I had a 1959frog eyed sprite❤ ( baby blue)in 1970 when 20 and despite owning some quite exotic cars since the frog eye it’s still evokes some of my best motoring memories 😎
My first two cars were bug eyes. I taught myself to drive in it on the dirt roads of the time around MCAS New River, N.C and it completely affected my driving style. Clutches and gears bring out something in me. I flipped it on the night of my 21st Birthday. Two months later, I was driving my second one in a large Midwestern city. I loved that car. And traffic was just a rallye every day! I LOVED to downshift and hear that rolling exhaust come out of the mufflerless pipes. One sunny summer morning, I awoke to find myself sliding along a steel freeway barrier after a long night of ethanol excess. The left front wheel cone was slightly bent which I didn't notice for a time until it became hot enough to smell. On the way to the repair shop, the wheel fell off, no brakes, fortunately the curb was high enough to scrape the bottom when I veered onto the sidewalk and came to rest a couple of feet from a light post. I was devastated. Then I found a 1961 Citroen DS nobody at the time (~1968) wanted, $110. THAT WAS A CAR. And, in my youthful ignorance, they were all 'just cars'. Now, I'd seriously give a toe or two to get any of them back.
Good luck sorting out the issues with this lovely little car. As you say, the engine is fairly simple and parts are all available. It shouldn't be too hard to make this a reasonably reliable little car. Without reliability, any car just becomes an annoyance, however pretty or historic it is. Things are far better now, though I have unhappy memories of cars I had back in the 70s that just broke down all the time - often electrical or cooling issues - and back in the day many cars seemed so unreliable in the UK that car club membership was a must. When I was a kid, we lived near Exeter in Devon. I can remember seeing car after car broken down on the A38 roadside on warm 1960s Summer's day waiting for the breakdown vans - most of them fairly new family cars.
My wife and I own a 1960 "Bugeye" as we say in the States. It always attracts a crowd at the local car show in Colorado Springs, CO for the past two years since I got the car back on the road. I had to give up on the mechanical fuel pump issues and just install an electric fuel pump to solve the fuel feed problem to the carbs.
Even as a Porsche fan I have to be honest. Seeing nothing but 911's gets a bit boring after a while. These non-Porsche videos are really refreshing. There's so much more about car culture and history to enjoy other than just cars with the engine in the wrong place.
Hello - thanks for great video. I am a long term Porsche owner and I have been captivated by this little car for quite some time now. Your video has inspired me to go ahead and buy one! Looks like loads of simple fun - and after 20 yrs of Porsches, I need simple!
I had that powertrain in a 1961 A40 Farina Mk2.... it was fab, but the car was much better when I swapped in a 1098 from a moggy minor... I used to drive up multistorey carparks in top! Simple, light and above all, fun cars!
I have owned two.. one as a college student back in the early 1970's in London.. then another years later, in Hove near Brighton. Both I (we) restored and truly fun fun cars to own and drive, be it to the shops to get a pint of milk and al oaf of bread or a long touring rally through England - great memories in such a neat little car. One day I will super-charge one of these.....
I now own a "big" Healey but I miss my Mk2 Sprite. It was gutless and the brakes were not very effective and you felt like a dwarf on the road amongst the huge trucks and 4WD's. 60 k felt like 100 at that height above the road. But the gearbox was magic to use and always had an answer for the engine and brakes' shortcomings. I loved that car and driving one up and down hilly areas was shear bliss.
That brings back some memories ! A good friend in high school(1967,1968) had an old happy Frog,a bit rough around the edges,but the most fun one could have with clothes on,probably many more modern little engines that would enliven it now,but it would no longer be it's happy little self,thus loosing far to much(I've sen one with a Corvette 5.7 stuffed in,but that would really despoil the personality in my eyes!)Just loosing that happy little exhaust burble would be far too high a price to pay.
Just a suggestion. If that mechanical fuel pump is anywhere close to the exhaust manifold where it can absorb some heat that could be your intermittent fuel problem. I experienced the same thing on a Cobra replica I built with a Ford V8 302 cid. Took ages to figure out what was happening until a friend who had lots of experience with race car building suggested a simple thin aluminium plate cut out of approx 1 mm plate, as a heat shield to absorb and draw the radiated heat away from the pump. Cheap and simple and not a problem thereafter.
