Restoration Project: Austin-Healey “Bugeye” Sprite

We bet the last thing you were expecting was another post about a restoration project! 😉

Well, we’ve just kicked off our restoration of this Austin-Healey Sprite Mk1, also affectionately known in the States as the “Bugeye,” and in Europe, the “Frogeye” (for obvious reasons.)

We sold this Sprite to its current owner over twenty years ago. While he got many years of enjoyment out of the car, the car has for some time been rather sadly neglected and sat idle for many years. However, there was always hope that it would one day be restored. Well, that day has finally come, and we’re just getting started.

Our client wants a nice driving car, and isn’t too concerned with car shows and shiny engine bay. What he wants is his old car back so he can get out on the road and enjoy it. We completed most of the mechanical prior to starting on the body work. This way we know what we have to work with, and hopefully there will be no big surprises down the road. The body work is wrapping up and we’re preparing to go to paint. Things are progressing along quite nicely at this stage in the process.

Make sure to check back and watch it turn into a gorgeous Austin-Healey Sprite. We’ll be updating this project regularly with progress updates. Questions and comments are more than welcome.

And now for the photos of the progress so far…

Click on any of the following thumbnails for full-size photos. You can navigate through the slides by clicking on the right and left-hand arrows on the photo or using the < and > keys on your keyboard.