i have owned my froggeye now for 32 years restored it as a 20 year old with bits of plate welded every where filler here and there to get it through the mot didnt plan on keeping him this long at all so in 2001 i got down to a real restore as he had not let me down exsept the usual punctures and minor mot work so at 48years old me not the frog i set to new floors, bonnet, sills iner and outer,front chasis, overhalled the engine, the works after the respray and reassembley there he was in old english white now that was 2007 and still has not let me down to date fantastic to drive , cheep to run, all parts on the shelf at ah spares , a gteat feat of engineering by the british car builders
relieability, comfort, head turner, great looking
when i pull in to car park,petrol station, ect people stop me to ask about him not that i mind at all
Reviewing a 1959 model.
austin healey sprite
Owned for more than 5 years.
A joy to drive, handles like a go-kart,great flexibility. Get an aluminum radiator and head, add a header, a Judson supercharger, an Elgin "blower" cam through 1.5 rockers, a 5-speed and 3.9 or, better yet a 3.5 diff. and it is one fun car with enough "go" to safely keep up with today's traffic. Don't forget to modify brakes and suspension accordingly; disks in front, 3/4 front bar, upgraded shocks (tube conversion), rear panard set-up and wider wheels and a good set of 165 or 175/70's work well with the torque increase of the blower. Nology wires help a stock ignition set-up but will do nothing for a good electronic upgrade such as Pertronix which works so well it doesn't need any help from add-ons! A good set of LCB headers of "medium" diameter work well with a machine intended for the street, especially when teamed with an RC-40 exhaust system (rear box only; very quiet but fully "free flow". A Bugeye is a ball just "stock"; add a blown 1275 and 5-speed and it's a real blast!!
Don't forget to lower the compression ratio for today's "quality" gas or you'll blow head gaskets and/or "hole" pistons unless you retard timing to the extent there would be no point in having the "blower". Even back in the 60's with leaded 100RON+ readily available, holed pistons and blown headgaskets, assuming stock timing, were not unknown. So beware! The aluminum head has 23cc chambers instead of the stock head's 21cc chambers so this will help a bit with the stock bore's 8.8 to 1 CR, but a total CR of about 8.1 is conservative and "safe" considering today's pump octanes unless you want to pay for racing fuel as a supplement (octane boosters will not take the place of leaded racing fuel, no matter what "they" tell you; it will just help a bit). 8.0 to 1 dished pistons seems the proper place to start! And, on the 1275 engine you'll want to overdrive the blower about 30% as Judson designed it's blower originally for the 948; the blower will handle the increased RPM's fine assuming you are not driving around with your foot "in it" all the time!
With the cutest headlights in motoring history, earning it the nickname 'Frogeye', the Sprite was one of the first truly affordable sports cars. They now have a strong owners following, with nice cars fetching a good price. Most parts readily available.
Never owned
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed July 2001.
Performance
Reliability
Parts Availability
Overall Value for Money
Keep it original for the ultimate satisfaction .... or else get something else with a bigger engine.
Owned for 5 years.
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