1968 Austin Healey

Convertible

4 - Cyl.

Manual

Clear

Gasoline

Great little Austin Healey Sprite -68. Basically same car as the MG Midget but with a cooler name and nicer badges! Compared to older Sprite/Midget, for a driver I think this is the car to have. Still looks old with the chrome bumpers, but has the new quick erecting hood and the much more relaxed gearing that came with the 1275 cc engine. So, what can I say? The car must originally have come from a warm and dry state because there is zero rust. Floors, wheel housings, rockers, engine compartment - they are perfectly nice and clean. However, the interior and all rubbers are replaced - the interior is from a 1970's Sprite with headrests etc. Paint is newer, looks good and is very shiny. Not a show paint, mind you, but good enough to get you all positive attention you can ask for. Glass is good, and window mechanisms work fine. All lights work as they should, as do horns, wipers and other electrics (Yes, despite that it has a Lucas system) All gauges work, but for some reason the tach reads too high. There is an old radio/cassette, it works but don't expect any higher sound quality from the single original speaker. The rest of the interior is good, there are new original style rubber floor mats, safety belts work and the seats can be adjusted for both reach and rake. (Not all old Sprites where they haven't rusted solid...) The top is good but not perfect. It looks good, windows are fine, but there is at least one small hole (but not enough to leak any water if you would be out in the rain) There are two tonneaus, one original but I also bought a separate newer one for the headrest seats. The engine seems exceptionally healthy, sounds perfect (no knocks, rattling, smoke or other issues) I adjusted the carbs, and it pulls very cleanly from idle to red line. And if you look into the valve cover it looks new inside, so I assume it must be rather freshly rebuilt. It does not overheat - I drove from Raleigh NC last summer up over the mountains in 104F and the temp needle stayed nicely put. Clutch is great, the gearbox is ok. By ok I mean that there are never any issues shifting, it never pops out of gear but it does rattle at high rpm and it doesn't like if you shift into 4th too fast. (Typical Sprite/Midget gearbox if you ask me!) Some oil drops are inevitable - if you do not plan for that you probably shouldn't look for a British car at all... Suspension is fully rebuilt for $$$ in the last few hundred miles. I got the VA state inspection sticker but the kingpins were not all that good. Well, you take the kingpins out, but then you need new bushings and they must be reamed so it is better to just get rebuilt spindles. When you take the spindles out you better replace the whole A-arms and then you get new Polyurethane bushings for them. New Heavy-duty shock absorbers, new tie rods, new steering rack gaithers, new wheel bearings and seals... You get the idea. When the front end was done I also replaced spring bushings at the rear, and I converted the rear suspension to regular tube shocks (which made a great difference - now it feels very well planted) Brakes are good - new front discs, all pads and shoes are good and it stops straight and true. The handbrake works fine too. Tires are as new when it comes to thread, but the front Michelins are old and starting to show some cracking. Haynes repair manual and original jack is included plus a cool 1968 AHealey show plate. Fully licensed, inspected and ready to drive home. I just ended up building an endurance race car and I cannot really justify to occupy both garage spaces with toys so this one has to go if my wife is to get her garage back. And the boring fine print - you are welcome to ask questions, see the car, drive it, have someone else checking it out...but before you bid. You bid to own, so no stories about lack of spousal approval or kids who inadvertently happened to put in a bid. You win the auction, you win the car. Scammers and zero feedback buyers - try elsewhere. Thanks and Good luck!On May-11-11 at 07:16:05 PDT, seller added the following information: Two important comments: I went a bit overboard with my new camera last night and took some 360+ pictures which I uploaded to a Picasa web page with various comments so if you will want a full close-up presentation please go to https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=110689492477248806063&target=ALBUM&id=5605314727041759073&authkey=Gv1sRgCIOW0JHuw4-aFg&invite=COjCgvEN&feat=email Secondly, I should mention that the car is also advertised locally so I do reserve the right to cancel the auction if a buyer should show up with money in hand.