SPEEDWELL MONZA BONNET FACTS FROM THE HORSE'S MOUTH

Message received from John Sprinzel:

"Hi there - Didn't make the Speedwell Monza front until 1959 so he (Tommy Rougeux, see lower down the page) wouldn't have had one fitted immediately after he bought his Bug Eye in 1958. I seem to remember that Stuart Turner and I took the prototype bonnet on the Liege in September of 1959 and the prototype complete Speedwell GT was on show on the Speedwell Stand at the BRSCC Race Car Show in 1960 at the Royal Agricultural Hall. Cheers. J

Curborough ~ April 2019

PAT COOPER'S RACING FROGEYE FOR SALE

606NEV or ‘Tango’ is bright orange with a massive spec (134bhp). Pat says: "I ran her at St Gueno last season and Joe Mackrell and I have campaigned her on the hills, Joe looks after her for me. Although currently set up for hill climbs she is a race car – though road legal".
If interested contact Pat by email.

ST. Gueno, Brittany
June 2019

SPEEDWELL HELP WANTED

"My late friend and I collected Speedwell bits for our Sprites. I have 3 Speedwell badges.   One I'm pretty certain is either a horribly rechromed original or a counterfeit.  The other 2 (1 with a black background & 1 with a yellow background) look to be originals.  
When Speedwell attached a badge , where were they attached on a sprite bodywork? Also I'm seeking any fellow Speedwell enthusiasts , I would like to locate a second Speedwell SU carb velocity stack (rampipe we usually call them in the UK) to complete a set for my own car" If you can assist Chuck please contact him via email.
I am not sure there is any particular place on a Sprite where a Speedwell badge would have been located - I have seen them on bonnets, boots, hardtops,etc. The lowest of these badges is, I believe, one which would have replaced the AUSTIN badge on the rocker cover. My old Speedwell catalogue does not illustrate any rampipes, merely the small bell-shaped items so maybe this was a later addition by a firm using the Speedwell name. If you can assist further please get in touch. Feedback.

THESE 5 PHOTOS COME COURTESY OF BONHAMS.
The car was sold at their recent auction at Scottsdale (Arizona, USA) and I was interested to see a Facebook post on 23rd Jan from Bob Fisher who worked for Royston Distributors from 1972 until they closed in 1980. He says::

"This Le Mans Sprite just sold at Scottsdale. It was (once) owned by Royston Distributors. I worked for Royston until they were bought out in 1980. I would often eat my lunch on the 3rd floor where Mr Royston kept his car collection.... I've had lunch in this car....." He probably imagined what it would be like to drive the car down the Mulsanne Straight at 150 mph - while eating his sandwiches!

FOR SALE
Well known Hill Climb and Sprint Austin Healey Sprite with rare Williams and Pritchard 'Sebring GT' body. Ready to compete for the new season, complete with trailer.
Contact Ian Grainger by email

STILL AVAILABLE 2 FEB 2020

ALLOY WHEEL WANTED

Glenn Clarke is looking for a 13inch Twin Fin Minilite alloy wheel (quite rare) 5 inches wide as in the photos, for a Sprite - 4 inch PCD. [they did make them in magnesium also]   On the photos you can make out the fins. On the inside of the wheel they also have small ribs. On Glenn's 2 have this and 2 don’t.   He is not bothered which. Contact him by email if you can help please.

ENGINE FOR SALE
1380 A+
Ported and polished 11 stud Longman big valve head
Payan head gasket 
73.5mm forged Omega pistons
Stock rods 
Stick crank
Duplex timing chain
276 Kent cam
Aldon distributor
Rear Oil seal conversion 
45DCOE Webber carb that was rebuilt before I bought it and was used for one event, fitted with:
Choke 40; Emulation tube F9; Main jet 190; Main air 170
and Idle 50F9
Tinavo intake manifold; K&N air filter,used for one event 
2x small trumpets; 2x large trumpets 
Motor plate for a Morris gearbox or Ford type 9 gearbox
Bell housing for a type 9 box for the motor plate 
Flywheel for a Ford or Morris clutch
Ford 7.5inch Sierra clutch
LCB 3 into One manifold 

OFFERS TO JACK GROVES
who can be contacted by email

I was interested to hear that SVEN ECKHARDT is building another Sebring in aluminium using one of the Marcus Fellows's Fastback tops.

JOE ARMOUR tells me he recently drove his Le Mans/Sebring Sprite
on the public roads to get it inspected by Colin Dodds for
street use in Australia.

NEWS OF A SPEEDWELL SPRITE FROM TOMMY ROUGEUX:

The car in times past.......

