1968 Austin Healey Sprite

1968 Austin Healey Sprite MkIV 

This is a reserve price auction for a nice, very solid MkIV sprite. Just noticed after listing that the two interior pictures have what looks like a brown stain on the drivers seat and on the drivers interior door panel. Must have been some kind of light reflection because there are no actual stains there,  just in the pictures. Sorry for not noticing it and taking better pictures.

Solid body, essentially no rust top or bottom, no dents or dings except a very small dent on the hood, extensive mechanical restoration done, lots of new parts, could use paint and some cosmetics to be a really nice car. Engine starts easily, idles and runs well, no smoke or nasty noises, clutch is new, transmission fine. I have not purchased Michigan plates for it so it has only been test driven in my sub, but it has not been highway driven since mechanical restoration. Although it seems to run very well, I would suggest an engine tuning by someone more skilled in British cars than I am – wouldn't be surprised if it could be improved.

I bought this car in July 2017 at an auction of one man's large, eclectic collection. It had not been driven since approximately 1996 and was stored in a heated building since approximately 1996.  It was in remarkably good shape for a 50+ year old, unrestored project car. I have restored a number of Pontiac muscle cars in the last 20 years, and this was to be a fun project and then a weekend cruising car once I brought it back to life. Altho the paint is far from pristine, I planned to drive it as is. You may prefer to do a little more cosmetic work, including fresh paint, for more of a show car. It is for sale because it is very difficult for my wife to get in and out of (and somewhat for me too – a senior thing) and cruising by myself would not be much fun.

It appears to be largely original, spent time in Arizona and Washington before being shipped to the collection in Ohio. At some point in the 1990's in Arizona it was titled with a VIN assigned by Arizona – the AH build plate is missing. But in that process, probably due to a typo, the year got changed to 1963. So, my valid, clean Michigan title also says 1963, with an Arizona assigned VIN. It is definitely NOT a 63, and almost certainly a 68, possibly 67. Body tag is HUN 001888 P, engine tag is 12CD-DA-H 2379

Body is very solid, paint is an old repaint and has chips and other issues. The lower clips are missing on the passenger front fender. Hood needs minor work on back edge. Body should be ready to strip, prep and paint if desired once those relatively minor issues are fixed. A complete body rubber/seal kit for a repaint is included, along with a large box of spares, filters etc. A slightly used clutch is also in that box. Interior could use a dash pad and needs three small trim panels redone (new board and vinyl), Carpet very good (almost new), seats are later model seats that recline and have headrests. One headrest has a small-finger size hole, otherwise seats are very nice. Lap/shoulder belts are new, radio and speakers are new. Top is in surprisingly nice shape for its age, See details below.  All new radial all season tires – less than 20 miles on them. Mechanically I have corrected, repaired or in most cases replaced anything it needed. See the list of new parts below. Remote bleeder for clutch installed – very, very useful improvement.

New

• Ignition switch

• Fuse box

• Front brake rotors, pads, brake lines

• Rear brake wheel cylinders, brake lines

• Brake master cylinder

• Clutch, new master and slave cylinders, lines, remote bleeder

• Water pump

• Starter (rebuilt)

• Hoses and belts

• Oil pressure line and fittings

• Spark plugs

• Fuel pump, lines, filter

• Battery

• Carbs cleaned, new improved grose type float valves, jet needle installed

• Air cleaner elements

• Rear taillight and front turn signal light lenses and bulbs

• Tires (less than 20 miles)

• CD AM/FM stereo radio and speakers (had to fill existing speaker holes)

• Gas pedal and pedal pads

• Seat/shoulder belts

• Hood release cable

• All fluids replaced

Restored

• Engine pulled, cleaned, painted

• Engine compartment cleaned and painted (rattle can)

• Undercarriage test cleaned in spots to show there is no rust

• Wheels media blasted, primed and painted with Eastwood rally silver

• Very nice used seats – later model, reclining with headrests

• Carpet is like new

• Trunk cleaned and painted

• Wiring – all lights work as they should except backup lights

• All gauges work except gas gauge

Needs to be "perfect"

• Dash pad has two non-trivial holes

• One headrest has a small hole

• Top is functional, good condition – no cuts, tears, missing pieces, clean, flexible - except clear plastic main window is not completely clear. Plastic cleaner/polish improved but so far did not completely correct it

• Body is very solid, no significant rust that I have found (by Michigan 50-year-old car standards, this car has no rust at all)

• One front fender clip missing/broken

• Hood needs adjustment and a little metal work at the back edge.  One very small dent in front, not visible in pictures

• Rest of sheet metal has no dents or dings that I can find – overall rather surprisingly good condition

• Undercarriage could be just as clean as the top of the car – no rust, needs cleaned with degreaser.

• Rear bumper is straight, chrome has some crazing in a couple places, looks good from 3 feet

• Front bumper has several small dings, chrome is pretty good, grille surround has some dings

• Paint is an old repaint, has some chips, overall fair to poor. I used some perfectly matching rattle can paint to touch up some spots

• Hub caps are very good except one has a gouge and should be replaced

• Windshield has a long, straight vertical crack

• Wiper arms seem to be weak, little pressure against the glass

• Sun visor mounting needs something

• Couple of interior panels by the footwell need redone

• Exhaust system functional, no leaks, not shiny or pretty

I have bought or sold eight vehicles on ebay over the years, and the goal is to have no surprises when you see the vehicle in person. So…if you have any questions, please email with phone number BEFORE bidding, and I will be glad to talk with you, or send lots more pictures. If possible, come see it.

Sold as-is, payment by bank funds transfer On Aug-14-21 at 13:23:25 PDT, seller added the following information:

Should note that brake calipers are also new. Total cost of new parts is just under $2000. Overall, with the extensive mechanical work completed, of the ten 50+ year old cars I have purchased over the years to restore, this one is the solidest of the bunch. The body is especially good for a vehicle that old.On Aug-15-21 at 06:54:41 PDT, seller added the following information:

In response to a question - there is minor surface rust in the seams between the upper and lower front fenders that has caused some stains in the paint. Already mentioned is the missing clip on the passenger side fender. This looks very minor to me but I should have specifically mentioned it regardless. I don't think I can add or change the pictures, so if you want some closeup pictures send me a message. Many of the cars I've done have needed some fairly significant metal work by the body shop, and have gotten very high quality paint jobs - so I suppose I tend to downplay minor rust and be very picky about paint when describing a car.

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