I Found Six Frogeye Sprites in One Barn!
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
- Today I look at the six MK I Austin Healy Sprites that I found together in a barn.
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This Week With Cars - Episode 0085
Marvelous! Six with one blow. In 1974, I found a 59 bugeye in a barn about thirty miles from my home. I drove over to look at it, and handed the nice man $200. He said it ran when it was parked, 10 years before, so I came back with a battery and a 5 gallon can of gas. The engine had oil in it. I sprayed the carb linkages with WD-40, got in the car and tried to start it. There was no gas in its tank, so I just dumped the 5 gallons in there. The brake pedal was OK, and the clutch pedal worked. So, I cranked the car over and the engine started, once the fuel pump had time to fill the float bowls. The tires had air. I shifted into 1st gear and the car would drive forward and stop. So, I asked my wife to follow me home and drove my new Sprite back to the house. After a few hours of cleaning, a new set of plugs and points, an oil change, and four new tires, it was my new daily driver. What luck!
Scrapheap??? No noooo! They are far too good, don't look like they are rotted out, and I'm sure there are 6 enthusiasts out there who would just love to get them back on the road.
Keep up the good work!
Neil.
A very nice pickup of some neat little "Bug eyes" love to see them all get going again, scrap...never!
Interesting that you call them Frogeye Sprites and refer to the Bonnet and Boot as we do in the UK
Well…those are the correct terms!
Can't believe how good #1 looks, and the engine sounds great! Excellent find. No way these should have gone to the scrap heap. I'm glad somebody responsible is now looking after them and bringing them back to the life they deserve.
The green lamp between the speedo and tach is the turn signal indicator. The red ignition lamp is located at the bottom of the speedo, with the blue hi-beam lamp at the bottom of the tach.
Yes you are correct sir!
My brother used to own one when I was age 10, and he used to take me driving with him and scare the crap out of me going around corners at full throttle. It was a source of laughter for him. It was very stable and it used to drift nicely. It's of course very low to the ground and so the ground appears to be coming at you so much faster.
What a find! Long ago my older brother and his best friend were into British cars. The best friend had a ‘58 Sprite. I rode in it once. Great fun! Wheeler Dealers Rehab’s a Sprite a while back. Great project. Brother, his friend, and the Sprite are gone. Those were good times.
All six look in really good condition. If the other five turn out as well, you've got yourself a sweet deal. To find six frogeyes with so little rust in England would be little short of a miracle, with the amount of salt used on the roads, and the generally damp climate.
I don't think these were found in England but in Iowa. Correct me if I'm wrong.
@@dickb2128 . My meaning was, that due to the English climate, a haul like this would be unlikely in the UK. Even in a state like Iowa it's fortunate they were kept out of the weather.
Find 6 with so little rust!!!....try finding 1 over this side of the pond lol.
These bug-eye Sprites are getting somewhat rare. If nothing else get them all running & sell them to others who are looking for an affordable classic car to fix up, or restore. Thank you for saving these.
They made just under 50k of them worldwide, so not that rare.
Take them to a self serve car wash and spray the undersides with spray wax. Plus silicone tire shine protects mufflers.
How many of them are you going to put up for sale
Six in one go is a dream. Here in England those cars are worth a fortune! That first one is a real beauty. Please push on with the others!
Awesome find!
On AUSTIN FROGEYE NO 6 it has the MG MIGET hardtop on it 😊
Awesome find Steve, I am so looking forward to you getting them ALL going and watching you as you do it. You are saving automotive legends and bringing us along as you do it. Thank you for taking your time and including us on the journey, I am excited to see your posts no matter what you are showing but especially with these older British classics from my youthful dreams. Wow!
I worked for Leyland Motors for 20 years from 1968 (the truck division at Leyland Lancashire) and while I was a student there a colleague had a frog eye Sprite and we used the facilities in the apprentice traniing centre in the factory to fit a super charger to it. It made it exciting to drive!
Cool, my dad had a fleet of Leyland’s Super Comets, Lynx 500 engine I used to work on them every weekend.
@@michaell5038 The 500 . . . . Ah yes. The dreaded headless wonder!
It's amazing how those A series engines will start almost first time after many years of sleeping. There's lots of fun to be had getting all those up and running.
