Original and Unrestored Austin-Healey Sprite | Jay Leno's Garage
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
- Jay found this quirky relic and gave it a refresh to enjoy many more miles on the road.
» Subscribe: bit.ly/JLGSubsc...
» Visit the Official Site: bit.ly/JLGOffic...
THE BEST OF JAY LENO'S GARAGE
» Exclusive First Looks: bit.ly/JLGExclu...
» Ultra Rare Supercars: bit.ly/JLGSuper...
» Jay's Book Club: bit.ly/JLGBookClub
JAY LENO'S GARAGE ON SOCIAL
Facebook: / jaylenosgarage
Twitter: / lenosgarage
Instagram: / jaylenosgarage
ABOUT JAY LENO'S GARAGE
A new video every Sunday! Visit Jay Leno's Garage, the Emmy-winning series where Jay Leno gives car reviews, motorcycle reviews, compares cars, and shares his passion and expertise on anything that rolls, explodes, and makes noise. Classic cars, restomods, super cars like the McLaren P1, sports cars like Porsche 918 Spyder and Camaro Z28, cafe racers, vintage cars, and much, much more.
NBC ON SOCIAL:
RUclips: / nbc
Twitter: / nbc
Facebook: / nbc
Instagram: / nbc
I bought one when I was 15, because I promised myself my own Sports Car at 16.
I washed dishes in a french restaurant on Nantucket Island,that summer, bought it for $50.
It was right Hand Drive, it had a fiberglass LeMann's nose.
It had a seized motor seized brakes. Paper thin floor boards. I brought it back to life I rebuilt and fitted a 1275 ,I found a stronger later gear box, I took off the glass nose, found a steel Bugeye nose( heavy) and enjoyed the Right Hand Drive. That was my first. Restoration, my own money ( washing dishes! And reading every book/ magazine to fix it.
Thanks for the memories. I had a '60 that I bought in '63. Drove it while in college in the mountains of Pennsylvania. Snow would blow around inside the car. After 2 years I sold it and moved up to a '63 MGB. With rollup windows and 98 horsepower! I blew a tranny in Altoona PA. Left the car there and thumbed to State College. A few days later, I borrowed my roommates '65 Vette 396, 425 horsepower to tow the bugeye to State College. Fastest it ever went. Changed the tranny in the back yard of a Frat house. I still drive a MGB.
P.S. The Vette was bought from Roger Penske.
Heartwarming, the pride, the passion for this simple machine, every car he gets in is his favorite,
A truly generous man, sharing his joy with the world. Thanks Jay.
My Dad bought a 1960 at a Mercedez Dealer new. We had a great time in it. Coming down the mountains with the roof down and a rain storm kicks in, panic to get the top up. Driving through a highway construction and a car passes us covering us to blindness in muddy water. Great memories.
Actually we were driving on the Dragon.
"Man and sewing machine," indeed. Another amazing dose of genuine Leno gratitude that we can all identify with 100%.
Thanks!
Jay.....I have this car....same color in and out........However, I did a total redo that took 5 1/2 years (93-98).........1275 engine, front disk brakes, electronic ignition and on and on....I did buy one for $300 in 1967...drove it for the summer and sold it to a high school kid for the same price. All you say is what this car is....I have put 4500 miles on mine since 1998 and it will go to family member when I am gone.....Thanks Jay
I hope the gods let Jay live many more years. He truly is irreplaceable.
Would love a series on “barn finds” like this! Unrestored beauties!
My brother bought a '62 for $300.00 in 1964. Both axles were broken. He was an automotive mechanic-genius. Over time, we bored and stroked, ported and polished it, getting the displacement to over 1 liter and horsepower on the dyno up to almost 100 horsepower. I remember being tasked to work STP into the old-style shocks. We took it on wonderful trips. Picking up 2 girls and cramming all four of us in was very exciting. He sold it years later. Aside from my mother's '49 Packard, it is the most memorable car in my life.
Had the good fortune of meeting Mr. Donald Healey in 1983 when I sold my 1961 Bugeye. Mr. Healey said that his design goal for the bugeye was a "poor man's sports car weighing 1,000 lbs and costing less than $1K". He expected people to modify them and like the mods that I did. Mr. Healey was a very kind and pleasant man.
he was a one of a kind wonderful man as was his whole family
Where is the, "Healey Story" video?9
he always was a true gentleman
He was Sir Donald..
