Did anyone here own a Spridget when they were new?

[John Moore]

Reading Jack's post made me think of my first Midget. It was the first car I bought with my money. It was a '78 and I bought it in 1984 for $300! It needed a new transmission as 2nd & 3rd didn't work. I drove the wheels off that little car and loved it to death .... literally!

My Dad also had one too. I'm not certain of the year, but it was a square arch with rostytles, so it had to be early 70's.

The first photo is of my and my little brother, it's 1986 and I'm on the way to 12th grade and it's he's going to first.

The second photo is a collage, of both Dad and my Midgets. One photo shows me and my Mom, I'm on the way to the Senior prom. The hood is checkerboard. I had dented the hood in an accident and didn't want to leave it in primer

The last photo is of my Dad's midget and me. I guess I'm 6-9 years old. Like I said, I'm not sure of the year of that car. Let me know if you have any ideas.

 

[Trevor Jessie]

Your Dad's Midget is a 70 or 71. Good Year!

 

[GB1]

John

I think that your dad had a '71. It was also my first car in 1980, bad tranny as well. I was 15 and restored it, and drove it for a year before totaling it. A '75 came next at 17 and then my BE at 18.

The '75 was sold soon after when I was in college and working for a repair shop that specialized in British cars and raced an MGA.

My dad had a MK1 midg when I was a kid in the mid '60's. He had rebuilt the engine, but didn't change the oil pump (hmmm). I remember this even though I was only three years old. He did not want to pull it again and bought a '67 E type.

Thanks for sharing the pics, have a great day.

Pat

 

[aeronca65t]

I bought the '67 Sprite below in '68.

I was also pretty interested in the female graduate student at Princeton who owned it...but that's another story. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

The picture was taken at an autoX at Neshaminy Mall (in Pennysylvania) in '69 (no helmets required at this event). I had temporarily fitted Bugeye wheels to it (from a friend's car) because they had better tires.

When I bought it, it had about 18,000 miles on it and was quite perfect. I'm pretty sure I paid around $850 for it. My friend's called it "Spiffy-105", due to the license plate.

Eventually, the rust worms got most of it. But it's left rear fender now lives on #11.

 

[Morris]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]I was also pretty interested in the female graduate student at Princeton who owned it...[/QUOTE]

Let's see a pick of her Nial!

 

[asoupley]

My parents bought my 1970 midget in 71, right after they got married. I remember riding around in it with my sister when I was little (amazing that back then you could easily fit 2 adults and 2-3 kids in a midget). In 1981 Mom & Dad decided that a midget was not a practical car when you have 4 children, so they sold it to my Aunt & Uncle for $1. They put about 500 miles on it and rear-ended someone. The car sat for years until my cousin's boyfriend decided he wanted to "fix it up". He managed to dismantle the entire thing just in time for my cousin to break up with him. The car sat for more years, gathering dust in Ohio until I decided in 92 that I wanted the car, so I bought it back from my uncle for $1 (considering the depreciation of a dollar, I think I got a good deal). Anyway, I am finally getting her back on the road. I can't wait for my parents to take it for a spin...

 

[Jim_Gruber]

My best friend received a new '68 Sprite as a H.S. Graduation present. First year at University of Cincinnati we almost flunked out of school as so much time was spent top down and driving rather than attending classes. Ironic that I ended up with another '68 Sprite in Bugsy 30+ years later.

 

[aeronca65t]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]I was also pretty interested in the female graduate student at Princeton who owned it...

Let's see a pick of her Nial! [/QUOTE]

Uh-uh. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/nonono.gif

Nice try Morris!....But all my skeletons are staying locked in the closet! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/devilgrin.gif

 

[John Moore]

Nial,

Great photo!