Classic Car Scene

MG Midget Mk III / Austin Healey Sprite MKIV
 

Engine: Four-cylinder in line, overhead valve, water cooled.
Gearbox: Four-speed with syncromesh on the higher ratios.
Suspension:
Front: Independent with coil springs, lower wishbones and Armstrong shock absorber as upper link. Rack and pinion steering.
Rear: Live axle suspended on half-elliptic leaf springs, Armstrong shock absorbers.
Dimensions: Wheelbase 6ft 8in (2032mm) Track, front 3ft 10.5in (1181mm)
Rear 3ft 8.75 in (1137mm) Overall length 11ft 5.6in (3495mm)
Unladen Weight: 14 cwt. (711kg)
Cost When New: (In 1967) Midget: £555 plus £128.18.2d purchase tax.
Sprite: £545 plus £126.12.4d purchase tax.
Performance: Top speed 93 mph (150kph) 0-60mph 13.8 sec.

I got into the classic car scene about 1994, when I bought a 1967 Hillman Minx, which I kept for about 6 months. I then bought a 1983 Y reg mini with 40,000 miles on the clock and decided to convert it to a soft top for the summer and to do local rallies. After converting the car and going to a couple of rallies, I realised that the car was a little bit too new for the classic car scene, and it looked out of place.
At the end of the summer of 1996 I decided to sell the car and get something a little older. I still fancied a soft top so I started to look for an MG Midget. I placed an ad in a well known motor magazine to sell my mini. After all the normal tyre kickers and I'll be back merchants, I decided to just keep the car, until I saw an advert in the same magazine for an Austin Healey Sprite Mk 4. The advert read, For sale Austin Healey Sprite Mk4, full MOT full restoration. I rang the guy selling the car and asked him if he would be interested in a swap. After hearing what the mini was like, he told me to take it through to where he lived and he would have a look, but didn't promise anything. When I arrived at the house, the Healey was sitting on the drive. I introduced myself and we both had a look at each others cars. After examining the car, I could see that it previously had a lot of work done to it, but to my standards, needed a little bit more to bring out it's full potential. The doors didn't line up, and looked as if you could climb through the gaps. The paintwork on the body was full of dirt nibs, and a little motley, like orange peel. The spoked wheels looked as if the had 25 years of silver hand paint brushed on them, but basically apart from that the car was in excellent condition.
The next thing to do, was to put all that right.

Carcoon

During the winter of  96, I stripped the car down, ordered 2 new door skins and got stuck in. With the help of a work colleague I fitted the new skins and with that rectified the large gaps. The whole body was flattened down and prepared for a total respray. One fine day I loaned the flatbed recovery truck from work, picked the car up from my home and transported it to work where I resprayed it, in a low bake oven. The low bake oven provides you with a dust free environment and also gives you a constant warm temperature. The car gets used regularly now, but only in the summer months, and during the winter it is stored in a  Carcoon

Sprite MK IV ( HAN 9 )

The car was first registered  in 1969 in West Germany as left hand drive, and then after 5 years imported back into the country and modified to right hand drive.
The last owner, said he had bought it as scrap, then restored it in 1995.

Reg No. VVK 68G
Area : Newcastle, England
Car No. L - 69313

Colour: Flame Red
Year: 1969

Paint: 2 Pack (PPG)

German chassis plate