I, too, had a bugeye(!)...fifty years ago and it taught me why British cars as well as French cars and until very recently Italian cars are no longer sold in America. You work on your car a LOT and it can't even make it to the photo session without breaking down. A British car might be fun to drive, but it's no fun to own. And you can't drive it farther away than you can walk home when it displays its true colors and strands you along the side of the road. In the rain.
Great video as always! A quick suggestion that may bump of views on videos of the older cars is any work you do video it and upload it as a separate videos. When I watch people doing videos working on there motorbikes or cars it gets me invested more and by the time they come to start and use the car I've invested enough time that I want to see it run as much as the owner. It doesn't have to be Wheeler dealers but I think sometimes people are more interested in the workings and problems of an old car then the actual running of it. I think a video series on getting the car running would definitely help draw in the crowd that appreciate these fine beasts. But I could be wrong but what have you got to lose? Anyway you've always got my view on these old cars so the more the merrier!
great poi there.. unfortunately I do lack the patience to video the work as I hate having to multitask! But there as video preceding this one in which we get Fred going for the first time!
I have a heavily modified bugeye sprite. It's got an sbc 383ci. The transmission is automatic. I've been building this car for years. It has the upgraded front brakes, the tube shock system up front. I'd love it more if it was quieter.
I owned a 60 sprite in 1963 until 1964. It was the best handling car I have ever owned except for my 1966 shelby mustang. It handled better than a Porsche 356 spider i drove and better than a A/H 3000. I also owned a 58 Triumph tr-3 and it was way better than the tr-3. It had more bang for the buck than any other car I owned.
I would come home in my '73 Camaro Z28 which was an amazing performance car just in order to switch into my other preference a '74 MG Mark 1 Midget there was kind of a same comparison I wanted a 911 but they were always just above my budget level
Have owned several MG Midgets, pre-rubber bumper models; one fully restored. Great little cars, loads of fun, sound, looks... had many a great 40 mile drives -- until the piece of crap broke down... always could count on a fuel or electrical Gremlin. I would never plan a drive outside of tow truck range. But all you say is true, they are truly endearing; but I sure love my Porsche!
Wow, yours sure does sound unreliable.. Fred is so simple I hope when fuel issue is sorted he will be good!! I think modern fuel overheats much easier and that's the source of my issues..
I still have fond memories of the one MG, it was gorgeous -- had a once in a lifetime byer come along who bought it for nearly $10K (in 1992)! She was terminally ill, wanted the car and did not care about the cost, make me that offer, I took it -- and ready for this -- she drove it everyday for 5 months, without one breakdown! ... I think it was meant for her.
Loved seeing/hearing a frog again, though very puzzled by the comment of poor handling, mine stuck like glue to the road, regardless of speed, and Frogeyes are consummate racing hill climbers, see old Top Gear episode vs a fast Renault hatch. The frogeye won easily, due to its superb cornering, much to the Top Gear team's surprise, but not mine. My frog (607 FOD if anyone knows his whereabouts) saved my life when my brakes failed going down a steep hill to Ware, Herts. I had to do two right-angle turns either side of a train bridge, at a speed I would not have been doing, if I'd known the brakes were about to go! Any other car would have had me off the road, but Fod stuck tight through those nerve-wracking corners albeit going round on what felt like two wheels, first one way, then the other. Fod is still on the road according to DVLA, though is now green, with spoke wheels, instead of cherry red with the same wheels as Fred, when I owned him nearly 40 years ago. Fod had a heater, and wipers too (they were optional lol) and my only break downs were repeated knocking the exhaust pipe off as I lived up a half mile pot-holey cart track, and the brake failures due to a burst cylinder, and handbrake cable breaking. Thanks for video. I remember once at a garage, a mechanic told me my car looked as if he was eating the mechanic working under the huge one piece bonnet :).
My uncle had one and they feel like they are doing 100mph at 40. His had a straight through exhaust which was wonderful and maybe a bit of tuning (1100cc possibly twin SU carbs) brilliant thing.
Austin froggie simple engine , save petrol , easy moving , easy handling , turf , suitable for old timer to go for a ride ...! Regard from kuala lumpur.
