Stirling in the red 7080 AC, cornering hard in the 4 hour Sebring race in 1960
BODY No. SUGGESTS RON GORDON’s IS NOT THE MOSS CAR
After lengthy correspondence between myself, Jerry Etzel and Ron Gordon we discovered that Ron’s Sprite has a body-shell we believe was built many months after the 1960 Sebring race (judged by its Thompson body number) However, based on the accummulated history of Ron’s car, we knew that it had an accident at a later Sebring race and was re-built and repainted blue instead of red. Was it perhaps then that it had a shell change? It is certainly RHD with many ‘works’ parts and a long racing history so remains a significant Sebring Sprite.
The car which Ron and Rob Gordon are in the process of restoring. Letters are on the “Your Comments” page.
TERRY COWAN’s 2 SEBRING SPRITE FASTBACKS
Shown above left is 96 RPE which was briefly owned by John Sprinzel when it bore the well-known PMO 200 plate. The car showing race No.151 was originally registered in the UK as UUV 398. It was built by Yimkin Engineering for Sheridan Tynne, the body probably by Peel as its rear has a very similar design to RPE and others. A unique item is its square rear corner to the side windows like those of a Speedwell GT (which it isn’t) but it is fitted with a Speedwell Monza bonnet. Terry Cowan, from San Diego, USA has owned and raced these two historic Sebrings since 1982/3. We now think that RPE may have been owned for a short time by Jack Lord, whose son Glenn wrote to me recently for information about it. See “Your Comments”.
Photos below of UUV in earlier days kindly supplied by Alistair Ross. [With borrowed reg. plate below right]
Available on ebay, a 4.55 diff SOLD AT £36 –
ended 1st December
[Thanks to Neil Anderson]
See ‘YOUR COMMENTS’
for latest on the 1960 Moss Sebring car, and the mystery Sebring Sprite once owned by Jack Lord.
Speedwell GT ~ 5447 HX
Gary Lazarus recently acquired some French magazines on ebay and spotted these photos. The car is now owned by Alistair Ross who says they were taken in Cambridge about 1970, not long before the car was laid up.
GEOFF HILLS’ WSM SANCTION 2 (No.405)
In the early 1960’s Geoff owned a W&P fronted MK1 Sprite before moving on to a big Healey. In 1967 or 8 he found one of the original 10 WSMs. As he says he clearly has no idea what is causing the problem since he is now doing it again!! Two more photos for your delectation.
ARKLEY SS FOR SALE
1275 engine, hardtop (new exhaust available/included) £2,900 Contact Trevor email or phone 01689 878005
ECURIE ECOSSE REPLICA
to be offered at the
BONHAMS LONDON AUCTION Sun 1st December at 2pm Guide: £30/50,000
Bruno Verstraete has sent me some images showing spare parts, amazingly still with DAC after nearly 50 years. These spacers are just one item.
THE MOSS SEBRING CAR OF 1960
After receiving the article about Jerry Etzel’s replica of the Sprite that Stirling drove at Sebring, I have got into a lengthy debate between myself, Jerry and owner of what may be the original race car, Ron Gordon. See “Your Comments”
SPEEDWELL GT CATALOGUE kindly supplied by Tony Carroll from New Zealand
PETER FLETCHER FROM SCARBOROUGH
plans to compete with his new ‘Speedwell Monza GT’ next season in his local hillclimb championship at Olivers Mount, Harewood, Aintree, etc. and then historic roadsports in 2015. The car has done its ARDS test and now goes for a shake-down at Elvington. See Pete’s photos on Google
1960 Supercharged Sprite
kit of parts for rebuild
Expired with NO BIDS
starting at £3,999 supposedly built by Donald Healey Motor Co [Expires 27th November]
New supplies of Peter Jackson’s book ’46 BXN’ at £7.50 + post NOW AVAILABLE but DHMC hardtop decals (75p + post) NEW STOCK AWAITED Contact me via:
Feedback
John Poulter sent in these pages from 750 MC in 1983 reminding me of my last racing season before medical problems called a halt.
No Sebrings at the Classic Car Show this year but Geoff Hill displayed his new WSM Sanction II (the 4th produced, but No.5!)
A NEW SEBRING SPRITE (REP) TAKES TO THE ROAD
~ AND ANOTHER GETS UNDER WAY
Paul Slangen’s car is all-but finished bar a few minor details. He has been testing it round his garden and is planning to go rallying next season. Note the indicator lights which are borrowed from an Alfa Romeo TZ1.
