This 1960 Austin-Healey Sprite was used as a race car by its first owner in New Jersey and saw participation in events at Lime Rock, Bridgehampton, Marlboro, Pocono, and Thompson as part of several SCCA and FIA teams through the 1960s and early 1970s with its second owner, with whom it remained until 2006. Body repairs, a repaint, brake and clutch service, and rewiring were carried out in 2011, and the car was acquired by its current owner the following year. Subsequent work included installation of a rebuilt 1,098cc inline-four equipped with dual SU carburetors and paired with a four-speed manual gearbox as well as installation of a Devin fiberglass nose. This Sprite is offered at no reserve by the seller on behalf of its current owner with an extra engine and gearbox, additional spares, service records, period photographs and documentation, logbooks, and a California bill of sale.
The body was repainted in white using PPG acrylic enamel under previous ownership, and was updated with a fiberglass Devin nose piece for the current owner. A factory steel nose is included in the sale and shown in the gallery below.
Further modifications include headlight blanks, a low tinted windshield, aluminum mirrors, a braced roll bar, and red racing livery. Minilite-style 13″ alloy wheels wear Hoosier Street TD S tires.
The cockpit houses black bucket seats with red piping and a Schroth racing harness for the driver. Work under previous ownership included refurbishment of the gauges as well as installation of replacement wiring and a master cutoff switch. SCCA badges from 1959, 1962, and 1963 adorn the dash.
A Grant steering wheel rests ahead of an aluminum dash panel with Smiths instrumentation including a 120-mph speedometer, a tachometer, and gauges for oil pressure, water temperature, and voltage. The five-digit odometer shows 8k miles, with the actual total unknown.
Initially installed for the current owner in 2015, the replacement 1,098cc inline-four was rebuilt in 2017 with a nitrided crankshaft, forged pistons, a performance camshaft, and lightened connecting rods. Induction is through dual SU carburetors, while cooling is from an aluminum radiator. The carburetors were adjusted and an oil change completed in 2019. A spare 948cc inline-four is included in the sale.
The four-speed Ribcase gearbox features straight-cut gears along with a replacement clutch kit and flywheel. An additional gearbox and spare differentials including welded 4.22:1 and 4.55:1 versions as well as a 5.38:1 with a Detroit Locker are included in the sale, as are a variety of other spare parts listed in the gallery below.
Period photos show earlier paint schemes and body configurations. Further content in the history file includes a 1960 ownership certificate, service records, logbooks, and other racing literature spanning the late 1960s and early 1970s. The car has been raced in vintage events at Sonoma Raceway under current ownership.
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