1961 Austin Healey SPRITE MKI

This lovely little Mk1 Sprite is being offered by sale from the collection of a now retired Scots car dealer. He’s owned it for just over a year now, and as a former man of the motor trade only tends to buy ‘the very best vehicles.’

Restored in 2010 it remains in absolutely lovely condition and has now come to The Market as he’s moved on to other classic vehicles, and is no longer making use of it.

It’s had a total of six owners from new and was first registered on May 20, 1961. The odometer currently reads 64,386, which is believed to be correct.

It’s currently without an MOT certificate, but a quick check of its history shows that it’s held one for most years both in the Noughties, and up into this decade.

The actual distance the Sprite has covered since 2005 (odometer reading at that MOT: 62,742) has been negligible, which suggests it’s just been kept ticking over and taken out for the odd spin here and there.

If you get yourself down to our Abingdon Headquarters that’s something we can do for you. Of course we’ll supply you with a cuppa first and you can take your time flicking through the history file, and taking in the car at your leisure, before you do.

The body is very good, with a lovely (although not perfect) paint finish – we’d give it an 8 out of 10. Colour consistency is very good across the panels and white really shows off the Sprite’s adorable lines to good effect.

As an older restoration there’s the odd minor here and there, but in all honesty there’s relatively few of them. Door and panel fit is of an extremely good standard, with time obviously spent getting them right during the restoration, and wheel arches are lovely and solid.

There are a couple of light paint cracks on the bonnet but that’s only to be expected, as it’s a blooming huge unit and flexes on opening and closing. It’s only discernible close up and doesn’t detract from the overall presentation.

The driver’s door does require a little bit of help to close, but that’s pretty common to most Sprites. Bright work is nice and clean, and varies from mint (rear overriders) to, in need of a bit Autosol and a touch of elbow grease (rear offside chrome hubcap).

Up top, the hood is in top condition and fits nicely in place, as do the side screens. Will it be completely waterproof? Weatherproofing roadsters of this vintage wasn’t an exact science back in the day, but it’ll definitely be better than most.

The obvious interior upgrade is the fitting of rollover bar (fixed in four places) that offers extra protection should your driving get a little bit too fruity, and which also stiffens the ride up considerably.

As with the exterior it’s a lovely picture in here, with the lovely wine coloured interior really complementing the light exterior colour. There’s a little light wear on the bucket seats, but it’s of the very minor variety.

Carpets are very clean, as are the door cards and dashboard. There are a few chips on the body-coloured gearstick shroud, but lifting the carpets reveals no corrosion issues whatsoever.

There’s a set of blue Securon clubman-type harnesses fitted, which are a touch incongruous – if it were ours we’d maybe go for a more discreet set of black Willans (other makes are available) jobs.

Overall it’s a very smart place in which to enjoy the Sprite’s wares. You’ll even find a spare wheel stowed in the storage area behind the seats – what luxury! 

Prior to sending the car to us, the vendor kindly popped it up on a ramp in order to provide comprehensive pictures of its underside. As the pictures below demonstrate it’s a very healthy picture, with fresh looking suspension components, a clean rear axle and well-protected metalwork.

We’ve seen many Sprites that look good on top, but pop the bonnet up and it all gets a bit crusty. Manhandling this car’s reveals that it’s just as good below as it is up above, with a very presentable engine bay, super clean paintwork and a touch of protective rust proofing product applied to the lower quarter of each panel.

We all know that a classic car can look good, but underwhelm when on the road. No such worries here, it’s a lovely little thing and drives really, really well.

Flick the ignition switch on and it starts on the button, idling smoothly with an exhaust note under load that sounds considerably bigger than 948cc has any right to (check out our video below to sample this Sprite’s vocal abilities).

The gearbox shifts cleanly with nice close ratios, the engine is a peppy little thing and very responsive, while the suspension elicits no clonks or shonks. Behind the wheel it’s just a case of sitting back and luxuriating in the model’s strength, which is uber smile-inducing chuck-ability.

Three letters sum up a good quality Mk1 Sprite like this and they are: F.U.N.

There’s a nice history file accompanying this Sprite and in it you’ll find a large number of MOT certificates, as well as an original Driver’s Handbook (proudly inscribed with the name of James Kenneth Edwards – the first owner, we assume), a Mechanical Service Parts List and a Workshop Manual.

In terms of receipts, again there’s a fairly wide variety provided. Not all of those from the restoration are present, but there’s a number (for a total of circa £1600) from RBS Motor Services (Rugby) Ltd who carried out most of the work.

Replacement shock absorbers were fitted at that time, with the carburettors rebuilt in 2011. Other notable work includes the fitment of racing harnesses in 2015, with the Sprite gaining two replacement springs and dampers the same year.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been restored and then maintained to the very highest standard.

This little Sprite was delivered from Perthshire to us here at The Market via a covered trailer, and ever since it arrived we haven’t been able to keep our eyes off it.

And on sunny days that’s expanded to jumping in and taking it for ‘just another little spin’, all of course to ensure that it’s all working properly. Each drive has made it clear that the next owner is getting one very smart MK1 Sprite.

Top examples can reach up towards £20k, which makes our estimate of between £12.5k and £16k seem conservative by comparison. We feel that even a price in the upper teens would still represent extremely good value.

There’s nothing that’s required, other than climb aboard and get driving. It’s worth stating again that the current owner is an ex motor trade dealer and we know from experience that they only ever tend to buy very good-to-the very best examples.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located at The Market’s Abingdon HQ; 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’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. We do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or the result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.