Really enjoyed your video, I had a frog eye in the late sixties, 1959 model with studs on the windscreen surround to locate the hood, trouble was that it billowed at speed and rain came in between the studs. came home very wet many times but loved the car anyway. But I commented to mention that I too had fuel issues, when the engine was hot and I had to stop at, say, traffic lights the engine would stop and not restart for about 15-20 minutes The problem, a mechanic told me, was a vapour lock caused by the carbs being heated by the engine thus vaporising the petrol. I believe a mod. of some kind was or maybe still is available to provide some insulation of the carbs. I wonder if that might be your issue.
Thank for watching! Nice to hear your story. So it turns out modern fuel has a much lower boiling point than older fuels as modern cars have fuel injection so the boiling point is not a problem.. in the end I had to put in an electric fuel pump and that totally sorted the problem out!
There will be a really simple fix to that fuel issue and you'll kick yourself once you find it. Here's two or three things which come to mind. Kinked fuel pipe? Rubber hose from pipe to pump collapsing inside under suction? Worn out eccentric on the cam? I remember in my youth that it was not uncommon to see fuel pumps with a line of weld along the actuating arm to compensate for this. I'd disconnect the fuel feed to the carbs, run the motor from a gravity tank, and see just how hard your fuel system is pumping. It hasn't got a reserve tank setup by any chance? I had a Rover P6 V8 with all the symptoms of vapour lock, but it turned out to be maladjustment of the reserve tap. To elaborate on that one, the constriction on the fuel flow caused by a not fully opening tap was not enough to prevent fast driving under cool conditions, but under warmer conditions the fuel between pump and tap was becoming vapourised under suction. Good luck with it!
The first car I ever steered (at age four, sitting in his lap) was my Dad's '59 Speedwell Blue Sprite. I'd like to see you take a look at the Triumph Stag for your next project.
Loved this video - so many memories. Served my apprenticeship in Salisbury in early '60s on these along with minis, A30/35s, A40s etc. Have a thought for other old sports car projects - maybe MGA or AH 100/4?
Fuel filters plug up I've had had a plug up in the car running while and then it'll crap out if you have a bunch of crap in the end you have to flush the tank
I had a similar issue with my MGA and I thought it was fuel. After changing pump, HT cables, distributor cap, the problem was with the rotor arm which had a loose rivet when it got hot and then it cut out. Once it cooled down it ran fine again. Until the next time. Try a new rotor arm. It took me a couple of years to find the fault.
Could it be corroded fuel lines causing starvation? I know the ethonol in modern fuels can play havoc with old cars. Great review and very much looking FWD to the finale...
Checked them all PJ and they seem fine.. I'm fairly sure it's modern petrol bubbling up with heat and therefore causing an airlock in the pump! but good call!
I have a Porsche, but can appreciate great cars like the Frog Eye. I even like a FIAT500 (the original). By the way I have subscribed, but recently all my notifications have failed...I have resubscribed, to others, but they still fail. Hope your takes...if anyone knows the solution - yes I went to the notifications...???
Show the motor. Any car enthusiast will want the see the engine bay. Not a full review mind you but a few good closeups from different angles would do. Love the content!
I'm with Carl Harvey, you always do a great job Jack! Love the frog eye and see deserves her place in the 12 cars 👍. So then what about that TVR next!? 🤗😉
It's not a pretty car, but Fred does look amazing. Flaws? Personality ? Which it has plenty of, one could say almost an excess of personalty. Why do the Porsche videos garner nore views? More relatable, you have to be almost of a generation to be enamored wit these. Porsche is still a car on many peoples car list, want, have or had. It's still obtainable in many forms, entry level to high end performance and still feels like an exotic.
Yes but Porsche stuff does better than anything else I do.. I think to a degree its a self fulfilling prophecy.. I started the channel with a 964 and the majority of my vids are porsche related as thats what I have most easy access to!
