SPOTTED by Michael Davis – the ‘Speedring’ at Castle Combe over the weekend. (The name was given to it by its builders Bill McDonnough & Dave Groves). Now owned by Mark Warne – thank you Derek.
As we come to the end of another busy month, may I extend my thanks to all those who have supported me and the website with contributions & helpful messages.
AMENDED PRICE TAG: BILL PROUT is offering his Sebring bonnet and rare W&P detachable hardtop for sale in the States. He is looking for £3,500 for the pair which are understood to be in good condition. Bill can be reached by email
RESTORATION OF TOM COULTHARD’S EX-BILL FRANKLIN/DENYS BURGESS RALLY SPRITE WER 354 BEGINS.
Tom: “In June last year, WER’s shell was ready and waiting in my ancient-but-venerable covered trailer, booked in for a full, professional restoration more than 40 years after it was last on the road. The DH MoCo boot rack (beautifully replicated by Peter Seamen) is shown adjacent to the surviving holes in the rear shroud. The shot of the rear wing shows the 1969 yellow ochre as well as some 1965 midnight blue – the diagonal stripe of rust is probably damage from the crash at the 1960 Nurburgring 500km …”.
I understand that the restoration is being undertaken by Westgate Classics in Aldridge and is being project managed by Tom’s good friend Jonathan Whitehouse-Bird so I think we can expect some fairly exacting standards:
“The main monocoque is now virtually finished and almost ready for paint. It’s been a long, hard, slog to get it to this point, but it’s looking good!”
GRAHAM BISH met up with Bob Hinchliffe, owner of USU 607 at the ‘Classics on the Common’ meet at Harpenden
GLENN CASTLE FITS
A 45 DCOE TO AMU
“………VROOOOOOOOOOM!”
NEW SPEEDWELL HANDLES
(above) are now available from
MotoBuild at £399.
See their ad on ebay
SPRIDGET 60 MEET AT ZANDVOORT 27 – 29 JULY 2018
Ian Grainger: “Had a great weekend of Healey racing at Zandvoort recently. Already organised for the last weekend in July next year,to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Sprite. An international Sprite race with a grid of 48 Sprites from around the world. The Healey Museum is providing a large camp site with facilities for the event”.
FROM PHIL ZAMLYNSKI IN THE STATES:
” Yesterday was the day that I finally drove the Sebring. What an Exciting day. After weeks of things not working, broken and leaking all is operational. There are several smaller items to handle to make the car fully road worthy but it’s all together and did I say what FUN, FUN to drive. The car is light on its feet and accelerates smartly in all 5 gears; shifting is very smooth too. The race type front suspension is quick to corner! Plan to followup next week with pics. Best Regards, Phil Z “
SPRITE FOR SALE with A.G.Thorpe bonnet £7500 on ebay
Terry Driscoll (via Facebook) has had these Sebring badges 3D printed and is having them chromed. If anyone would like one the large one is 12cm at about £65 and the small one is 8cm at about £50. Not quite the same design as the originals but attractive nonetheless. If you would like one please let me know via Feedback and I will pass the message on to him
THOSE ‘HEALEY’ ROCKER BOXES
Ian Grainger was quick to respond to my question and says: “These were copies of my rocker cover on 2341 UE, still with the car in the Healey Museum. Colin Cooper had a batch of copies made, when he owned Frogeye Spares here in Oxfordshire. Unfortunately, there was some unexpected shrinkage which caused problems with rocker clearance, I believe”. However I don’t recall any clearance problems when using mine.
ARCHERS’ FIBREGLASS PANELS
I hear that Andrew (Forster) is working on the first of his Peel Fastbacks since closure of Archers Garage. He only has limited spare time in which to do this work as he has a full time job, and a family to enjoy, but it’s good to hear the supply of these components goes on, albeit slowly.
THE FIRST OF SVEN ECKHARDT’S REPLICA DHMC HARDTOPS LEAVES THE MOULD
Sven has “made a set of holding brackets as well as sourced rear screens (perspex for the time being glass is possible at a price). The clamps fitting it to the windscreen are available from Moss or AH spares”. He has made a trial fitting of the prototype hardtop to one of his cars – more soon.
Steve Nash: “So, went for the first drive in Kermit for some 27 years. Just been for a drive around the farm. A few jobs still to do, but Kermit lives again!”