.......and as it is today

"I live just outside Washington, DC. I inherited a project vehicle from my uncle before he passed away a few years ago and am now getting around to figuring out exactly what I have. From what I was told before he passed:
1958 Speedwell Sprite - purchased new while he was stationed in Germany. He took it directly to Speedwell after purchasing it to have some modifications completed on the vehicle. He had the original 948 fitted with a Jensen supercharger as well as an aluminum Speedwell front clip (bonnet), aluminum doors, different side curtains, and a different top. Somewhere around 1975 the top was stolen off the vehicle while he was on vacation when it was parked along side his house in Maryland. The doors were damaged while racing the car as well and had been removed and steel door re-installed. Also somewhere in its lifetime the 948 was removed and replaced with a 1275. I have been collecting parts for the last 10 years (slowly) because the condition I received the car in was basically a body-in-white. The only thing I have from the original car is the chassis and this aluminum forward tilt nose assembly. I reached out to Tom Colby at Speedwell Engineering in California to help identify the nose but he said that it looks like a Monza nose but with slightly different headlamp flaring and the Monza nose was made from fiberglass not aluminum like mine. I'm hoping you can help identify this so I can document my progress so far. I have attached a couple pictures for you to review and tell me what you think. Tommy Rougeux."

[I have confirmed to Tommy that he does have a Speedwell Monza bonnet as they made (I believe) six in that material. I have also put him in touch with Speedwell guru Alistair Ross who, no doubt, will supply a lot more info than I can. MEI. ]

XSC 500 FINDS A NEW OWNER
Back in October 2017 I showed details of this standard-bodied Sebring on the News page after Ben Tyer acquired it. Since then it moved on to an owner in France but is now returning to the UK as it has been bought by Malcolm McCrae. Malcolm is keen to find out more of its earlier history so if you can assist please contact me via Feedback.

LEW McALLAN MOVES FROM THE USA TO AUSTRALIA

Lew McAllan has finally relocated from Chicago to Australia, and is now living in the Lake Macquarie area, North of Sydney. He shipped his Sebring, a Bugeye and 2 x MGC's in a 40 ft container from New Jersey to Sydney and picked up all 4 cars a few days ago. To his pleasant surprise, the Sebring fired up with a bit of extra juice as well as the driver green MGC. The other two were non runners but are now tucked away in the garage. No asbestos import issues - having had all brakes removed just in case, they then shipped the brakes wrapped in plastic wrap with the cars ! Lew is now waiting for his tools and parts to arrive. Before leaving the States Lew traded with Neil Anderson for his Sebring front mould, which is currently in transit with his household goods. The plan is to make a few Sebring fronts for the Australian/NZ market, albeit perhaps a small market.

THE SPRITE ROOM
Back in early December Hans van der Kerkhof of the Healey Museum in the Netherlands posted the announcement that the entire collection of memorabilia previously held by Ray English in Australia had been purchased by, and transferred to, the museum. A Sprite weekend is planned for later this year.
(I note that the Midget & Sprite Club have a trip planned for 16th to 19th April 2020)

LAUNCH OF DOUGLAS ANDERSON'S NEW ADO COUPE

On Saturday 14th December, Douglas Anderson launched his new ADO Coupe based on a Sprite/Midget floorpan. Held at the DockStreet Studios in Dundee, the event went well and the car was well received. Douglas now has to productionise the moulds and hopes to be 'in business' by early summer. Here are some images from the paint shop and the official launch. For more information you can contact Douglas by email.

A couple of old photos of the car.

At Creg-Ny-Barr, Isle of Man
- late 70's

The car today

Roger Hewitt built this Lenham Le Mans in 1971 around a 1967 MG Midget donor and then ran it on the road for a number of years. He then modified it to compete in sprints, hill-climbs and races through to the early 1990s. At present the car is on a SORN (needing some much loved attention when he has the time!). Stored at his brother's place for the moment they pushed it out of the garage for the photo shown above right.

MIKE AUTHERS' SOUTH AFRICAN SEBRING

Built from a CKD (Complete Knock Down) Kit in 1958 this standard-bodied Sebring has a number of interesting features. See web page

NIGEL DILNOT-SMITH:

owns this lovely standard-bodied Sebring which was registered in 1959 and Warwickshire Council archives confirm that it was first sold to Donald Healey Motor Co. It is presumed that was where the Girling disc front brakes, 8" rears and wire wheels were added. Nigel has recently fitted a 3.9 ratio diff.

EX-WORKS STREAMLINED SPRITE UP FOR SALE BY AUCTION

HAN8-R-202 which I call 'the Display car' was sold last year by Jeff Brenner to Emilio Cruz in Mexico. Now it is up for sale again on 16th January through Bonhams with a guide price of US$100,000 to 140,000 (£76,000 to £100,000). Here's the link.
Sold for US$ 123,200 (£ 93,827) inc. premium

A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL SEBRING SPRITE ENTHUSIASTS WORLDWIDE

WIRE WHEELS FOR SALE
Richard Pugh has for sale these 6 wire wheels for Sprite/Midget etc. Tyres good but out of date. Best offer over £200. Buyer collects…..Herefordshire (4" except for one 4.5")
NOW SOLD, THANK YOU