As with everything there's more going on than can be quantified. You do have excellent overall content but Porche content is just a little more complete a little better. While you you've had some wonderful cars, it feels like the Porsches are always there. They thread their way through. You have easy access to a variety of Porsches and enthusiastic owners? It leaves us with one conclusion, your a Porsche guy
I own a Sprite, and yes, you "think" to steer it as the wheel is that sensitive and requires almost no input to turn. But, and this is probably because of it's light weight, it can be dangerous in a fast turn because the slightest cause to bounce will make the entire car leave the road (especially the back end) and you drift while in the air and come back down at the wrong angle, very hard and squiggly. You have to hold the wheel like a bear until the car regrips the road properly and gets back on the correct track. If you panic in that situation... you're a goner. (And it need not even be a sharp curve. I have had it happen going 70 on a highway on what would be considered only a slight curve in the road - when you go airborne at 70 you go a LONG way the wrong way until you come back down) So yes, it steers like a maniac... but it can lose the road suddenly and without warning... so I would agree that it has handling issues you must understand and be aware of to drive it safely. A Porsche has the weight in the rear, and so the back end tends to not bounce and leave the road.
Jack, many years ago I drove a frogeye from London, though Spain and Italy to Malta , with one of my best mates. Great trip and your video brings back memories! Thanks for the great content.
I loved my MK1 frog eye Sprite, It's not about power, it's not about road holding. It's about how it makes you feel, you cannot help smiling when you drive it! Everywhere you go people smile and take pictures, when you pull up anywhere everyone wants to talk about the car. I drove all over the UK in mine, it would be happy at 60 mph on the motorway. Mine was in Leaf Green with white wall tyres, and she is still running.
I feel your mechanical fuel pump woes. I have been dealing with similar from my Beetle. These old slow cars are still a lot of fun though (when they work ;) ).
What a beautiful car. In 1986 went to look at black mk2 16 ghia escort which I paid £1600 Sitting beside it was a frog espirt the guy said you can have this for £600 how I kick myself now.
Loved the video. As a model A ford owner I can appreciate that it is not always about how fast you get there but the journey. Looking for a Sprite as the next project.
My tr3 went through 5 or 6 mechanical fuel pumps in a very short time ,so I got an inline electronic pump almost 10 years ago & trouble free.I went the same way with an electronic ignition because I couldn't get a good condenser any more. Would love to have another bug eye .
Thank you for the fun video!I am a couple of months away from completing the restoration of my '59 Bugeye. I owned one nearly fifty years ago,and it was so fun to drive!
I used to own and work on both a Frogeye Sprite and a Sprite Mark II. Sometimes frustrating to work on but, as you said, everything is easily understood. My main gripe with working on the Sprite was that many nuts and bolts were often difficult to access. I think this is due to BMC using parts from other cars in their line. When I finally sold the Sprite and bought an Alfa Romeo Giulia Spyder 1600, lo and behold, most of the parts were easy to access and the car was easy to maintain. I still wish I had both the Sprite AND the Alfa and the later Lotus Elan Series 4. Dang- all those good cars but I could not keep all of them, so now I am happy with my 2006 Porsche Cayman S (987.1). I enjoy your channel. Keep up the good work.
Fun video. I had an MGB, which was also a perfect country lane car. Fortunately I worked at a car parts store back then, and much of my take home pay was in spares rather than cash. But your message is spot on: You almost can’t get more of a connection to the mechanical essence of a sports car than with a Mk 1 Sprite. That said… the German cars are so much more reliable. I also had a 356, which is a simple, satisfying car, and incredibly well made. If you can accept a lower performance envelope than that of a classic 911, the 356 is an ideal vintage sports car.