Does anyone recall who produced the rather attractive Healey rocker covers? Might be worth getting some more. Feedback please
WJB 707
I have now added the ‘Octane’ article to the list on the ‘Articles’ page now that you have all had a chance to buy a copy!
ONE OF A CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF SUPPORTIVE EMAILS RECEIVED FROM CONTRIBUTORS (THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH) FOLLOWING PUBLICATION OF THE FACEBOOK MESSAGES SHOWN LOWER DOWN THIS PAGE:
“Hallo Martin
It surprised me that you placed the comments from Jonathon and Tom on your site. Very honest but if they can do everything better then let them do it themselves. It is and remains your site to do what you like and it does not need to be all their opinion because that is fact in their eyes. Also I think their comments were rude and disrespectful.
You started your website with your own ideas and learnt as you went along and it has continually improved. You have very many people who enjoy this site and like it the way it is and read it every day. Not everyone wants Forums, Facebook and an Interactive site. Plus what is the point there is only one set of facts which is correct. The many wrong facts on your site ’not my words’ are also a matter of opinion and not everyone agrees with the experts. Many facts have been manipulated at the time and some have changed due to new information. Also information is not always 100% accurate as with me. I have a letter from Ian Walker when I bought his car in 1966 and he said he competed in it at the Nurburgring 500km but this is incorrect according to race results etc. I have owned the car for 51 years and I probably tell facts that I believe correct as after such a long time you remember it differently, sometimes as you hoped it would happen. I do not agree with every opinion written on your site but as I try to tell my wife ‘ Many faults I have but being wrong is not one of them’ and unfortunately she only laughs.
There will always be people that comment on your site and it is usually the same but hundreds think otherwise but do not send you compliments every day.
Remember above everything else it is your site.
Keep up the good work and do it your way.
Cheers
Steve (Bowen)”
ANOTHER MEMBER FOR THE SEBRING SPRITE FAMILY
“Hi Martin, Would like to join the “Family”. Own a 59 Sprite MK1 special (998 engine with approx. 65HP, LSD etc.) Also building an Ashley on 59 MK1 base with original 1960 fiberglass hardtop, bonnet and rear. Engine will be supercharged 1098 with CR gearbox and 3.7 LSD. Regards, Kees van Beijmerwerdt
Extra: I am quite happy with your set up of the site. If you open it like Facebook the risk of on-going arguments (true/fake) will go on forever! Just leave (it), if somebody really wants to help you he should just do it, not just commenting…..”
PIERRE LEQUEUX
has finally fitted his DHMC hardtop (No 300) to 2080 PO and just needs to find an upholsterer to refurbish the original screens….”i painted it old English white to match the car ….so much more headroom when you seat in the car….”
FROM BOB BLAYDEN DOWN UNDER:
Hi Martin, Hope all is well in the UK. Well I finally fitted my Sebring Knock ons with help from Russ who has a hoist in his garage it sure makes it easy on the body (my body) while doing the job we found a leaking rear wheel cylinder & found a front wheel bearing on the way out so the green car had a full service & when I got home I fitted 2 Lucas lamps (looks great) all good in sunny Australia.
FROM MAARTEN KRIKKEN:
“Hi Martin, Look what I found today while on holiday in Normandy. Great to see Sebring Sprites pop up in the most unusual publications, just a shame it is described as a plastic car… All the best, Maarten”
Maybe Jonathan can tell us more about the photo.
FROM FACEBOOK GROUP: Austin-Healey Historic Pictures (read entries in reverse order)
Martin Ingall: In response to Tom’s, Jonathan’s and Rob’s comments and in defence of my website sebringsprite.com: It was created initially to support Brian Archer’s supply of the Sebring replica and quickly developed into a more wide-ranging site covering all sorts of “special Sprites”. Today it has around 220 individual web pages and some 6,500 photos. Some pages were created from my own knowledge or gleaned from the many Sprite books or by personal research of a particular subject but many others, as in the case of 1411 WD, came about by my receipt of information via emails over a period . I have always felt that the beauty of a website is that incorrect information can easily be corrected. (I have re-written the paragraph about 1411 WD mentioned by Tom and apologise if I omitted to do so earlier but I didn’t then quite understand where he felt it to be defective). Books and magazines once published and circulated contain their errors for all time whereas if I am told of an error I usually do my best to put it right on the website poste haste. If, Jonathan, you are aware of errors please do let me know about them as I would very much like to correct them all. On the subject of making the site more interactive I did look at creating a blog alongside it but found the task beyond my capability. The software I use is now dated and having re-written the whole site once when FrontPage disappeared I cannot now face doing that again. If someone else wishes to take on the task I would consider passing it over. At the present time I spend an hour almost every morning updating the site and feel that is the limit of the time I can or wish to spend on it. The site does seem to be of interest to quite a large group of enthusiasts on a regular basis and has been instrumental in selling many parts as well as complete cars, and in discovering all sorts of facts and information which otherwise might never have come to light. While I can see the benefits of the interactive Facebook pages I am not sure how anyone seeking information in future years would access it unless that can be achieved by ‘Googling it’, and many of the entries seem to be very incomplete with photos supplied with no caption or details. Anyone able to assist me in improving the site is very welcome to submit suggestions to me and I will certainly consider them with interest.
