Now sold to David in Michigan! Congratulations!
This is a restored 1958 Austin Healey Sprite Mark 1, AN5L 6825, a car we call “Mellow.” This car was built in 1958, (the last 58 Bugeye was about #8926) but as with many British cars, they were often first titled in the year subsequent to their build date depending on when they were first sold. Thus, this car has been called a 1959 Sprite in motor vehicle registries for all its life, but the car was built in 1958.
More cool details… the long door handle (shown above) is correct for this car. These were changed at the factory to the shorter (and more common) ones in January, 1959 @ car #10,344. Also in January, 1959, @ car #9605, Beige replaced Primrose, which means that this color is accurate for this particular build date. We don’t have the heritage certificate to verify more details about this car, but the numbers and dates all line-up. (The certificate is easy to get if the new owner is interested, about $95.)
And don’t be fooled by the later style windshield shown here… the early nine-stud type was not used on all 1958 cars. It went away at about car # 5500, so this car is among the first batch of 1958 cars to receive the later style two-stud (stronger) windshield.
The car was owned for 40 years by the prior owner, and kept in nice climate in South Carolina. It shows… the car is rust free, without any blisters anywhere. This is a very solid car that benefitted from zero road salt and good garage storage.
The car is quite stock, with a 948 engine (#9CU-H 5347, presumed to be original to the car), smoothcase transmission and drum brakes all around. It’s great to drive, and looks great too. We have added a new carpet kit, new interior panels and new door edge gaskets to freshen-up the interior. Overall, the car looks brand new.
The car was repainted once along the way, and the paint is holding up quite nicely. It shines great. The gas cap is properly painted yellow… this was the way the cars came from the factory, with color-matched fuel caps.
We’ve just mounted new tires on the original wheels (which look great) so that the new owner will have fresh rubber. We also removed the windshield frame and replaced the windshield to body gasket and polished the original windshield stanchions while we were at it. We also replaced the carburetor top hat gaskets, which were due because of age.
An older top, tonneau and side curtains are included. The original side curtain pouch is still present, along with the original tool kit and pouch (see photo gallery). Also included is an original Bugeye Sprite factory brochure (pictured).
The car shows 31,566 indicated miles. An electric fuel pump upgrade has already been fit, along with a pressure regulator under the hood.
If you want a very slick stock Bugeye to enjoy, Mellow will do the job! Call or email to make Mellow yours.
