Chassis 26719 ~a standard bodied Sebring
Reid Bertolotti who resides in California, USA is the relatively new owner of this 1959 LHD “Sebring” Sprite that was delivered new to North America via DHMC at The Cape. Photos below show the car as purchased by him from the Mark Smith Estate back in October of 2022. Reid has the original Sebring steering wheel which is being restored and is having a replacement Sebring pedal box constructed to exchange with the incomplete pedal box that was in the car. He has been in contact with two of the previous owners, Gary Bell and Joe Maxwell, whose combined ownership here runs from 1968 through to 1989. In 1989 the car went to Mark Smith in Lynchburg, VA who owned the car until Reid’s purchase in 2022. For reference, the car was equipped from new with DHMC hard top, wire wheels, disc brakes, Sebring steering wheel, 8k rpm Smiths tacho, front sway (anti-roll) bar, oil cooler, 1½" SU Carburretors, Sebring pedal box, and quick release fuel filler. As of now, the only thing missing is the oil cooler although the former owner has confirmed there was one that accompanied the car when he sold it to Mark.
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The car has the 8” rear drums, along with the correct 60 spoke wire wheels, but was fitted with the Lockheed Thin Disc front brakes rather than the more usual Girling Type 10s. The car is now back in it’s original shade of Iris Blue. |
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Reid tells me : "I did receive old photos of the car, taken in the late sixties, showing it in a different livery of dark blue with white center stripe, white rollbar, and white number roundels". See photos below:
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