Yes, they are an amazing little engine, and fitted to so much stuff from the period. ALL of the classic minis, the Austin/Morris 1100 or 1300, the Austin Allegro, Wolseley 1300 or Vandan Plas, these lovely bug-eye sprites, the Riley Elf.......an engine for MANY different cars, and between all of those models, they must have made literally millions of those little A's..... :)
Wow - just wow.
Brings back so many great memories. I had one of these when I was 18. I'm 69 now & very fondly remember the fun had in one of these beauties.
You have literally found 6 of my favorite cars ever built. These are really rare and one of the all time greats!
I would be over the moon happy with this find.
Please fix them all!!!
My first sportscar, way back in the day, was a Frogeye. Sweet ride. If you saw another coming towards you , you flashed your lights , they ALWAYS flashed back. Kind of an elite little club.
I lived in Kenya 60 years ago and used to drive one of these all over the country servicing juke boxes! Great little car
Please keep restoring them, they deserve a second life. Thanks for great videos.
Awesome work! I have a 1961 MKII Sprite in the garage and this inspired me to jump back into the carb rebuild I've been putting off.
This is great! These are "survivor" cars and I would consider not restoring and just repairing, if possible. I used to live for this, but my cars of choice were Triumph TR7's and Fiat Spiders - people would almost give them away and many times there were only minor repairs necessary. I lost count of how many I "rescued" over the years. Once I found a disassembled 1971 Jag XKE and paid $2500 for it. It wasn't rusty, but it needed a complete restoration. I did the restoration and it was slow and expensive, but at the end, I had a really nice car. I slowly morphed into looking for musical instruments...vintage everything, but mostly keyboards like Hammonds...Easier to move and store! Still play with them to this day!
Scrap yard? No way. I love the Healey's and Austin-Healey's. My 1st car was a 1965 Mark 3. It was slow as a tractor but the sounds and feels will never be replaced in my mind. I still have a Jag in the garage. All of them...Very British!
Yay! Frogeyes, the friendliest car ever made.
Drive one of those and EVERYBODY is smiling at you!
Wonderful. At 20m 53s I'm sure I heard the little bug say 'thank you'!
These are iconic Brit sports cars. Nice to see you using the correct Frogeye terminology. They always bring back fantastic memories for me. In 1963, I had a '61 in Speedwell blue as my very first car. Two things may I say you are mistaken about? All radios were aftermarket and none were original fitment. They were all produced and sold with front bumpers and thr rears were just individual overrider style. The first owner of mine had modified it by removing the fronts and converting the bonnet to hinge from the front bumper mounting points. This quite common at the time. He also had a Barwell conversion done.
The Heritage Certificate for my 1960 Frogeye states that the factory options included were: toughened windscreen, mph speedometer, heater, rev counter, screen washers - and front bumper. I have also seen other descriptions stating that front bumper was an option.
What a find!! I have always found English cars to be frustrating. You can never lose one, all you have to do is follow the oil trail. They are usually quite simple and fun to drive but waiting for a tow truck is all part of the experience of owning one. Greetings from the Blue Mountains outside Sydney Australia.
I have always dreamed of restoring one of these. I had a Mk IIA in my younger days. They MUST be restored as they are part of motoring history!
I had a Sunbeam Alpine in 1971, had to put the top on my bunk at the Navy barracks, loved the car, but, I stuck out head, and, shoulders when I drove. Got laughed at a lot!!
Well done Steve! I had a frog-eye (as we call them) 50 years ago - great to see you bring an original one back to life. Please do not scrap them!!
Love the informal approach to getting them started.
Wow I wish I could find some Mk1 Sprites in a barn here in Australia. I'd absolutely love one!
This is a great haul. Get these back on the road and find some folks who what to refurbish them. I remember driving from Baltimore to O.C. Md in an MG Midget. The car burned oil so furiously that the owner used straight STP at times. It was still a fun car and a fun drive always put a grin on my face.
Hi, you used to British word's, the Boot ( trunk ) and windscreen ( windshield ), excellent find😀🇬🇧🇺🇸
Wow that is fantastic!!! You must be delighted. I hope you make videos fixing them all up!