My Dad had an Austin-Healey 100-4, and my mom had complained it was too drafty and cold. Dad was at a dealership in Toronto in the late 1950’s and there he met Donald Healey, who convinced him to trade it in for a Morris Minor. 😭
Love the Bug Eye!! One of my favorite sports cars. I had a later one, a 71 I think, as my first car in high school. Wasn't a Bug Eye, but I loved the way it handled, and on Northern California (Paradise/Chico/Oroville) roads it was great. My only issue was members of the football team picking it up and turning it sideways in the parking spot. Good times.
A '71 would have been an MG Midget (shared the same motor, body (almost), interior. Austin Healey left the US market after going out on a high note with the 3000 Mk. III , the "Big Healey". Those are now going for over six figures at auction if in concours condition.
🤣 Zink...any relation to the Zinks of Formula fame..?
I had one just out of school in 1973 and sold it to get married in 79 I love that thing 😊
Been waiting for Jay to show a bugeye for a long time. We are half way through the restoration of ours.
A friend of mine, on the East Coast in the early 1970s, had one of these. It was noisy, but fun to drive.
I really, really like what you've done with this Frog Eye. You and your team do a really good job with all of your motors, but this one is just fabulous. Thank you for sharing it with us!
Sorry, respecfully, it is a "Bugeye Sprite!
@@dandavis4469 Ah, of course, forgive me. The distinguishing characteristic being that the steering wheel is (also respectfully 😊) on the wrong side of the car!
@@dandavis4469 In Britain they are usually called Frog Eyes.
@@dandavis4469 in UK it was and still is a frog eyed sprite.
It is, and always will be a ‘frog eye’ in the country that built it 👍
My first car. I was 17 in 1965. Bought for $500. Driving was a blast! Replacing the clutch throw out bearing was not.
Thanks for the memories!
I had a 1965 Sprite. It was the first year they had roll up windows. If I remember correctly it had a 1275 cc engine with twin SU carbs. I drove it from Allentown Pa. to Memphis where I attended school. One time we did the trip with three of us. I bought it used in 1966 for around 1800. Great car , still have great memories.
Memories....my late dad always aspired to one of these !
Thanks for the ride. I bought a 59 in 1963 for $800. It was the most fun I ever had driving a car. Had to replace the wiring loom after if burned out. Cost more then the car to fix. It had an Abarth exhaust, when backing down from 7000 rpm, you could hear it a mile away. I thought it would impress the girls. A friend had a TR-3, and another had a MGA, but I think was the better of the 3. BTW it also had a hole in the front to use a crank to start it. I think i t also had the crank.
I lived in Arcadia back in the 80's. Worked at Louis sports car. On first st.
Had a 58 Sprite. What a blast to drive.
I have had three of these, and loved each one. Like Mr Leno said simple & fun.
In May of 1959, I had just graduated from USN officer candidate school and was assigned to a ship in San Diego. As a kid, I had worked for Carson/Roberts/Advertising, who got the account when this car was first in the US. They had a demo and let me use it for a weekend in LA, with the warning, "do not overrev" it's brand new. (ahem!!) drove it around LA and Beverly Hills, and had a ball. That car looked just like yours.
Who knows?, this might be the same car.
NUT 721. Perfect license plate for Mr. Leno. I love the explanation of the safety feature of the car - shorter so you avoid accidents!!!
The smile of the front headlights and grille makes me giggle every time I see it.
100% love these things. Nicely done!
I love my frog-eye - it's a joy to drive and also brings so much joy to others!
Was a big Healey owner but always loved the Frogeye Sprite.
While in high school in the late 60's, I found one of these in a storage quonset. The car was dissembled with all the motor parts piled in a box. The guy wanted $300 bucks; which I didn't have. The money and the daunting task of reassembly was just too much for me at the time. Still; I regret not purchasing it for a future project!
Storage quonset? You sir are British . We say Storage unit in the US
@@nashvilleslim Actually 'quonset' is American as apple pie! It s an Algonquian word for 'small, long place'. The first quonsets were manufactured at Quonset Point in Rhode Island for the US Navy. And yes, the storage building I refer to was a 'quonset'!
The Frogeye is the car that made me fall in love with sports cars forever!
