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Greetings from a corner of Sussex UK.

somewhatspritely

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Hello, my name is Grant and I have a problem. I like old cars. I have bought several and taken them apart. What I have not done is put them back together again. About 25 years ago I bought a basket case MK2 Sprite with the intention of rebuilding it into a working car. I stripped it down and assessed what needed to be done. Then I bought a near basket case Elan Plus 2 and started taking that to bits. Then I bought an Eclat, which was on the road! Keeping the Eclat on the road required a fair commitment of time and nothing was done to the other cars.

I was happy driving my Eclat. It was occasionally unreliable, a wishbone collapsed, and the brakes caught fire, but would rebuild it and I was happy. Then I bought a basket case Europa, and then I bought a written off second Europa for parts. Eventually the Eclat developed more significant issues that I did not have time to repair and now I have a double garage (full), and a large shed (also full) of bits of cars. Everything is so full that I can’t work on any of them. You may be thinking that I am an idiot, you may be right. I also developed a young family and a busy job twenty years ago, time passed and cars rotted.

Over the last few months my thoughts have returned to the Sprite. It’s sat on its side in the shed. It shouldn’t be. Admittedly the other cars shouldn’t be where they are either, but one thing at a time. The Sprite has been on my mind though. Two things have triggered this resurgence, a friend of mine decided to have a bucket list, and I realised that the Sprite has a significant date coming up. My friend’s bucket list made me ask myself what I would want on my own bucket list, the answer was I wanted to fix up one of my cars. The anniversary is that the sprite was first registered in 2022; I would love to be on the road in it by that date. I know my history indicates this to be unlikely, but I am trying.

Thanks,

Grant.
 
Hi Grant - welcome to BCF.

Believe me, you're not alone. Lots of guys start a project, then move on to another project before finishing the first one. The only cure .... is to finish one of the projects!

Here's our Sprite area when you're ready to ask questions and get some experienced advice:


Post some photos of your cars. Good to have you with us!
Tom M.
 
Thanks for the welcome. Two photos for now, the car as I collected some 25 years ago. And is it is right now. The car is pretty rotten. The tunnel, chassis rails and cross-members are pretty sound. The sills are semi-sound but awfully applied. I have the car level and braced in the corner I am working right now. The plan is to rebuild a corner at a time. I'm doing the front corners first. Once they are done I will add more bracing and tackle rear floor and sill replacement. I've measured diagonals/levels carefully and found the shell is surprisingly straight.

My ambition is to get to a body that has a few scars, but is rust free and epoxy painted to prevent future issues as much as possible. The panels and seams should still look as factory as possible withing reason. There will be bolt-on upgrades to engine and brakes but nothing irreversible. The beige paint is primer applied by a previous 'restorer', presumably to hold moisture nice and close. The red was a respray colour, inner panels review a nice Iris blue.

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Thanks for the welcome. Two photos for now, the car as I collected some 25 years ago. And is it is right now. The car is pretty rotten. The tunnel, chassis rails and cross-members are pretty sound. The sills are semi-sound but awfully applied. I have the car level and braced in the corner I am working right now. The plan is to rebuild a corner at a time. I'm doing the front corners first. Once they are done I will add more bracing and tackle rear floor and sill replacement. I've measured diagonals/levels carefully and found the shell is surprisingly straight.

My ambition is to get to a body that has a few scars, but is rust free and epoxy painted to prevent future issues as much as possible. The panels and seams should still look as factory as possible withing reason. There will be bolt-on upgrades to engine and brakes but nothing irreversible. The beige paint is primer applied by a previous 'restorer', presumably to hold moisture nice and close. The red was a respray colour, inner panels review a nice Iris blue.

View attachment 69058View attachment 69059
In the second picture - where's the car? :oops: By the way, welcome to BCF!
 
welcome! that's quite a project. please keep us posted in the Spridget forum.
 
Hello Grant

Welcome to the forum.

I see the need for the braces. Looks like you have made a good start.

You will get plenty of tips and advice in the Spridgets section for your restoration.

David
 
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