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- Austin Healey Sprite Repair Tips
- Bug Eyed Sprite Clubs
- Austin Healey Bugeye Parts
- Healey Sprite Touring in the News
- 1961 Austin Healey Sprite For Sale: Located in Melbourne Florida
- Austin Healey Sprite For Sale
- Austin Healey Sprite Mark II
- Austin Healey Sprite Parts
- Healey Sprite: Two Words Immediately Recognized
- Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite
- Austin Healey Sprite:Start to Finish Line
- Midget Sprite: Was this a Real Model?
- Austin Healey Frogeye Sprite
- Spridget 50: The Big Party
- Bug Eyed Sprite
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Austin Healey Sprite Repair Tips
The biggest and best Austin Healey Sprite Repair Tips include the fact that many of the parts on this English classic car are the exact same ones that were used on the MG Midget cars of the same year.
This is due to the fact the British Leyland is the company that purchased the Austin Car Company in 1968 and carried on the tradition of maximizing their profitably by using a parts bin for all of their cars and not making unique ones to fit each brand.
Bug Eyed Sprite Clubs
A Bug Eyed Sprite Club is a great way that many Austin Healey enthusiasts have found to share their passion with others about this little strange but lovable looking sports car.
Most of the Bug Eye Sprite sports car clubs also have the complete production run of the Sprite in their membership. But with most of them, the production run that consisted of the first three years is where the bulk of the cars were produced. This is the Austin Healey Sprite Mark I or Bug Eye.
Posted in Austin Healey Sprite News
Tagged Austin Healey, Bug Eyed, Club, sports car, Sprite
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Austin Healey Bugeye Parts
The Bugeye parts you might be in search of, can also be named the Frogeye parts or the Austin Healey Sprite Mark I parts. All three names are used to identify this wonderful little 2 seater sports car. This car was so well liked it had two nicknames, one for each side of the pond, or Atlantic Ocean.
When looking for these parts, the used ones will be around 50 years old, so if it has any rubber or other components that require a seal, it should be inspected and replaced if necessary. Fortunately, there are aftermarket manufacturers that still produce the necessary rubber components for this car.
Posted in Austin Healey Sprite Parts
Tagged Austin Healey, bugeye, for sale, Parts, Sprite
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Healey Sprite Touring in the News
While surfing around the web searching for my favorite subject, the little Austin Healey Sprite, I have located some items of interest to share with our readers.
Listen to the little gutsy roar of third gear acceleration and watch as this car just scoots on by the big guys on the road. Music to my ears and it just does not get any better than touring in a sprite.
Petit tour en Austin Healey sprite….
1961 Austin Healey Sprite For Sale: Located in Melbourne Florida
Here is your chance to pick up a beautiful restored Sprite in very good condition. This is the fun part of being a website operator. We have the great fortune to be able to help keep these little cars in the hands of those that will care for and love them. http://HealeySprite.org
From the owner’s description:
For Sale: a 1961 antique Austin Healey “Bugeye” Sprite. This is a Right Hand Drive vehicle with 42,298 original miles.
This car is ideal for either the U.S., U.K., or the Japanese market. It has knock-off wire wheels including a spare and they are radial tires.
Posted in Austin Healey Sprite For sale
Tagged 1961 bugeye sprite, for sale, melbourne fl, right hand drive
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Austin Healey Sprite For Sale
The search for an Austin Healey Sprite for sale is rather easy today with the internet. These little British sports cars are in nearly every state of the union. The price range can be as little as $1000 to $1500 for a broken down shell of a car, to over $30,000 for one in show-room condition.
When you have discovered the model you wish to own, make sure it is what the owner claims it to be. Just like the GM line of cars that can only be distinguished by the name plate, the BMC line of cars are the same. Unlike the GM lines, the BMC cars all used not only the parts, but the same motor as well. What distinguished the MG line from the Austin Healey line was just a mere badge that was placed on the cars exterior.
Austin Healey Sprite Mark II
The Austin Healey Sprite Mark II version diverted from the bugeye look when it was introduced in 1961. The same engine was used in this version as the Mark I which was the 948cc motor, but new and larger SU 1 ¼ inch carburetors were used to increase the horsepower to 46.5 bhp.