Rob Lad Clubbe: That was one of the reasons of setting up the Sebring Sprite Facebook group to give a forum but it doesn’t seamlessly link the two.
Jonathan Whitehouse-Bird:Well said Tom …the single most frustrating aspect I find, regarding the Sebring Sprite webpage, is that it’s not interactive, in the way that Facebook or other internet forums are. True discussion is not possible. Once a ‘statement of fact’ (true or otherwise) is posted, it remains there indefinitely for all to see, and taken as gospel, by any unsuspecting reader, unless someone does take the trouble to contact Martin to correct the error; even then, as Tom has pointed out, such an appeal may go unrecognised or misunderstood. Come on Martin…find a more direct way of interacting with your audience, so that such errors (of which there are many) on your otherwise excellent site are easier to irradicate.
Tom Coultard: It’s not often acknowledged that 1411 WD is actually the coupé version of Les Ireland’s SuperSprite design. It pains me that the Sebring Sprite webpage on 1411 WD still says that I heard “about an unidentified alloy-bodied car in a lock-up at the back of Battersea power station which WAS BEING scrapped” (my emphasis). This implies I didn’t go to see it when I could have done, when the truth is I would have walked through fire or lime to see such a car, or indeed any alloy-bodied Sprite. This calumny has stayed up for many years, despite protest from me. The fact is that I was told the story by Tony Elshof, who was clearly talking about a time 10 or 20 years before … I had a number of phone calls with Tony, then owner of the wreck of PMO 200, in the run-up to the publication of “Spritely Years” in 1993/4. Naturally I was desperate to see PMO, but I now realise he had no intention of allowing this – he wrongly suspected the car was a fake and didn’t want me uncovering that. Our conversations ranged widely through the world of special Sprites, with me anxious to establish my credentials as a true enthusiast and him … just stringing me along. Tony had been Comps Sec for the Healey Club: someone had contacted the club about mangled remains in a lock-up. Unfortunately, it was around a bank holiday weekend, and by the time he got to hear about it and someone was despatched to investigate, the entire site had been cleared and nothing remained of garages or contents. Now the main part of Battersea power station closed in 1975 and it was declared a heritage site and Grade II listed in 1980. Sadly it was not unknown for property developers to hear about impending listed building status and strike over a bank holiday weekend – when they knew officialdom was unlikely to respond – and remove unwanted or potentially expensive features before having to seek permission. (Indeed, the entire Art Deco facade of the Firestone factory on the Great West Road was one such loss – and that was destroyed over the August bank holiday in 1980.) Anyway, if it’s any consolation, 1411 WD must have been in a dire state by that time. Already damaged and fitted with a crude ‘bobtail’ by Mike Garton, the guy he sold it to had crashed it in a race very shortly after acquiring it, and ‘rolled it up into a ball’ as the saying went.
Richard Hart has for sale on ebay
a genuine Paul Ivey EN40 race crank for the 948 inline A-series – i.e. for Sebring Sprite, Midget, Austin A35 and the early production-based Formula Junior engines with standard 1.75 inch main bearings, and wet sump. The crank is brand new old stock, never used. They went out of production when Paul Ivey retired about 5 years ago, and will never be made again. Click on the link above. Expires 23 July. Asking £2,600
TZA & JAMES THACKER AT THE RECENT CHATEAU IMPNEY HILLCLIMB
James tells me: “My ex Midget racing friend Peter Richings and his wife, Joy, came to watch me at the Chateau last weekend and Joy sent me a plethora of photos which she kindly took on Sunday. Peter went on to race F3 and clubmans [won the championship again last year] and has this year retired as a director of JLR.
