3rd Aug 2002, 15:34
Buying a "J" reg 1300cc Sprite for £1750, is this a good price, what should I look for? ji.makepeace@virgin.net.
19th Jun 2003, 06:48
I still have the car, it has now been re-built from the ground up and is just about to have a supercharger fitted.
Fun Fun Fun...
25th Nov 2003, 19:00
Recently acquired a 1960 British Racing Green "frogeye".
948cc A series engine as standard, and although it will compromise the value, we have decided to do away with this after sourcing a 1275 MG Midget lump and gearbox to go in. still won't be fast, but hopefully nearly nippy!Its still in pieces, but all I can say is I get a buzz everytime I get behind the wheel! Hopefully it will be finished come summer '04, so keep your eyes peeled for XRK 614!
6th Apr 2004, 10:21
First guy who wrote. Not many cars have anything go bad on them with 4500 miles. Write back to us when you have at least 50,000 miles.
8th Apr 2004, 10:01
Ooooohhhh!!! 85mph all day. My 1983 Ford LTD Country Squire does 95mph on the freeway all day. Please, is that something to be proud of?.HELL NO!!!
26th Mar 2005, 00:03
Sorry to rain on your parade.
Had one of these, bought new in 1966. Nice design, very poor reliability.
Stripped the teeth off 1st gear at traffic lights. Wheel studs sheered (from Morris Minor). Front shock absorbers mounts, ditto. Fuel pump, naturally. Antiquated rear shockers need changing to telescopic. Clutch inadequate. Head gasket blew. When you do the full 1293cc conversion, and upgrade brakes (drum rears are a joke), suspension, transmission, larger fuel tank, run fuel line/pump inside, alternator, etc., etc. you have a really nice car, but why did you have to spend 2,000 pounds on a 650-pound car? No wonder the British auto industry disappeared, and good riddance.
9th Apr 2005, 18:55
I had a 1962 948cc supercharged MG Midget MkI, the same as a MKII Sprite, 96000 miles and it was very reliable, I regularly used 7000 rpm on the road and in competition, saw 7500 rpm occasionally, not the competition crankshaft, the engine never gave trouble and I only had the gearbox out once to change the clutch, the handling was brilliant and the power out of corners was amazing, these cars were and still are, the best small sports cars around, they have usually been raced and thrashed as mine had before I bought it, I have driven other sports cars including Lotus Elan, 100/4, and many other MG`s, but this is the best. What size engine do you need to do 95 mph all day, in 1965 at Le Mans a 1275cc Sprite or Midget, I can`t remember which, averaged just under 100mph for the 24hours, and in 1966 over 100mph
19th Sep 2005, 20:57
My father has a 1960 Austin-Healey Sprite that we took out the the Rapid City Rod Run in the Black Hills of South Dakota in the summer of 2005. The car ran very well, with and without the soft top on, we left the hard top at home, it's too valuable to take anywhere. Also, we got over 50 miles per gallon in the hills, and only had to down shift about three times on the entire 130 mile trip. The interior on ours is rough and it could make use of new paint, but it runs like a top!
2nd Mar 2006, 21:51
Around 1952 I worked in Bahrain and a friend was crazy about owning an Allard. He had brochures and everything. I seem to remember it was quite expensive, and that was just the body, the engine was extra. One had the choice of several different engines. I believe he got a used one when he went home to England. Anyone know what happened to the company, it is not listed on this site.
Ken in Katy, TX.
21st Jul 2006, 07:09
To Ken of Katy, re. the Allard. this was a British car made at Clapham Common in London. There were a number of models using various engines and bodies, the biggest being, I think, the J2 Allard with a 5.4 litre American (Cadillac) engine, giving 300bhp at maximal development. However they all died a natural death with the rise and rise of the XK 120-50 Jaguars and the big Healys, with which they could not compete on price or comfort (they were quite spartan cars). I don't think they were made it to the end of the fifties.
19th Jun 2010, 05:09
How many cars of this age are still on the road? Some people just don't get it do they.
"When you do the full 1293cc conversion..." blah, blah, blah
What kind of person buys a car with a small engine and then complains that it has a small engine and brakes to match. My father used to race Jags on twisty roads and win, he had one from new.
20th Jul 2013, 08:03
Sneering, supercilious comments like this do the website no service at all. Presumably the Sprite enthusiasts posting here cannot afford faster cars, and get a lot of enjoyment from using them. I can vouch for this as, while I never had one, a friend did (the MG version) in the 60's, and he used to zip around central London and along the Embankment with another friend in the passenger seat and me crossways in the rear "seat". Hell of a buzz!
22nd May 2002, 15:20
I have owned 5 of these (none for a few years though!) but they were all great fun to drive. No real performance, but they felt like they had. In the end that is probably worth more than something which truly goes, but you can never let it! If you can get a non-rusty one they are really cheap and easy to maintain. Reading this made me wonder why I don't have one any more. Hmmm?