1960 Frogeye Sprite "Super Sprite V8"

[flyingphil]

Hi Paul
Yes I have seen pictures of the 4WD V8 Midget, and I used to race regularly against Martin Cowell in his V8 Mighty Midget (which I believe he still has?).
I swap from the stripped out race doors to the standard quarter light, wind up window, doors and take off the ram pipes to run with my other bonnet which has a much lower bulge. There is a pic of it in Street Trim on page 1 of this thread.

[flyingphil]

As the MeGaB MGBGT V12 has been sold, I still have my Super Sprite V8 and so I may well get round to converting it back into street trim.....albeit 4 1/2 years after I said it, but I have done some other things.....

[flyingphil]

Here it is just before it went back into my garage. The hood is only placed in position.

[mrbounce]

flyingphil I love your Sprite. I too remember it from reading about the Rover V8 championship in Street Machine and it's brilliant that you still have it. Fabulous bit of kit!

[flyingphil]

Well I seem to have survived this pandemic and I keep thinking about my Sprite. Do I get it out of hibernation and either Sell, do a couple of "Run what you Brung" drag outings, put it into street trim or all three? Opinions please.....

[vitesseefi]

Street trim and run what you brung obviously ……

Sell?!!! Wash your mouth out……

Nick

[metalshapes]

Selling it would be a massive mistake.

That car is one of a kind and you have decades of history with it that can never be recreated.

And it will never mean as much to the next guy as it means to you.

( all of this is coming from my own perspective and based on my own experiences of cars meant a lot to me, that I was forced to sell)

[jimi]

Oct 8, 2021 20:48:23 GMT metalshapes said:

Selling it would be a massive mistake.

That car is one of a kind and you have decades of history with it that can never be recreated.

And it will never mean as much to the next guy as it means to you.

( all of this is coming from my own perspective and based on my own experiences of cars meant a lot to me, that I was forced to sell)

^^^^^^^^
This
options 2 & 3 for me.

[westbay]

"Run what you brung" and street trim .. obviously

[grizz]

There are two reasons to sell imho.

1) True financial need (Various iterations of that)

2) Bored (Again many ways to look at that, including a new more exciting project, lack of use etc)


I think as mentioned by metalshapes you may regret it.

I always seem to sell as I got bored, saw something more interesting, and once I sold a 67 Anglia 105e because a guy kept hounding me and I had managed to get a lead on a 63 VW Beetle.

Unless you need the cash or space right now, my suggestion would be to hold onto it and play.

Building it back into as close as possible to a street trim sleeper will reconnect you as well.

[jamesd1972]

Oct 9, 2021 8:00:14 GMT grizz said:

There are two reasons to sell imho.

1) True financial need (Various iterations of that)

2) Bored (Again many ways to look at that, including a new more exciting project, lack of use etc)


I think as mentioned by metalshapes you may regret it.

I always seem to sell as I got bored, saw something more interesting, and once I sold a 67 Anglia 105e because a guy kept hounding me and I had managed to get a lead on a 63 VW Beetle.

Unless you need the cash or space right now, my suggestion would be to hold onto it and play.

Building it back into as close as possible to a street trim sleeper will reconnect you as well.

Agree on getting it on the road but may struggle for sleeper !




James

[grizz]

I know it has a manly bulge out front James, but the black will hide it from some less observant (really blind) but I think it would still be a surprise to most of us, having it throbbing away not so quietly next to us.

Regardless, I do look forward to the next few days/weeks here.

[westbay]

Never mind the "sleeper" look ! ... LOUD 'N PROUD ! ...

[flyingphil]

Thanks all for the opinions and I now have a plan. As the car is in close to race trim I will do one or two RWYB early next year. The biggest job will be to change the diff to a 3.9 locked one.....and get the engine working, hoping that the clutch plate has not rusted onto the flywheel after so long.
This will hopefully use up some old tyres in smokey burnouts to improve on my much earlier efforts!

[etypephil]

A wonderful history; you should keep it but if you do decide to sell, I and doubtless many others would be interested.

[flyingphil]

Hi etypephil
I will probably sell as I am getting older and we will be "downsizing" in all aspects.....but not just yet! So a last flurry of quarter mile action (RWYB) then a return to "Street" and MoT, doing a few local runs/shows......then sell..... is the plan.
Unless, of course, somebody offers an attractive price!

[etypephil]

Oct 12, 2021 7:20:15 GMT flyingphil said:

Hi etypephil
I will probably sell as I am getting older and we will be "downsizing" in all aspects.....but not just yet! So a last flurry of quarter mile action (RWYB) then a return to "Street" and MoT, doing a few local runs/shows......then sell..... is the plan.
Unless, of course, somebody offers an attractive price!

I know what you mean about older. I recently celebrated my 23rd birthday;😉 (version 48), a year after taking on the restoration of a WW2 Squadron Leader’s house, now 70% finished, so looking for a light relief project.😎

[flyingphil]

Well I have started to spend money on the Sprite to get it RWYB ready......I've ordered two new diff gaskets ready for the diff changes!... it is progress of sorts.

[flyingphil]

The Sprite has had to go on the back burner whilst I downsize with some other bits n bobs (FJ1200 hardtail project anyone??). domestic harmony needs to be restored....

[mikek]

Wonderful read, what a car … just love it.
But if you decide to sell how can you put a value on a great car with amazing history 🤷‍♂️