Mike Cockayne is building a Fastback with Monza bonnet (they seem very popular lately) and plans to fit a 1310cc dry-sump motor. Its a Frogeye shell but will have a later brake/clutch pedal box. Mike needs an identity (reg) for it.
Neil’s Cooper S, a Frog with unusual hardtop and wide wheels, the Mk3 which Diane used to own, and HAN9-R-237 having a leisurely day out!
A message from Neil Blaney in Australia: “A picture of some cars from a run we went on today with a few members of the Sprite Club, about a dozen cars. My first run since I had both knees replaced so I have to apologise as I was in the Morris Cooper S – can’t get in the Bugeye yet. Joe Armour was there, pulled up by the police on the way, I think they were curious to what it is. The red Mk3 beside Joe was Diane’s daily driver for 10 years. A local group, have a run once a month, we visited 2 Dams today, Cordeaux and Cataract. Sebring hopefully should be on the road by Xmas, fingers crossed.”
With Geoff, Ian in centre
Ian with the car at home
At Silverstone, 1981
I had a call the other day from Chris Polley, son of the late Ian, who owned this ex-works LeMans/Sebring car for something like 30 years. He had unearthed a number of photos and documents about the car which make interesting reading. One is the advert from 1976 when Ian bought the car from Charles Dawkins for just £1,900, and a follow-up letter from Charles. There is a letter from a Geoff Healey and a certificate signed by Roger Menadue stating that the car raced at both ’67 and ’68 Le Mans which confirms the car from those races was one and the same. Unfortunately the document is wrong in saying that it also raced at Sebring in ’68 – that was the Targa Florio car LWD 959E. There is a signed copy of ‘More Healeys’ and photos of the car at Ian’s then home in Croydon, Surrey soon after he purchased it. Apologies for poor quality of some of the documents – we will try to improve them.
Very many thanks, Chris.
On arrival at Croydon, Surrey
Rear window missing
Inside the tail
4646 UE
a ‘new’ Sprinzel Sebring Coupe
The story so far
from Paul Tarry
JEFF BREN
NER’S EX-WORKS SPRITE ~ HAN8-R-202
Regular vistors to this site may recall my efforts to discover the origins of this car, one of the 10 wind-tunnel cars produced by DHMC. Now an article has come to light dating from 1991 which goes some way to confirming the conclusions I had reached. A paragraph in the article reads: “Bill’s second love is the 1966 Le Mans Sprite coupe. History on this particular car is sketchy, but he knows that it was brought to Sebring as a backup/practice car. It was not raced and after the event was bought by Royston Motors in Philadelphia for a showroom display. When this dealer closed its doors in the 80’s Bill purchased the car. It has less than 1,000 actual miles on it and has the original paint, interior and even decals”. I personally doubt it was ever intended as a backup or practice car as the Healeys never spent money un-necessarily and did not take extra cars to other events. I believe it was sent out to be sold to Fred Royston who desired one of these cars having sold anoth
er previously. The story conflicts with that contained in Bill Emerson’s “Healey Book” where it states: “One of the major distributors for Austin-Healey cars on the East Coast of America was Royston Motors of Philadelphia. At the end of the 1966 race, Fred Royston purchased car No.67 with the idea of converting it into a street-legal touring car for private use. The car was repainted to British Racing Green and the extremely powerful Lucas driving lights were replaced with dual sealed beamed units from a Chevrolet Corvair. A small silencer was mounted at the rear of the car and under-sized turn signal lights were added to make it road legal. No other changes were made to the car. Mileage indicates it was only driven a few times before someone decided it was not a touring car and the car was relegated to showroom display. ……..” This refers to the car as No.67 because that number has been painted on its doors for very many years. The actual No.67 car from Sebring 1966 was HAN8-R-143 which bore the UK licence plate HNX 455D and is now for sale in Geneva. Whether the car did ever race is not known but it would not appear that DHMC raced it themselves.
[Article published courtesy of The Austin Healey Club of America, Inc – copy kindly supplied by Neil Anderson.]
LETTER FROM PAUL BOS (a regular contributor – and his photos above, in reply to my enquiry about his car)
Martin,
When I got the car, 5 years ago, I thought it would be a quick project to get it on the road and have a LBC to drive while I worked on my 1949 Triumph Roadster restoration. I picked the car up for $500 – it was parked a block from the ocean. It had surface rust everywhere and the typical Frogeye rust at the “A” posts. The worst problem however was the bonnet. At first I thought I could repair it, but the more I dug into the rust I determined it was hopeless. The dream of a nice driver Bugeye was gone, unless I could find a replacement bonnet. I lost interest, until I came I came across a Speedwell front locally. So now I could at least cover the motor. It was then I looked more into the history of the Sprite and found your web-site and began planning a California version of Speedwell Sprite. I was lucky enough to see Butch Gilbert’s Sebring Sprite and was hooked on having a period-correct AH Sprite.
