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Announcing a Finished 1959 BE Sprite

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M

mxp01

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All:


I am very pleased to announce the completion of this 1959 BE Sprite. Finished in Old English White, this car is the Ray Evan's creation "Whitephrog" with the finishing touches done by me, my son Cade, my friend Paul Nation, and some final, finishing work by JD's British Cars in Nashville, TN.


The car is as close to original as possible. With the exception of the red interior carpets, I think this car is concours grade. It has a rebuilt 948, smooth case transmission, HS1 carbs, a steel fuel line, mechanical fuel pump, and many other period-correct details. Nearly everything on the car is a result of Ray's meticulous work (I primarily did assembly). It also has an essentially complete tool kit,


The hard top is a new top purchased from Rodger Ward in California. It has the original rear glass, with new seals and clips courtesy of BugeyeGuy. The car has the proper bow and soft top (not in the car at the moment), as well as tonneau, As a bonus, I have a complete 1275 with rib-case transmission (for a future iteration of this vehicle) on a roller stand in the garage. I also have a Folchi-restored Judson supercharger, a 948 (sequence #10341) that is being rebuilt with the assistance of Hap Waldrop (for yet another iteration of the car). The only liberty I've taken with the car was to add an auxiliary horn purchased from Moss (which, I believe, were dealer accessories at the time and that these are proper replicas).


I am planning to take the car to the Moss meet in Petersburg in June. Hopefully, I might see some of you there.


Mike Pennell Sprite Done 11.jpgSprite Done 6.jpgSprite Done 3.jpgSprite Done 3.jpgSprite Done 9.jpgSprite Done 4.jpgSprite Done 13.jpgSprite Done 8.jpg
 
absolutely gorgeous! well done! :cheers:
 
Looks great. I will be at the Moss meet with Little Mo so i will see you there then.
 
Very nice Mike!!
May I ask you a couple of questions? 1: Is the carpet from Moss and 2: I'd like to know more about the hard top. Google Roger Ward doesn't give much.

Thanks!
Kurt.
 
Do enjoy it.... ... . I'm glad to hear you have other iterations planned.... I have known of at least two if not three other completely stock restorations being completed. It had taken the owners years of planning and parts acquistion. (IRIS was one of them, from .... jeez I forget his name down in Texas and another locally in Portland Oregon. Fabulous cars, but...

It didn't take long for them to want to either pass them along to the next guy OR modify them. They have reported that they just aren't that much fun to DRIVE. The brakes aren't very good and the engines are anemic. ... Absolute KUDOOS for completion, and enjoy taking (trailering) it to shows. You will surely receive accolades that are well deserved. .. .. Now.. a disc brake swop, the 1275, .. 5speed tranny, 3.9 rear end, . front sway bar, .. electronic ignition.. electric fuel pump.. you'll be ready to roll! :excitement:
 
Kurt:

I am unsure about the source of the carpet. Ray might respond (if he reads this) as he was the one who sourced the carpet.

Regarding Rodger: I found him through some pretty extensive internet research when I stumbled across some minor web site that hosted an owner's forum. I think he looks periodically at the forum. If you search R.L. Ward Healey Restorations in Prather CA I think you will find him. The top is new and Roger has everything - including the mounting brackets and a plexiglass window for the rear. He is very, very helpful.

Mike
 
Pythias said:
Do enjoy it.... ... . I'm glad to hear you have other iterations planned.... I have known of at least two if not three other completely stock restorations being completed. It had taken the owners years of planning and parts acquistion. (IRIS was one of them, from .... jeez I forget his name down in Texas and another locally in Portland Oregon. Fabulous cars, but...

It didn't take long for them to want to either pass them along to the next guy OR modify them. They have reported that they just aren't that much fun to DRIVE. The brakes aren't very good and the engines are anemic. ... Absolute KUDOOS for completion, and enjoy taking (trailering) it to shows. You will surely receive accolades that are well deserved. .. .. Now.. a disc brake swop, the 1275, .. 5speed tranny, 3.9 rear end, . front sway bar, .. electronic ignition.. electric fuel pump.. you'll be ready to roll! :excitement:
Click to expand...

Bill:

I think I'm in agreement with all your sentiments. I owned a BE with a 1275 & Weber carb that was significantly quicker than this current iteration. However, with this car I kind of hit the jackpot as it came with the 1275, electrical upgrades, etc.

For the time being I'm going to run the near-concours version. In the future I will do the swap to the 1275 and really get going.
 
Ray did a beautiful job on Whitephrog and was a serious student of original bugeyes! He helped me from my first day on this forum with everything from looking at potential candidates for restoration to supplying knowledge and parts for my car. Im thrilled to see Whitephrog complete and to a degree that would make anyone proud! Congratulations on a job well done.
Rut
 
to see Whitephrog went to an owner that was able to fulfill Ray's Vision. Well Done.
 
Very nice indeed. :cheers:

I can only hope that my poor little Penny will look as good some day.
 
Material for the carpet may have come from Stock Interiors. I will check. Had a local upholstery shop do the work.
 
Wow Mike! Glad to see the engine compartment was it should be. Especially like the period Sport coil back in place. Glad to see the vacuum line still is there. That was a bit of a difficult find and reconfiguration.
 
Whitephrog said:
Wow Mike! Glad to see the engine compartment was it should be. Especially like the period Sport coil back in place. Glad to see the vacuum line still is there. That was a bit of a difficult find and reconfiguration.
Click to expand...

Thanks,Ray,but of course this was primarily your vision, I just put it together.I must also admit that it took much longer than expected, to the point I was contemplating just throwing in the towel and going with the 1275.

anyway, I have another question: I have a small bag with two small clips. Written on the bad it says "Clip, draught excluder." I don't know where these go on the car. Do you?

Mike
 
HealeyRick said:
Sit in your driver's seat and look at your dash. Above the dashboard is the vinyl covered trim piece with all the chrome screws. The clips fit behind the trim piece and are held in place by the nuts on the screws on either end (circled in yellow) The draught excluder fits in the loop of the clip.

View attachment 48391
Click to expand...
I understand where they go. What does a draught excluder look like?
 
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