Very nice find. Great condition. There’s one within a mile of my house but it is a rust bucket. I had a nice running 1965 Midget back in the late 70s and a TR3 as my 2nd car in the 60s. I always loved the Bug eye/Frog eye Sprites. Best of luck.
Enjoyed that video, great one handed photography. Good job Steve
Love to see them all run if you can make it happen. It'd be most interesting to see you assemble the one without the engine (5?) and get that driving.
Pretty hard not to get an A series to run tbh. I've seen some in dire condition run as though there's nothing wrong. Had a diesel A series that was beyond salvage but all the ancillaries are working perfectly on other engines.
My father bought a Bug Eye in 1961, and managed to keep it into the mid 70s some time. I remember the sound of the engine. I could almost smell the gas and oil - beautiful.
Scrap heap ?? .... NOT a chance in the world !! They are beautiful little cars that someone will enjoy !!!
Wonderful find. Had two 1960 Sprites about 25 years ago. Fun cars!
fun times Six....looking forward to finding out about them all
My first car was a used 1960 Sprite in 1965. Later I sold it to a boy in the Navy who fully restored it, painted in yellow, and drove it to Florida. When I had it, it didn't have much acceleration and developed a start problem remedied by rolling/pushing it, jumping in, depressing the clutch, and turning the key, I think.
Interested in watching you repair them all ( shopping list 6 master cylinders)
Hey Steve, I've got some Brit............. sold, I want them all. I love this man.
If I could go back in time, this is exactly what I would do. Buy as many as I can (they were going for around $500 back in the day) and reveal them 50 years later. Of course I would include some Triumph TR-3s, MGAs. These cars were so much fun to drive.
Well, you done gone & stirred up my memory chips of age 4. My cousin took me for a ride in his Sprite, for the 1st speed thrill of my life. Fast forward to 1974 when I'd just finished my 3 yrs. service, and shared my last visit with him @ the hospital before his passing. His passion for model planes & cars had left my youth strewn with hand me down such models as a balsa wood / paper skin B-58 about 3' when stood on end. Obligements from the final resting place State of those 3 Blood Baptized Texans Crockett, Bowie, & Travis. -Former Recondo Sgt. 82nd Abn. 1/504 Inf. '71---'74
Nice find. Six, that's rare. They all look like they are in amazing shape. Good one Steve.
Being an English guy who lives in Canada, its nice to see these little classics, and even nicer to see you taking the time to get them running and driving again, wish id found even one, never mind six, well done !
What a find! And what fun to be able to participate with someone who obviously loves what he does! Bugeyes forever!!
I had a '59 bug-eyed Sprite. Bought it in 1965 for $100 from a co-worker, who had restored one. This was his parts car, but it was an (almost) complete, running car. When I drove it home, a neighbor saw it and fell in love with it. About 3 hours later I sold it to him for $300. I was happy ... it was too small for me to fit into, and I tripled my money.
Hi Steve, What an amazing find. Impossible in England. Look forward to see how you get on with the rest.
In 1962 I just had to have one of those, searched all over the Los Angeles area. Almost all I saw were beat to death in just 2 to 3 years. Finally found a 1960 with low miles and 60 psi of oil pressure (many had only 25 psi on a cold start!). And most had battery acid dripping out of the heater vents, these were truly el cheapo rides. Surprised that you think the green light on the dash is an ignition light, no, it is the turn signal indicator.
Unbelievable! I spent about 6 MONTHS looking for one of these cars all across the US. Finally found a '59 about 15 miles from my house! Did a 3 year, full rotisserie restoration! But being a hot rodder I couldn't leave it stock. All original exterior and interior including all original instruments, original generator w/tach drive working well. Iris Blue w/ dark blue seats and Iris piping! NOS Moto-Lita wood-rim 13" steering wheel. Modified 1275 engine; Datsun 5-speed; Front Line suspension upgrades; Huffaker billet axles and a limited-slip diff; Mini-lite wheels; LCB header w/ NOS Abarth muffler. Lots of fun, a real Go-Kart, and a real attention getter for sure. "Your car is smiling, and looks so happy!"
You are one lucky man to make such a find. Looking forward to seeing more of your videos, thanks for sharing, Robert.