I have lived and practiced Veterinary Medicine in Modesto, California for more than 30 years. Modesto is famous for being the home of “American Graffiti” George Lucas’s first successful film. George was a member of the Ecurie AWOL Sports car club, which held and attended rallies and autocross events across the Northern California. At the time the west coast of the US was dotted with old WWII airfields that were home to many road races, see: http://www.tamsoldracecarsite.net/ , much like post-war Britain, only warmer! My thought was “let’s build a car that would have been at home in the early 60’s here in Modesto”. The town had an Austin-Healey dealership and what would a kid with a Sprite and a little bit of cash, reading the magazines for the day bolt on to the car as he got into Sports car racing?
So I now begin with a dead stock 1959 AH Sprite with a “cracked” up bonnet. The “mods” I have now are a Speedwell bonnet, a bored out 948 motor with a Downton Engineering Intake manifold, APT tappets and lead free valve guides and an electric fuel pump. A tubular exhaust manifold and a period Big Brute Bruton exhaust should improve the torque on the 948. Speedwell door handles, a factory hardtop, a Monza petrol lid, a Butler’s map light and stopwatches should provide some extra “bling”. For race day use I have acquired a headrest fairing, a Brooklands windscreen and an anti roll bar. I have also acquired a very rare Stevenson Tripmeter (made here in California) and Stevenson rally wheel, and will bolt them on, along with some gauges and other controls in the auxiliary panel (the plans for which you generously provided). It is my hope that I can get the car on the road in the next few weeks. As I get going and the car is sorted I will send you more pictures. I do have a 1969 parts car which could provide me with a larger motor and disc brakes, but right know the car is stuck in 1961 (the year I was born). Back to work on my carbs. More later………..
Regards Paul (A. Paul Bos, DVM, Escalon, California).
JERRY ETZEL’S REPLICA
OF THE SPRITE WHICH STIRLING MOSS DROVE AT SEBRING IN 1960.
Article courtesy of CHATTER magazine (Austin-Healey Club of America)
[possibly the actual car]
Another BMC hardtop
for sale on ebay,
SOLD at £500
HEALEY ROCKER COVER
for sale on ebay, but
DON’T DELAY – EXPIRES
7 pm.GMT Monday 11th
SOLD at £476!
COMING SHORTLY
4646 UE – Paul Tarry’s
aluminium-bodied rebuild of an original Sebring Sprite
ALSO ~ Further information about the mystery car HAN8-R-202, and some fascinating stuff from Chris Polley, son of the Late Ian Polley.
RACEBEARS are offering these two photos of the Le Mans Sprite 1411 WD at Brands Hatch, for sale on ebay at £4.99 apiece. Link 1(left) and Link 2(right)
[Thanks to Pete Taylor and Paul Bos for bringing
these to my attention]
LUCKY JOHN
If you are resident in UK or Worldwide rather than USA please note amended ordering instructions below.
Phil Zamlynski is making good progress with his Sebring Coupe Replica which is now ready for the painting stage
John Sprinzel anticipates his books should arrive 15th Nov and plans to try to despatch pre-ordered copies by the end of the month.
THE GRAPEVINE WORKS!
Ian Hulett recently tipped off Chris Grainge about a W & P bonnet for sale on ‘gumtree’. Another little problem solved.
TARGA REVISITED
I have added some more photos to the webpage, courtesy of John Phillips. Also see “Your Comments” page for early reactions.
JAX 12 – 791 NAR
Little snippets of information continue to emerge so that we have nearly all this car’s life history. BUT we still don’t know where it is now ??
[courtesy of Ivo Cappon]
“Lucky John” is now available
John Sprinzel’s autobiography is now published and
on its way to John in Hawaii from where he will distribute signed copies at $60 (about £40) apiece plus postage ($5 in the USA, $25 worldwide).
For USA only you can order a numbered, signed copy by going to http://www.spritespot.com
and clicking the “Buy Now” button.
UK residents and Worldwide residents need to transfer $85 direct to John using PayPal to luckyjohn@hawaii.rr.com or can order 5 copies in order to reduce the carriage cost for a total of $360 and distribute spare copies to their friends and contacts.