Kool. The tilting hood/fender assembly is a really nice feature. I agree with your decision to preserve and not restore.
A friend of mine in high school had an Austin Healey Bug-Eyed Sprite and it's still one of my favorite cars to drive. You have to watch out for 16-wheelers on the highway because they'll blow you off the road when they pass you. That's assuming they see you at all and don't accidentally run you off the road. But other than that, it's a fun car!
Surprisingly comfortable on the leisurely cruse . Don't wanna sit in summertime traffic with the heater valve stuck in the open position though . Thanks Jay
Almost bought one for my wife 25 years ago, ended up with a TR6 w/overdrive. Lovely little cars these Sprites. Thanks Jay for the video.
I had a white 1960 AH Spite back in 1967 it cost me $25. A lot of fun, but needs constant work. Vapor lock was the main issue that caused me to stall in the Lincon tunnel one evening at rush hour. Fun times.
Nice to see the car left in original condition. There's something about light cars with small motors on skinny rubber - pure driving fun. 👍🇦🇺
My first sports car, bought in 1969. White with blown engine. Put in new engine, sprayed BRG, and more fun per kilogram than anything else on the road.
I've got an original 62 948. Did a quick return to original! Love the thing!!
Mr. Leno always drives with his arm out the window looking like he's holding the door closed, and I'm reminded of the driver in Japan who had his arm taken off at the shoulder when another car got just a bit too close. They later found his arm, and the hand was still firmly clutching the phone he had been using!
I love this show. Had bug eye in the late 60s while working as a gas leak tec. One year I ran out of a tank of Hydrogen test gas. Transported a replacement thru Ill. and break neck speed only to find out that a farmer with political clout could make a county rout a road around his fields with 4 ninety degree turns. NOT apparent from a drivers point of view. That sprite took those turns like it was on rails. BUT you had to keep the knee action shocks full of fluid. Thanks for the memories Jay
Hey Jay! The "Bug-eyed" Sprite! I loved seeing these in Australia when I was four years old in 1961! What an excellent example you have there!
The license plate is perfect for you! :))
I am from the era of second hand British sport cars. Me and my friends all had Healey's, Triumph's, MGA's and B's, okay and Alfa too. One guy had a Bugeye and it was so spartan even compared to a TR3 it was funny. But it was his daily driver.
What memories coming from my brother's British car shop. Yep 948CC Ana grindy 4 speed..
The number of times I was the driver at age 7 or 8 when my brother had to push start it or we had to go retrieve his daily driver whereas the wheel bearing failed and the wheel fell off on a hairpin corner I don't know how you survive driving those things it seems like that happened multiple times pushing it in the corners and suddenly the wheel would just fall off... We also had an old MGA in our driveway that was my favorite I favorite I used to do burnouts in a 40' stretch in the driveway it had a cut out pipe even age 8 hour unbolt to cut off pipe make a lot of noise and spin the tires .
I had an original and unrestored 1961 BugEye too. It was a cool and fun car to zip around Costa Mesa / Newport Beach in the late 60’s, I miss those wonderful carefree days. Thanks for the memories Jay.😎👍
Rebuilding those hydraulic dampers (shock absorbers) will do wonders for the suspension. I had a 1969 Sprite which was similar but with the 1,275 cc 65 HP engine. It had the steel wheels, too. It did 120 MPH easily. I broke speedometer cables several times doing that. I use to love going out into the rain to raise the hood so I could turn the heater on.
Thanks Jay! I always enjoy when we get a look underneath.
I remember in the 80's these would go for $1200 tops in the Seattle area. Fun little cars.
One of the very best classic small british roadsters.
I had a 1960 in yellow. Cost me $100. drove it all through Mulholland, etc. Sold it for $300 with a slipping clutch. Kinda wish I still had it!
My first car was a 1954 Austin A30, which I bought in 1977. The quality of the metal on it was amazing, with hardly any rust. People were not used to the outdated semaphore indicators by then, and I used to watch their faces in the mirror, when I switched them on at traffic lights. At 850cc it was not very fast, but better than a washing machine motor!