Good to see more treasure turning up in Iowa. Every summer something new pops up it seems.
You got that right!
Absolutely please restore them to there former glory those cars deserve it and every car has an history to tell we are never really the owner but the keepers to passing on know how an treasure.
Wow Steve, what a find. Amazing little cars to drive. Not fast but big fun.
Not fast ex factory, but change carbs, uprated cams -used to be able to get, sport, rally and race cams - the latter below 3000ish rpm sounded like a bag of bolts until it came 'on cam' then it sung, head polish and porting . Used to hill climb one in days of yore.
Not fast but no slowing for turns.
My first car in 1964 was a 1960 Sprite...I'd love to have another one. Great fun to drive if you're a 17 year old kid.....Nice Find...
Nice job Steve you didn't mention puting some oil in the SUs, fantastic you can get the bits to keep these old cars on the road!
I used to have back in the UK in the 1980's.. I'd love to have one in my old age here in Oregon..:)
As a kid in the early sixties I used to pour over the car mags of the day, and remember after market hard tops were made by companies like Lenham and others. You may have one of those.
Oh, and you should have tried clutchless changing to get it out of first!
Nice cars.....
Great story and clip Steve - so nice to see that these dormant Frogeyes will now get a new lease of life. My old dad always said he wanted a Frogeye Sprite from when he was a young man back in the 1950s in London - I've heard his story so many times that a guy who would sometimes visit their flats (apartments) near Brixton had a new baby blue Sprite and how the teenage boys would gather round to admire his car - they were a luxury that ordinary working people could never have dreamt of owning then. Love watching your stories here - keep up the good work sir! Simon from Sussex, England
These are fairly rare now in UK so to find SIX in one place was very unusual and you were lucky. Well worth saving and restoring and none look too bad at all. Never noted for their performance, folk here just liked the charm of Frogeye Sprites.
Finding one of these in such good condition is getting pretty rare, so two together would have been a great find. Finding *six* all stuffed full of spare parts is more than lucky. If I was you, I'd be buying a lottery ticket, maybe six.😂
I hope we can watch you get *all* of them running, then maybe restore at least one of them. With such a choice, it'll be tricky picking the best one but, with six virtually complete cars, you can surely cobble together one completely original Sprite. It would be a brave man that tried to do all six but, if you give them all a thorough cleaning, inside and out, and get them running, I would think there's quite a chunk of $$$$ to be made.
Three TVRs was impressive; this is just unbelievable.👍👌
That aftermarket hardtop might be by "Snug Top". That angled lip on the back was similar to the ones they made for MGBs. Also, there was never a "factory radio". All radios were dealer-installed so there's no real consistancy. If you have the speker support/holder you're in luck. Those are thing on the ground. Fingers crossed that you find a ratchet wrench for the OEM, a-frame, factory jack!
That brings back so many memories, I acquired a 1959 frog eye sprite back in 1975 and wish I still had it .
What a fabulous video !!!! Six of these little beauties, on the point of starting a new life is just great to see. And N° 1 fired up and drove !!! And looked in such amazing condition after just a quick wash-over.
Extraordinary. Best video yet, can't wait to see more. Dave
I let my ‘85 Toyota 4cyl PU sit for a year while traveling Asia. Put “Stable” in the gas tank, disconnected battery and put on trickle charger. When I returned I shot starter fluid in the carb. Added fresh gas and connected battery. 3 cranks and she was purring like a kitten. Drove the truck 5yrs before a head gasket blew.
Steve, you are THE forever optimist. And your knowledge and perseverance is exemplary and amirable. Love watching your videos.
Had a '60 in the late 60s and loved it. Didn't do well in Gymkhanas because of the unlocked rear diff. So I welded the spiders. After that it either won FTD or broke an axle. But I could drive it home with one axle. Thanks for the memories.
Front bumpers were standard fitment for all USA cars. It was optional in some other markets. And we all took them off almost immediately. All radios were dealer installed, so they can be any brand. Car one clearly has had major rust repair, the panel lines are covered over, so how bad is it really? You won't know until it is stripped to bare metal everywhere. Still all are worth saving, they are great cars.
