Moss Motors, Ltd

Hello! 

Well, as I said I just bought a 1967 Sprite Mk IV that has sat for the last 20 years (18 inside a garage). I've been into cars almost all of my 47 years; however, almost all of those years were spent working on old Chevys (drove a '56 210 hot rod daily for 15 years). I almost bought a Midget before I bought my '56 Chevy back in '87, but I needed something with more room, as it would be my only car. Making a long story short, I was starting to itch for a project, and a coworker had told her hubby that she was tired of his old Sprite sitting around and to get rid of it. Voila, it's mine. Thankfully, it came with a Haynes manual, as I have absolutely no experience with British cars. So basically, I'll be pleading for advice on a regular basis. I'm in the process of slowly cleaning off 20 years of grime and cobwebs, and inspecting the car. So far, no rust (I love California!) in any critical spots. Car had a oil leak that coated the underside with a nice layer of oil.

Thanks, and any advice would be welcome!

Ron

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Ron

Live each day like you're leaving town tomorrow.

Congrats on your new project Ron. I have a '67 too but mine is still in many boxes. Maybe someday. That leak and the resulting oil film is the well-known British anti-rust system.

 

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Bayless
Never express yourself more clearly than you can think
'48 Prefect
'67 Sprite (project)

Thanks Bayless!

A couple of my old college pals who had British cars also told me that the car has a built in anti-theft device, thanks to Lucas, in that it probably won't start half the time!

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Ron

Live each day like you're leaving town tomorrow.

I also have a 67 that I'm getting ready to strip down to the bones right now and do a ground up restoration on. I just made the room in the garage and have been getting the rest of my ducks in a row. I'm hoping to remove the anti- theft and rust features, it's in the plan, but we'll see. 

I thought I would share a couple of literature resources I've found in my searches. The first is what seems to be the official workshop manual on ebay. I bought one, and there's one left I'm sure they can get more).

OFFICIAL LEYLAND HEALEY SPRITE/MG MIDGET REPAIR MANUAL

The next is a book from haynes about the restoration of Sprites. That one you get from any online book store, I got mine from amazon. 

Mg Midget, Austin Healey and Sprite Restoration Manual (Restoration Manuals)

 Both are still on the way, but look like very good resources.

I'm going to try to blog the major mile stones of the the restore, but I'm always horrible at paperwork ;-)

 Jim  

Thanks for the info on the manuals, Jim. I know what you mean about getting your ducks in a row: on my '56 Chevy, I had a tendency to buy parts much sooner than I needed them, with the result that when I sold the car, I took a bath on parts that I never even got around to using. Doning my best not to repeat that mistake this time !

 

Ron

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Ron

Live each day like you're leaving town tomorrow.

Hi Ron - I got my 67 sprite about 6 months ago.  (Had a 62 that I sold in 65, sure wish I'd kept it).  Mine was a garage find also that hadn't be titled for 26 years but was in great shape with a lot of basics done.  I was on ebay for 6-7 years and the nearest sprite was about 250 miles away but I found this one 2 blocks from home.  My advise would be to have a good garage person go through the fuel system before ever putting in a battery.  Lots of gunk in those old lines.

Good luck!

Clark from Kansas

Thanks, Clark-

I pulled the engine and transmission out yesterday, and judging from the looks o' things I might end up replacing the fuel system, as it looks pretty bad. My plan was to rebuild everything (brakes, suspension, electrical, body) but the engine first, THEN rebuild the engine and put in the car. My brother had a good point in that doing it this way I won't be tempted to "just take it for a quick spin to check the engine" be fore the rest of the car is truly roadworthy. Also, I can do most everything but the machine work myself, as I've done it in the past, mainly out of financial necessity!

Body/frame is good, however, with no rust. Won't mention the interior, however...

Ron

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Ron

Live each day like you're leaving town tomorrow.

Hey Ron, 

If you haven't found them yet, check out Apple Hydraulics for your shocks and swivel axels. The guy there is really great to deal with and they have most of the parts for you car already rebuilt and in stock. I spent around $1k for all four shocks, both front A arms and two swivel axels, That also included all the bushings for the front end. You just need to pick up the rear bushings, do a little painting (all the parts come in primer) and do the fun part of putting it all together. 

I'm doing a website to follow the build of mine, you can find it here

http://web.mac.com/jimbot2000/1967_Austin_Healey_Sprite_Restoration/Welcome.html 

I need to do an update on mine, I just bought it in June, started in the beginning of July, and plan to finish it by Halloween.......with some luck.  

Hey Jimbo-

Thanks for the tip on the shocks. I just picked up a Datsun 210 5 speed this past weekend. As the winter's coming on, it's time to concentrate on mechanicals, as it's gonna be too cold to paint.

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Ron

Live each day like you're leaving town tomorrow.