"If there's no oil under 'em, there's no oil in 'em!!" My favorite Triumph GT6 had an amazingly rust-free front end. The front oil seal on the crankshaft was shot and, as a result, the oil squirting out was slung all over the front frame, suspension, hood and inner fenders. No rust!! :-)
Capt. Blackheart Charlie
Key West
Love these little light cars. I had a 91 Suzuki Swift GT with 1.3L 100hp. I have heard people getting as much as 140hp out of them. They weight 1786 lbs. My family said that if I got hit by a truck I'd be deaded. But depending on what truck, most people getting hit would be deaded back then.
What a treat. Love how the whole front hood shakes in the low front shots
The perfect car to go to the drive-in movie . I'd throw in the 1275 and a 5-speed tranny and hinge the hood from the front. That would give great access to the engine and front suspension . The rest is fine as-is. Hey Jay, if you still have it I'd like to make you an offer, maybe you could do the work for me . What say ? PS : I had a '67 with the 1275, in 1973. It was the most fun Ive ever had with a car. Great heater, super warm instantly and that was in New York in the winter . Rough in the highway, ran at 4200 rpm at 60 mph and the springs were so hard I had to take piss breaks . Fun, oh yeah !
1962 I installed a Judson supercharger on friend's Sprite. Later the newspaper had photo of it showing it rear-ended, up under Chevy, a utility truck up over the trunk, all tires flattened and only passenger area intact, as was my friend.
Thanks for the look at the bug eye sprite. They are just fun cars in every way other than raw power . Where we would use four 5/16 bolts the British use a dozen machine screws.
Back in the mid-late 70s my (then) English teacher (Mrs Young) used pull-up at school every day in a Sprite.
My father raced one of these. Same color. He won a race at Virginia International Speedway in it back in '59 or '60.
Mine was red😁 1962 first car 😄 always wanted another one. More fun at 50mph than a current model at 80😁
Jay, When I had my Bugeye, I used a strap of webbing material and just made a loop in it to raise and lower the bonnet. You could use an old leather belt too.
Great video.
A few years later, Austin made an improved version of the Sprite.
When I was a small kid, I recall a chap who owned a 1958 or 59 white Sprite.
The guy was kind of short, big glasses with thick lenses and his parents made him wear a white helmet!
The glasses were almost as big as the car´s head lights and driving through the quiet streets in a posh neighborhood made him look kind of funny -- almost invisible, only the white helmet and the big glasses appeared behind the steering wheel!
He got nicknamed "The Angel".
He was 18, the required minimum age to get a license.
I was 8 or 9 and most of the kids were 14, 15 -- still confined to their bikes.
However if he stopped and invited someone to go for a ride, the other kids stood silently watching the car vanish "into the sun set".
He started College that Fall in another city. I bet he got rid of the helmet immediately.
A few years later I saw him driving a nice red Alfa-Romeo Spyder, the glasses and helmet were gone and a cute girl was sitting with him in the Alfa.
The Angel or Larve had turned into a butterfly.
Thank you Jay for a very special video
An evocative story, thanks for sharing.
A few yrs. ago on the hot rod channel ( M.T.), a guy bought 8 of these( all bugeyes), out of a garage( a deceased person's collection)' He didn't really know what they were. Two were partly disassembled, the rest were complete. A few had removable tops. Most had the side curtains. I can't recall the name of the show( I tuned in late).
A good friend of mine got this as his 1st car in 1971....it was a "59. We would trade cars on the weekends......I have a 1955 Buick hardtop....we'd fake out our friends thinking they say us in different places around town Los Altos CA.
Also affectionally known in the UK as the 'bug eye Sprite!!' Really enjoy your postings - great stuff!!
Frog eye
It sounds absolutely perfect.
cute little car, thought he was going to pop the hood. lifted the whole front end up, lol. the motor looks like a lawnmower engine, super cute. i like that its not trying to be something its not, its just a fun little roadster. basic. i like that.
This is why we love you Jay,
I've been waiting for this video ever since previous videos showed this one in Jay's garage. Our family had two of these around 1980. Go kart handling like Jay says. But unlike Jay we dreamed of the 1275cc engine (and secondly, some front disk brakes from a Midget). Neither car could make it all the way up the steep Marin Avenue in Berkeley CA before running put of breath. But then our low income teenager "rebuilds" to the engine and SU carbs probably did not match the quality coming out of Jay's Garage.
