Description
H&H Classic Auction @ The Imperial War Museum, Duxford/ Cambridgeshire
9th October, 2024 13:00
1959 Austin-Healey 'Frogeye' Sprite
No Reserve
Registration No: TTH 9
Chassis No: AN5/ 16380
MOT: Exempt
A 'barn find' having last been taxed for road use in 1987
Current family ownership for the last forty-five years
Substantially complete (including the correct-type steel bonnet)
A worthwhile project with ready parts availability
Intended as a spiritual successor to pre-WW2 sports cars such as the MG M-type or Austin 7 Nippy, the Austin-Healey Sprite was launched in May 1958. Fruit of the partnership between Donald Healey and Austin's Leonard Lord, its design costs were kept to a minimum through some inspired parts bin raiding. Built around a lightweight monocoque, it utilised the Austin A35's independent front suspension and four-speed gearbox. Powered by a twin-carburettor fed 948cc A-series four-cylinder engine developing some 43bhp/ 52lbft, it was capable of over 80mph. Put on sale for just £669 rarely before or since has a sports car enjoyed such a large fun-to-price ratio.
According to the DVLA and HPi databases, chassis AN5/ 16380 has been in the current family ownership since August 1979 but off the road for the last thirty-seven years. Now presenting as a ‘barn find’, the Austin-Healey appears substantially complete and comes with a wealth of extra spares including an additional A-Series engine and dashboard etc. Currently painted Blue, the two-seater carries traces of Red paint to its engine bay and an intriguing ‘Peking to Paris’ decal to its nearside door. Pleasingly retaining a correct-type steel bonnet, the Frogeye’s distinctive ‘TTH 9’ number plate which was originally issued in Carmarthenshire is understood to still be ‘live’. A potentially rewarding and hopefully straightforward project.