25 years ago, Mom brought home a '69 Sprite that she bought on a *whim*. She loved cars and she'd wind out anything with a stick and clutch. We had a lot of fun in that little Sprite, and I fell in love with that car. Sadly, it stayed behind when we left my father, who was becoming less and less stable (bipolar, alcoholic, paranoid delusional). She passed away from cancer in November 2020, and left me her life insurance. I don't want to fritter it away on meaningless little knickknacks, so I decided to spend some of it on something that would please her, to honor her memory. A bad infection in December put me in the hospital. When I got out in February, I started thinking about that little Sprite from my childhood. I looked online for weeks. Most were mid-60s and bug-eyes. Some were hotrodded racers. And they were all $13-24,000! My dream was still to get a 68-70 in relatively stock condition, something ready to drive yet not a flawless showroom display car, either. Most were also 12+ hours away from me in Michigan or Illinois. Then I found a 69 Sprite just 2 hours away! It was also less than $8k, which leaves plenty of cash leftover for any repairs. That sweet little Sprite is mine now, still wearing the original "Primrose Yellow" paint. Sadly, it doesn't have a top, so I can only drive if the weather is nice, and my state takes 2 weeks to issue a license plate, so I can't drive at all (legally). Oh, and it doesn't have an antenna, rear bumper, or radio antenna, either! So yeah, she's far from mint condition, but her only problems seem to be some easily replaceable parts, which I hope to do myself. Even after the repairs, it will be much more affordable than the $13k+ that most Sprites cost. I think Mom would be pleased :)
In the U.S., we call them "Bug Eye" Sprites, but they were and are a fantastic little car. Very simple, but very satisfying car to drive. The slightest thing you do as a driver, has an immediate and direct effect on what the car does. In my mind, this would the PERFECT car to teach kids how to drive and how cars work.
Here in Australia they are also a "Bug Eye". I own a US Bumpered, LHD MG Midget which has a Tifosi Bug Eye front added, and bumpers removed, in order to make a 1500cc Sprite. The front gives it that cute "bug eye" appeal in a better performance package. So much more character than the original Midget. .
My first sports car purchase in 1961 was a 1959 Sprite. It was very cute, ran well, and was easy to fix. I once got it up to an indicated 78 mph but 55 to 60 mph was a more reasonable highway cruising speed. Sprites are too small and slow for San Diego freeways so my current British car fix is a 1974 MGB.
Really enjoyed this. I own a Midget 1500 so can identify with many of the features of the Sprite Mk1 that you like (looks aside). I also like working on the Midget and after 18 months of Midget ownership I've given my MGF to a nephew. The F, rather like your 964, was a far superior car in every aspect but once I had the Midget, I lost interest in it. Old school is better!
Just one of those vehicles that is fun while not moving very fast. One of my neighbors, two doors down, as a kid had a bugeye. My next door neighbor had a Sprite MkIII. This was in an American suburb. The Northern Ireland immigrants across the street had Renault Dauphins! Neither Sprite was very fast, but you looked great getting there. It so much reminds of my 74 X1/9. I know, this is sacrilege to British car owners, but consider: The original X1/9 was not beast. Yes, the rack and pinion steering, and four wheel disc brakes were appreciated (and not common for the times), but the four speed transmission without overdrive, and the limited power band of the 1.3 liter carbureted engine meant you had to think and plan, because the unfamiliar American would be in the wrong gear without fail. Truly unsuited for the Interstate, and barely suited for main roads as your were limited to about 45 mph on hills. But get out on a country back road, without a number, and you could have a blast, even on those standard 145SR13 tires.
I had a 1960 left hand drive, with an apparently aftermarket bonnet-the headlights were in the wings! Traded it in on the only new car I've ever bought, a Florida Green, 1968 Austin America. (Paid full price, even tho' it was in 1969, because it was the only Stick they had left!)
I owned a 1967 Mark 4 version, I believe, and it was a mechanics dream or nightmare, depending who was geting paid. Driving it was and is the most(almost) fun I ever experienced in a vehicle. Country roads, city street, or travelling down the highway were all enjoyable rides in this wiz of a toy car. You get what you paid for and this car delivers.
On my Bugeye. Insufficient fuel was traced to a new aftermarket fuel pump (from China?). I found that the lever arm was moving only part of its intended travel. I had to modify the lever, I can't remember exactly how, to get additional flow.
i’ve owned several British cars unfortunately not a Bugeye yet ! although i do have a Spridget i’ve always love the look of the FrogEye or BugEye depending on what side of the Pond you are on there is something about the Sprites that are just exciting to drive like most British Sports cars you just become a part of the car when driving them as it always feels like you are going way faster than you really are especially around tight cornering and similar conditions
You are contributing to making sprites to expensive. I could get a 3.0 Healey 20 years ago for what sprites cost now. They should be 5 or 6 grand tops.
You named your car fred. I've named ever car I've owned, in order for a car to be named it needs some personal character. I now have a Toyota corolla (new one). I can't think of a name for it. It has no distinguishing character.
