Greetings Jack!
A few cars back, my collection included a 1960 AH 'Bugeye' Sprite.
I'm 6'-1" and once I shoehorned my torso into the driver's seat, my
wife said I looked like one of those McDonald's cartoon toys they give
away periodically in their 'Happy Meals"!
Sarcastic remarks aside, that was one fun car to thrash around on the
twisty country roads in my immediate environs! The history on this
particular car indicated that it had been raced in SCCA since it was
new. The owner I bought the car from had been returning it back to a
more streetable form, but there were enough 'upgrades' left on it to
make for some spirited motoring.
Some things that I would look for when considering purchasing one of
these gems include:
- Presence of 'ribcase' transmission versus 'smoothcase' that was
factory. 'Ribcase' gearboxes are from later Sprites and are a much
more reliable gearbox.
- 1275 cc engine versus 948 or 1150 cc standard engines, for obvious
horsepower factor.
- Beware of rust in the rear semi-elliptic springbox mounting points.
These are pockets in the unibody where the rear leaf springs bolt to
the body proper. If there's rust in those areas, the behaviour of the
car can get nasty.
- Front disc brakes versus standard front drum units. The disc brakes
units from later Sprites are a bolt-on upgrade that is definitely the
way to go for reliability and sure stopping.
I could go on, but I believe the list frowns on exhaustive discussions
of a subject. Contact me directly if you wish to know more from this
humble car nut! Hope it's a decent car, it certainly is a rock bottom
price for an interesting and desireable automobile.
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