1958 Austin Healey Frogeye Sprite

Built on 6 May 1958 - just up the road from us in Abingdon - this Mark I “Frogeye” Sprite was despatched to the JR Inwards & Co dealership in Ruislip, Middlesex just over a week later, where it was registered immediately. Four days after that, on 20 May, BMC officially launched the Austin-Healey Sprite to the world in Monte Carlo - two days after the Monaco Grand Prix.

According to “The Frogeye Sprite: The Complete Story” by John Baggott, by the beginning of May only 20 right-hand-drive cars had been built - the majority of the 1,100 made being destined for the USA - which suggests that this car is one of the first UK cars and one of the very first seen on the roads.

The car has amazingly only had 6 owners and we understand that owner number 2 acquired the car in 1992. So it would seem that the original owner kept the car for more than 30 years. After that it spent the mid-nineties in Worcestershire, the late-nineties with two owners in Dorset and most of the noughties in Yeovil, Somerset. Owner number 5, from Radstock near Bath, bought the car in October 2008 and it passed to the current owner, a friend of the family from the same town, in 2013.

Having enjoyed driving around in it for a couple of years, he and his wife decided to get the car stripped down and resprayed in Old English White (2015-16 approx). Then last summer he spent around £1500 on a number of improvements to the Sprite including suspension and brakes (see History Highlights for detail). He spent a little bit more on higher quality parts as he expected to be keeping the Sprite for a good while longer.

Since then though, the owners decided to move house. They have a few modern and classic cars and space at their new home will be more limited; so the Frogeye - which gets taken out the least - reluctantly needs to go.

When it rolled out of MG’s Abingdon factory, this Frogeye was painted Cherry Red with a red interior but it has had at least two changes of colour in its life. As late as 2015, the car was finished in Iris Blue but was then resprayed in Old English White.

The car’s bodywork presents very well and although the front clamshell is a more recent fibreglass replacement, its fit is very good and overall the paint finish on the car is hard to fault. There are one or two specks of rust on the wheel arches but nothing of great significance.

Originally supplied with a front bumper this has now been removed. This is a popular (and simple) change which not only echoes the racing style (e.g. Sebring) but also reveals the slightly cheeky upturn of the car’s chin, further adding to its characterful countenance. The rear overriders (never had a full rear bumper) appear original and certainly carry the patina of age. The other chrome around the car is in fair to good condition, aside from pitting on the top of the front grille.

The vinyl soft-top roof looks rarely used, by which we don’t mean it looks brand new but that it looks like it’s been packed away and rarely employed to keep the rain off. However, it does fit the car (albeit quite loosely), is in good order and comes complete with detachable side panels. As a very early Mark I, this would have originally had the 9-stud roof fastening across the top of the windscreen frame, but at some point it has been changed for the slightly later (and more effective) 2-studs and bar.

More than likely its previous owners have only driven the car on dry days and, rather than carrying the full roof and frame, they have deployed the full length tonneau cover as insurance against the sometimes unpredictable English summer weather.

Other fittings around the car, such as the luggage rack, seem in good order although at least one of the indicator lenses (real glass by the way) won’t stay attached - possibly down to it requiring a new seal.

The Frogeye sits on painted steel wheels, some of which are a little tired looking, with good-condition “AH” embossed chrome hubcaps. All are fitted with classic-look Pirelli radials which have the period-correct profile but a modern rubber compound. They were sourced from renowned specialists Longstone Classic Tyres in the summer of 2020.

The interior of any Mark I Sprite is a rather spartan affair, with little in the way of upholstery beyond the seats, the vinyl-covered dashboard, floor mats and a section of carpet which partially cloaks the transmission tunnel. All items, however, are in good condition.

The seats appear to have been retrimmed in recent years (although before current ownership) in a black vinyl with contrasting white piping and have no obvious wear or damage.

The semi-dished Astrali 3-spoke sports steering wheel looks not only period-correct but also old enough to have been fitted to the car back in the sixties and it now carries the patina of thousands of joyful inputs in its leather trim.

Underneath the floor mats there are no signs of rust in the footwells and elsewhere inside the exposed metalwork of the body also appears in good order.

Under the front bonnet - basically the whole front section of the car - the paintwork around the engine bay looks fresh and in good order with no sign of corrosion anywhere. The engine and ancillaries look tidy but not pristine, favouring functionality over aesthetics. There are new additions in the ignition system (leads, coil etc) and the air cleaner and some of the hoses look recent too. There is however still some room for improvement should someone wish to do some weekend fettling.

Underneath the car, everything looks pretty straight and undamaged and although there’s some evidence of surface rust across the sub-frames and some of the structural elements, there is nothing significant and the mechanicals appear largely sound.

There’s no boot as such in a Sprite but there is a large void behind the seats to stash the roof, full-size spare wheel and any luggage you don’t want to strap onto the rear carrier.

This car’s last MOT expired in August 2014 but was subject to regular testing prior to that date. So as it stands, the car has no MOT and although exempt by virtue of its age, we would strongly encourage the new owner to have it tested at the earliest opportunity.

The cost of an MOT is a small investment when offset against the purchase and upkeep of any classic car, and it gives an independent, third-party assessment of the car’s condition, which not only provides reassurance to the owner and any subsequent purchasers but is also invaluable in the event of a bump when negotiating with the police and any interested insurance companies.

The history file contains expired MOT reports back to 1993 and numerous invoices for parts and work done over the intervening years.

The full strip down and respray occurred in 2015 and the bonnet was again repainted in January 2020 after some blistering occurred. The fibreglass bonnet itself was fitted to the car before current ownership. Whilst purists might prefer a metal clamshell, the fibreglass panel is much lighter and opens further allowing better access to the engine bay.

Invoices from July through to September 2020 show bills totalling close to £1,500, as follows:

Front suspension rebuild

● Reconditioned front shock absorbers

● New springs (fast road)

● Polybush bushes all round

● New ball joints

● Steering gaiter

Brakes rebuild (drum brakes retained):

● New front pads

● New braded hoses front & rear

● Brake cylinders replaced on all wheels

● Bleed with new fluid

Gauges:

● New tachometer, cable and gears

● New oil / temp gauge

Electrical

● Reconditioned dynamo

● New fan belt

● New Lucas coil

● Electric ignition (fitted 2015)

This Frogeye also comes with a British Motor Industry Heritage Trust certificate confirming the factory records and also a reproduction Austin-Healey Sprite Driver’s Handbook.

The Mark I Sprites and the later “Spridgets” (Sprites and the related MG Midgets) are highly desirable and much-loved classic roadsters and consequently ownership is very easy. There are clubs and forums galore and a very good parts supply. But unlike the Spridgets, it is the Mark I Frogeye that is the most recognisable and coveted of them all.

We’ve seen average asking prices for the Frogeye Sprite climb steadily over the past five or six years and they remain a popular British classic. We think this one, which drives well and handles crisply and is in a good but not perfect condition, will fetch between £11,000 and £15,000.

That seems like a bargain for a Frogeye and one that a careful and diligent new owner can only add value to.

Inspection is always encouraged (within Govt. guidelines of course), and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.