"Beaten to death"? Sounds like you're describing my car! I've had everything from minis to Morgans and an XKE but the Bugeye was fantastic. At 50 mph it felt like it was going 90 and that was a bog standard 948. A lot of fun for not much money. I suspect the car shown here is much closer to most of your viewers real sports car experience than we let on.Thanks Jay, really enjoyed this episode.
Cheers!
They were designed to be driven that way. Hence the cheap parts bin supply of replacement parts. These are low budget cheap sporting equipment not really transport. From new they were raced even launched as a weekend toy track car. ruclips.net/video/uHre536AHrk/видео.html
Love those little, old, things.
I bought a 59 bugeye for 1200 bucks 2 years ago.
It cranks, just no spark.
Even then, I got it for a song. Once it's restored I COULD sell it for 10K, but I'm going to keep it so I can go on trips next to my dad in his MG
my dad had one of those , in 62 got hit by a mack semi that went left of center , lucky he put racing harnesses in it ! still messed him up but he lived.
"Look how small it is." Another classic Leno line.
had a few. loved them. i did put a toyota 18r five speed in one though.
A doctor buddy of mine restored 2 Austin-Healey 3000's to complete (or as close to) original. 1950's engineering at best, but beautiful lines. Love the twin SU carbs!:) A very clean and well cared for car!-John in Texas
That looks mad cute I would love to drive this thing, its literally smiling
These really are the best driving cars even if they are taken from the barn, cleaned up, and put back straight back on the road.
Of note to younger viewers is jay saying, as he gets back up from releasing the hood: “You think your car is hard to work on Arrrraughhh!” Is a vocal technique employed by experienced mechanics and all old guys working under vehicles or getting up from a Lazy-Boy recliner😀. “Original, unrestored preservation that runs or handle any better as when new or fully restored”applies to both Jay and this Bug Eye🦊
12:46 Guy in the blue sedan thought you were waving at him.
Thank you once again Jay.
We used to call them “Happy Frogs “ because that is what this car looks like in the front !
Thanks again Jay another great show
Jay Leno is still funny. THE ONLY SAFETY EQUIPMENT
Simplicity no much to go wrong and cuetest little sports car ever made uou cannot hate these cars l do remember these when l was young haven't seen one in years
Thank You,Sir.
I really like seeing these kinds of cars on Jay's channel.
This is one of your best cars. Unrestored fun son of a gun.
This is an amazing car. Had to watch video twice so much pleasure and fun it makes.
Anybody catch the old California plate letters? NUT! Just pulled a 356 Porsche roadster out of a garage in La Jolla. Parked in 1987 with 48 thousand miles on it. They are still out there so keep the faith!
I'm appreciating it's looks , more personality than an overpolished lookit me kinda job ...
Absolutely love these. Love seeing these at car shows
That's a beautiful 59' Sprite...
Great little car. I recall that the rear axle shafts were pretty fragile….
I found one of those in my wheel well once....
I assume you are also looking for a right door panel; used of course. Regarding the lack of safety features, I recall your comment driving the Ford Model A where you said something to the effect that if you were in an accident, the car would be on one side of the road and the driver on the other.
I had one in about ‘73. Loved it. Got rear ended, ruined it.
If you could just take the bee 🐝 roads to get places! 🌞 Hey Leno, is that the forerunner to the modern day golf cart? ⛳ Where do you put the clubs? Do you wind out the engine, or just wind it up? Does it use a kick start?? How many alfalfa pellets to the mile does it get? How does the carburetor feed the hamster?? 🐹 Are those the original wheel barrow tires on it, or did they put aftermarket ones on? Did they make a pedal car version? Body by Mattel, chassis by Piaggio? 😉
Jay - I have been watching your videos for years - as I am unable to afford anything more than a necessary vehicle, I feel like I am a involved with your cars and videos. I have a 1996 Mustang GT that I purchased brand new but cannot drive unfortunately as it has some issues - it is yours if you want it!
what are the issues?
Amazing! Thank you for sharing!
Only Jay Leno can talk about a Lamborghini Miura in the same sentence as a bugeye sprite and actually get away with it. LoL. Thanks
The rear ends of the rear leaf-springs look a little crusty. I counted more than one oil drip but not bad for a British '60's vehicle. Normally if the cat goes under the vehicle you have to wash the cat. I took my DL road test in a MkII in 1963. Much the same vehicle. Big fat guy for an examiner. That was fun watching him get in. Thanks for this one Jay. Memories.