The body had the most recognizable changes with the headlights being moved out onto the fenders or wings. On the rear, the tail lights were also moved to the sides so the new trunk lid could be cut out and access to the rear compartment could be done easier.
Austin Healey Sprite Parts
When searching for Austin Healey Sprite parts, it is to no one’s surprise that the name MG is tagged along nearly every time. This reason has two major factors to it. One is that the Sprite or bug eye Healey was made at the MG’s sports car production plant in Abingdon, Berkshire in the UK. This was done because the original plant where Austin Healey’s were being produced did not have ample space for a new line.
Healey Sprite: Two Words Immediately Recognized
The Austin Healey Sprite started out as the bugeye model and then progressed to be the last of the famous Austin Healey line of automobiles. With its production run staring in 1958 and lasting until 1971 it was the longest lasting production car under this historic banner with 129,347 cars produced.
Because of the long production run, this is the model that has the best chance of being a restoration project car, just because of the sheer number of cars produced.
Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite
The sporty little Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite was the star attraction at the 1958 Monte Carlo Grand Prix where it was introduced to the world. From that point on, they were the little car everyone wanted.
This car was the brain child of the chairman of the British Motor Company, and Donald Healey. With the backing of the board at BMC, Donald started to produce this small and inexpensive line of 2 seater sports cars in 1958.
Even though there were other cars that used the unibody framework, the Bugeye was the first one to use it in a British sports car. This contributed to its low weight and overall cost to produce it.
Austin Healey Sprite:Start to Finish Line
The first model of the Austin Healey Sprite was affectionately called the bug eye or frog eye because of its unusual appearance with the headlight assemblies positioned between the wings of the front fenders. The grill added a unique smile to the car that helped to create its character.
Just like in the early days of Jaguar, this was touted as the poor man’s sports car. The Sprite was designed to be low cost so anyone that wanted a fun little two seater sitting in their bike shed could have one.
Midget Sprite: Was this a Real Model?
The Midget Sprite was not a name of a real car but just a nick name, like the Bug eye or Frog eye before it, the Austin Healey line of cars were loved so much they were given nicknames.
The Austin Healey Sprite was the second type of car introduced by the business venture between Austin motor company and Donald Healey. This was after the much heralded success of the Austin Healy 100 run of cars. In 1958, the second line of cars was introduced at the Monte Carlo Grand Prix. It was the economical version of the British sports car that took off like a storm.
Posted in Austin Healey Sprite MK I
Tagged Abingdon, Midget Sprite, silverstone, Sprite Mark II, Sprite Midget
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Austin Healey Frogeye Sprite
For some the Austin Healey Frogeye Sprite might have appeared a little funny looking, but it was an eye catcher along with being an affordable British 2 seater sports car. For those reasons it was appealing to the American market.
This little car was introduced to the public in 1958 and was continually manufactured until the end of the Austin Healey business contract in which expired in the beginning of 1972. This made the last model of the Sprite a 1971. But it lost its iconic bug eye look with the introduction in 1962 with the Mark II model.
Bug Eyed Sprite
The iconic bug eyed Sprite is a classic Austin Healey car that was built from 1958 until 1961. Its official label is the Mark I, but it is affectionately known as the bug eye or frog eye model because of the way the headlights were mounted along with the front grill that gave it apparent face like features.
The focus on the development of this car was to keep it affordable and fun. This was accomplished by using the parts to construct the car from the parts bin at the British Motor company’s store room.
MKI Sprite by Austin Healey
The MKI Sprite was the second in the line of cars produced by the business agreement that formed the Austin Healey Car Company. This was a one of a kind looking car with its headlights fixed on the bonnet between the raised fender wings in front. This is how it acquired the nick name bug eye.
Production of this car started in May of 1958 and ran until 1961. Other than the distinctive headlights, this car had another distinguishing feature. It was the very first large volume sports car to use the sheet metal components of the body as the framework.
Healey Sprite: Austin Division BMC
The Healey Sprite was the second in the line of three cars produced by the business agreement between the Austin division of BMC and the Healey Car Company. The very first car from this new production line rolled out of the plant in May of 1958.
This was a unique looking car with its headlights sticking out of the bonnet (hood for Americans), that appeared to look like a pair of frog’s eyes. This is where the nickname Bug-eye came from. The entire bonnet was one piece, including the fenders, so access to the engine compartment was great when it was opened up.