I'd love to have one of these. They are such a fun car. Not all that fast, but a blast to drive on windy roads.
Wow, what a fabulous find, have fun!
god I would be in a dream land if that was my garage I would literally eat sleep and work 24-7 on them beauties
rustyspanners66 Me too! These would keep me busy for about 2 years.
Check with Bugeye Guy in Connecticut. I'm sure he'd love to talk to you!
Just damn, truly amazing find right there.
Thanks for saving. Never to scrape...get them all running. There are buyers out there...
This was the first ever car I rebuilt when I was 16 in 1966. Sold it for $300 afterwards. Did a paper route in my '62.
WOW! What a bonanza!
Well worth tiding up they are a lovely looking little car.
Way back in the ‘60’s we had a “Car Club”. My contribution was a green 1954 Chevy, but we had two bug eyes 👀 in the club as well as MG A’s. We also had a “Toyopet”, forerunner to Toyota.
HI .... The blue box truck that is in the parking lot behind the Bug-eye " long haul trucking " ....... That truck looks like the one with the curved front windshield glass that are used on the vintage RV's called an ULTRA VAN ...... Have you ever seen an Ultra Van ??? ..... I have one they are a very interesting design. The windshields are a strange peculiarity and come in three pieces using the right and left from that Blue Van plus a flat cent piece . GREAT FIND WITH THE BUG-EYE SPRITES BY THE WAY ...... I am a Brit so really appreciate them ....... Cheers , Richard in Dana Point CA
A "Bug-eyed" Sprite, was my first car in 1960. I thought I was was pretty "Cool" man. Semi truck drivers loved to creep up on me at stop lights I was surprised that they could see the whole car from way up there.
Interesting to look *up* at the truck's lugnuts.
Boy did you get lucky. No rust, no body damage. 99 % complete.
You are the Man!!
I used to have the official BMC trim book for the Sprite (The dealer was getting rid of it). It listed trim/paint combinations, accessories etc. The hardtop with the slanted rear to the side screens was in there as an option, but I've never seen one before. I assumed that it was for competition use - to get a bit more side view (rallying?)
Had a 64 w a speedwell front, 1275cc cam 9k rpm and a 4.80.. rear end ... love them fix them.. share the LOVE
I got rid of the single circuit break system and put the updated duel circuit break system on...
Man what a find. I am always searching and always a day late or a doller short. Looking forward on videos on your bug-eyes.
The little silver knobs that you attributed to the side curtains look more like the knobs on the inside door opener handles. From the video, it looks like someone has in fact substituted a round metal knob for the Plexiglas chips glued to the panes, that originally served as fingerholds to open/close the side curtains. As to the car missing the drivetrain, consider a modern 4-cyl 200HP crate engine. If my Bugeye hadn't been a concours contestant, I might have done that.
What a jackpot! I have a 59 Frogeye thats been modified and in great shape. I love some of the originality of some of yours and some of your parts are in nicer shape than mine! I’ve never seen a hardtop like on #5
When I was a kid my first car was a 1964 MG Midget. I was always jealous of how cool the bug-eye sprite looked. I wasn't jealous of the engine power.
Keep them all, make them work. I had a '60 sprite in the UK in 1966 through 1970. Rust got mine. My one was cherry red.
The first time I ever had the chance to work on a car at age 15 in 1968 was on a Bugeye. Everyday after school this was my buddy and mine passion.
Great decision to take all six, I wish you luck in getting all back on the road. With your interest I’m sure you will. Great job. Bob
Would be great to see all cars running in parades all over midwest. What a sight, a fleet of Sprites
This is an amazing barn find! It’s not often that one finds a Bugeye Sprite in a barn in decent condition with most of the original parts, but to find SIX all in the same barn!?!?! I’d love to know the back story on the owner, the barn, and how you came about finding this amazing treasure trove. I’d be really interested to know what a cache of six original Bugeyes cost you.
I have sent your link to my friends in the Austin Healey Sprite Drivers' Club in Victoria. One of my friends has successfully raced a Bug Eye for many years.
Great save of automotive heritage! Thx!
When I first saw the seats in #6 I thought; Hey, those are Lotus Elan seats. They look just like the ones in the car I drove to high school!
My first reaction too