some lovely little details including a ventilated oil catch tank.

The recent Vehicle History Check is clear and the Sprite comes with a comprehensive collection of expired MoT certificates and a V5 registration document in addition to the invoices for the £20,000-worth of work we mentioned earlier. 

The Sprite doesn’t have a current MoT certificate, and while it is exempt by virtue of its age, we would strongly encourage the new owner to have it MoT’d at the earliest opportunity. The cost of an MoT is a small investment when offset against the purchase and upkeep of any classic vehicle, and it gives an independent, third-party assessment of the car’s condition, which not only provides reassurance to the owner (and any subsequent purchasers) but might also be invaluable in the event of a bump when negotiating with the police and any interested insurance companies… 

Lightly patinated and wearing its competition preparation with pride, this is a well-fettled example of a perennially popular British sportscar that no doubt goes and handles better than the standard car.

The presence of the rare hardtop is a bonus, and the mechanical specification is everything you could hope for. The seller tells us that he is selling it “with confidence”, which is always reassuring to hear.

With all that in mind, our guide price is between £10,000 and £15,000, which might seem like a lot for a Sprite but really isn’t, not when you consider its specification and condition. 

Ideal for hillclimbing and sprints, it is civilised enough to make a great road car, too.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located in Worcester. Viewings are strictly by appointment.  To make a booking, please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, and read our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.