When replacing a kingpin I discovered that the front O/S damper on the Sprite was not working at all so that may explain why this year, at the same corner I am not lifting the N/S wheel so much! In a class of 15 pre 1961 Sports and Sports racing cars up to 2200cc I managed to come 4th behind a Cooper Monaco and Cooper Bristol and a Lotus Elite”. Well done James.
Nick Conklin still has still a few replica winged ‘Supercharged’ badges
at US$ 75 plus $12 p&p.
Email
“
Paddy Greenwood has pointed out that:
“there are potential issues with headlight/ sidelight alignment with replica (Sebring) bonnets and buyers should check this alignment before accepting their noses”.
Robert Visser is nearing completion of his restoration of the ex-works rally Sprite XOH 276 seen here using its sister car’s registration plate. “Touring abroad, a practical guide to Carefree Motoring” from Tommy Wisdom.
EX-WORKS SPRITES AT THE US CONCLAVE
Tuesday, 11th, after Steve Coleman and his brother, Mike, set up their display at the US Conclave in Waco, Texas. (Photos: Neil Anderson)
Great to see more Sebrings Reps being built including this one for Keith Egar
“I’ve been building a Sebring replica for the last 18 months. The car is nearing completion, and is intended for use as a race car. Most of the hard work was completed by Hall’s Garage at Morton, who did a lovely job fitting the bodywork and glass. The side screens are also from Hall’s. The aim is to race, later in the year. I have a 1293 engine and 1380 for the car. I went with the Speedwell Blue. The car will be road legal and MOT’d. It’s not intended for much road use as the interior is bare and fairly stiff suspension. My aim is to race it in the Equipe/Swinging Sixties and European circuits. The shell is a semi-elliptic1965 on a ‘C’ plate. Registered on the same day that I was born.
Many thanks for your superb website, it brings a lot of joy. Especially when the work is challenging in the day time”.
SVEN ECKHARDT on progress with reproducing DONALD HEALEY MOTOR CO HARDTOPS
“I went to my friend Martin Unzeitig day before yesterday and asked him what progress he had made as my last information was that he was getting the old hardtop ready to take the mould off. He said I couldn´t see the hardtop really because it was in the mould. Obviously I had to have a look and the mould is well on the way.
There will have to be some more layers laminated and the tool will have to come apart. Locating bolts will have to be fitted etc. But I really think it will be weeks rather than months before we can make the first hardtop.
I have made a set of holding brackets as well as sourced rear screens (perspex for the time being glass is possible at a price). The clamps fitting it to the windscreen are available from Moss or AH spares (I have got a pair ready to be fitted). We will make a trial run fitting the prototype hardtop to one of my cars to make sure everything pans out”.
LEW McALLAN has been concentrating on the mechanicals for his Sebring Fastback:
“Thought I should provide you an update on Replica #80 ! Have made substantial progress over the last 2 months and actually fired the car up last weekend. Car has a 1275 recent rebuild with “fast street” cam, smooth idle with 45mm Weber DCOE, Pacesetter headers and a straight pipe to Monza dual tip exhaust. Nice and throaty. Need to bleed brakes and clutch this weekend and I may sneek a drive before bonding the fastback. Decided to get the car to driver level before the bonding. A few pics attached”.
Anyone recognise this Frog’s bonnet? Could it be an early Alexander. Andrew Vigor took the photo on TV from “Shadow of Fear” Feedback
Steuart Crofts
has this Midget Mk 1 hardtop for sale at £500. Email him if interested
SEAN SANDOE
is offering this pair of Armstrong Adjustable shocks (left) at £600 and a Weber carb on a Derrington manifold at £199 on ebay.
Both expire 9th July.
PETER FELLOWES’ SEBRING ROADSTER
“Hi Martin. Love this site and check it each morning hoping for new information. I am building a Sebring Replica and would like to be included in your list of owners please. My car is a mk11a Sprite with Archers Garage rear end and bonnet. I also have a pair of Archers Garage seats. It will still be a convertible as I love open cars. I also have a Speedwell Weston tacho and Les Leston steering wheel. Engine is a warm 1340 with straight cut close ratio box. The car is getting close to being finished. I live on the Gold Coast in Australia but was Born in Wolverhampton. We do come back to England every couple of years. I will send you some photos Soon. Keep up the good work Martin. Peter Fellows.” Queensland, Australia.
