1968 Austin Healey Sprite 1968 Austin Healey Sprite

Description

1968 Austin Healey Sprite MkIV
This is a reserve price auction for a nice, very solid MkIV sprite. It is being relisted due to a non-paying bidder. Please consider all costs, including shipping costs, BEFORE bidding, especially if you live 2300 miles away.
Extensive mechanical restoration done, over 00 of new parts installed - details below.  Engine starts easily, idles and runs well, no smoke or nasty noises, good oil pressure, clutch and all hydraulics are new, transmission fine (1st gear non-synchro and some gear noise, which I assume is normal). I have not purchased Michigan plates for it so it has only been test driven in my sub, and it has not been highway driven since mechanical restoration. Although it seems to run very well, I would suggest an engine tuning by someone more skilled in British cars than I am – wouldn’t be surprised if it could be improved.
Very solid body, essentially no rust top or bottom, no significant dents or dings.
Paint is an older repaint, needs new paint and a few other cosmetics to be a show car, but is fine as is if you just want to enjoy the car.
A few spots have been quick fixed with rattle can paint, and it looks good from the proverbial 10 feet - more details below.
I intended to drive the car as-is and not have to worry about stone chips on a perfect paint job.
I bought this car in July 2017 at an auction of one man’s large, eclectic collection. It had not been driven since approximately 1996 and was stored in a heated building since approximately 1996.  It was in remarkably good shape for a 50+ year old, unrestored project car. As my hobby, I have restored a number of Pontiac muscle cars in the last 20 years, and this was to be a fun project and then a weekend cruising car once I brought it back to life. It is for sale because it is very difficult for my wife to get in and out of (and somewhat for me too – a senior thing) and cruising by myself would not be much fun.
It appears to be largely original, spent time in Arizona and Washington before being shipped to the collection in Ohio. At some point in the 1990’s in Arizona it was titled with a VIN assigned by Arizona – the AH build plate is missing. But in that process, probably due to a typo, the year got changed to 1963. So, my valid, clean Michigan title also says 1963, with an Arizona assigned VIN. It is definitely NOT a 63, and almost certainly a 68, possibly 67. Body tag is HUN 001888 P, engine tag is 12CD-DA-H 2379. I have no idea if the odometer is accurate or not.
What it needs, depending on how perfect you want it to be....
Body is very solid, paint is an old repaint and has chips and other issues. There was some minor surface rust in the seams on the front fenders. It was sanded as best I could without removing the fender, treated with Rust Fix, and painted with rattle can matching paint. The lower clip is missing on the passenger front fender. Hood needs minor metal work on back edge and final adjustment. I have only found two very minor dings in the sheet metal - one on the hood, and one on the driver side rocker.  Body should be ready to strip, prep and paint if desired once those relatively minor issues are fixed. A complete body rubber/seal kit for a repaint is included, along with a large box of spares, filters etc. A slightly used clutch is also in that box.
Interior could use a dash pad and needs three small trim panels redone (new board and vinyl), Lettering on some dash switches is faded. Carpet very good (almost new), seats are later model seats that recline and have headrests. One headrest has a small-finger size hole, otherwise seats are very nice. Lap/shoulder belts are new, radio and speakers are new, radio slightly larger than original. Top is in surprisingly nice shape for its age, See details below.  All new radial all season tires – less than 20 miles on them. More details in the bullet points below.
Mechanically I have corrected, repaired or in most cases replaced anything it needed. See the list of new parts below. Remote bleeder for clutch installed – very, very useful improvement.
New
• Ignition switch
• Fuse box
• Front brake rotors, pads, brake lines
•
Front brake calipers
• Rear brake wheel cylinders, brake lines
• Brake master cylinder
• New clutch, new master and slave cylinders, lines, remote bleeder
• Water pump
• Starter (rebuilt)
• Hoses and belts
•
Fan
• Oil pressure line and fittings
• Spark plugs
• Fuel pump, lines, filter
• Battery
• Carbs cleaned, new improved grose type float valves, jet needle installed
• Air cleaner elements
• Rear taillight and front turn signal light lenses and bulbs
• Tires (less than 20 miles)
• CD AM/FM stereo radio and speakers (had to fill existing speaker holes)
• Gas pedal and pedal pads
• Very nice used seats – later model, reclining with headrests
• Seat/shoulder belts
•
Shifter boot
•
Window cranks
• Hood release cable
• All fluids replaced
Restored
• Engine pulled, cleaned, painted
• Engine compartment cleaned and painted (rattle can)
• Undercarriage test cleaned in spots to show there is no rust
• Wheels media blasted, primed and painted with Eastwood rally silver
• Carpet is like new
• Trunk cleaned and painted
• Wiring – all lights work as they should except backup lights
•
New vinyl on radio box
• All gauges work except gas gauge
Needs to be "perfect"
• Dash pad has two non-trivial holes
• One headrest has a small hole
• Top is functional, good condition – no cuts, tears, missing pieces, clean, flexible - except clear plastic main window is not completely clear. Plastic cleaner/polish improved but so far did not completely correct it
• Body is very solid, no significant rust that I have found (by Michigan 50-year-old car standards, this car has no rust at all)
• One front fender clip missing/broken ?
• Hood needs adjustment and a little metal work at the back edge.  One very small dent as noted, another on the rocker..
• Rest of sheet metal has no dents or dings that I can find – overall rather surprisingly good condition
• Undercarriage could be just as clean as the top of the car – no rust, needs cleaned with degreaser.
• Rear bumper is straight, chrome has some minor crazing in a couple places, looks really good from 3 feet
• Front bumper has several dings, chrome is pretty good, grille surround has some dings
• Paint as noted - optional depending on what you want to do
• Hub caps are very good except one has a gouge and should be replaced
• Windshield has a long, straight vertical crack
• Wiper arms seem to be weak, little pressure against the glass
• Sun visor mounting needs something
• Couple of interior panels by the footwell need redone - new board (templates made) and recovered with plain black vinyl
• Exhaust system functional, no leaks, not shiny or pretty
I have bought or sold eight vehicles on ebay over the years, and the goal is to have no surprises when you see the vehicle in person. So…if you have any questions, please email with phone number BEFORE bidding, and I will be glad to talk with you, or send lots more pictures. If possible, come see it. And please make sure you have all the funds to cover all costs before bidding.
Sold as-is, payment by bank funds transfer