...my 1969 Austin Healey Sprite Mark IV was assembled. I wonder if any of the workers on the line would have any clue that one of the various Spridgets they were sending down the line would still be around 50 years later.
The car was shipped out in July 1969, making it to the U.S. in August and was earmarked for a dealership in Chicago. For the next 25 years, the history becomes muddled, other than evidence of a collision on the left rear of the car. Some restoration work was done in 1994. In the mid-2000s, the car was in Pennsylvania where it was purchased by a college student. He proceeded to use the money that his parents were sending him to continue to fix the car as opposed to buying books. When the parents got wise to the car, he was forced to sell.
Longbridgehealey (Larry) purchased it as a driver while he was restoring his '59 Bugeye. When he finished the BE, this Sprite became superfluous, so he put it up on the market. I had seen it for sale each time I drove to my parents' house. One afternoon, I was supposed to meet a couple north of Baltimore to discuss their wedding. Due to the weather and traffic, they cancelled the meeting. Having some time on my hands, I thought "Well, let me go see if that car is still for sale".
And, the rest is history...
The car was shipped out in July 1969, making it to the U.S. in August and was earmarked for a dealership in Chicago. For the next 25 years, the history becomes muddled, other than evidence of a collision on the left rear of the car. Some restoration work was done in 1994. In the mid-2000s, the car was in Pennsylvania where it was purchased by a college student. He proceeded to use the money that his parents were sending him to continue to fix the car as opposed to buying books. When the parents got wise to the car, he was forced to sell.
Longbridgehealey (Larry) purchased it as a driver while he was restoring his '59 Bugeye. When he finished the BE, this Sprite became superfluous, so he put it up on the market. I had seen it for sale each time I drove to my parents' house. One afternoon, I was supposed to meet a couple north of Baltimore to discuss their wedding. Due to the weather and traffic, they cancelled the meeting. Having some time on my hands, I thought "Well, let me go see if that car is still for sale".
And, the rest is history...