A Bugeye Sprite was my first car and I had it for 10 years, every trip was an adventure and I loved it!
Great video. Getting ready to drive my 1970 MGB in the spring.
I had a 1959frog eyed sprite❤ ( baby blue)in 1970 when 20 and despite owning some quite exotic cars since the frog eye it’s still evokes some of my best motoring memories 😎
Reminds me of running round that park in my Mums MGB in 70s.
My first two cars were bug eyes. I taught myself to drive in it on the dirt roads of the time around MCAS New River, N.C and it completely affected my driving style. Clutches and gears bring out something in me. I flipped it on the night of my 21st Birthday. Two months later, I was driving my second one in a large Midwestern city. I loved that car. And traffic was just a rallye every day! I LOVED to downshift and hear that rolling exhaust come out of the mufflerless pipes. One sunny summer morning, I awoke to find myself sliding along a steel freeway barrier after a long night of ethanol excess. The left front wheel cone was slightly bent which I didn't notice for a time until it became hot enough to smell. On the way to the repair shop, the wheel fell off, no brakes, fortunately the curb was high enough to scrape the bottom when I veered onto the sidewalk and came to rest a couple of feet from a light post. I was devastated. Then I found a 1961 Citroen DS nobody at the time (~1968) wanted, $110. THAT WAS A CAR. And, in my youthful ignorance, they were all 'just cars'. Now, I'd seriously give a toe or two to get any of them back.
Recurring fuel delivery issues are often a problem with fuel pick up in the tank, clogged
My very first car was a bugeye back in ‘68 I only had it for 2 years but I miss it to this day. Exactly right- more than the sum of it’s parts.
Fred is so cute...plus lovely camera work thanks for sharing
Thanks Robert, glad you liked it!!
Good luck sorting out the issues with this lovely little car. As you say, the engine is fairly simple and parts are all available. It shouldn't be too hard to make this a reasonably reliable little car.
Without reliability, any car just becomes an annoyance, however pretty or historic it is. Things are far better now, though I have unhappy memories of cars I had back in the 70s that just broke down all the time - often electrical or cooling issues - and back in the day many cars seemed so unreliable in the UK that car club membership was a must. When I was a kid, we lived near Exeter in Devon. I can remember seeing car after car broken down on the A38 roadside on warm 1960s Summer's day waiting for the breakdown vans - most of them fairly new family cars.
My wife and I own a 1960 "Bugeye" as we say in the States. It always attracts a crowd at the local car show in Colorado Springs, CO for the past two years since I got the car back on the road. I had to give up on the mechanical fuel pump issues and just install an electric fuel pump to solve the fuel feed problem to the carbs.
Good to hear from you Norm.. I think modern fuel means electric pumps are the only way forward for reliability!!
Even as a Porsche fan I have to be honest. Seeing nothing but 911's gets a bit boring after a while. These non-Porsche videos are really refreshing. There's so much more about car culture and history to enjoy other than just cars with the engine in the wrong place.
Great to hear that Randy, thanks for your feedback!!
Hello - thanks for great video. I am a long term Porsche owner and I have been captivated by this little car for quite some time now. Your video has inspired me to go ahead and buy one! Looks like loads of simple fun - and after 20 yrs of Porsches, I need simple!
Yes you do!! Thanks for watching. I really do love my little Sprite!!
I owned the same Sprite, same color, in the early '60s. The driving feel and its distinctive sound are unique. I've never loved a car as much since!
What makes it special are the little eyes.
Had one of these for 12 months - Wonderful little car!
Glad you agree Steve, I do love it!!
I had that powertrain in a 1961 A40 Farina Mk2.... it was fab, but the car was much better when I swapped in a 1098 from a moggy minor... I used to drive up multistorey carparks in top! Simple, light and above all, fun cars!
I have owned two.. one as a college student back in the early 1970's in London.. then another years later, in Hove near Brighton. Both I (we) restored and truly fun fun cars to own and drive, be it to the shops to get a pint of milk and al oaf of bread or a long touring rally through England - great memories in such a neat little car. One day I will super-charge one of these.....
Yes, saw the supercharger kit.. must be awesome!! I'd settle for a 5 speed box right now..
I now own a "big" Healey but I miss my Mk2 Sprite. It was gutless and the brakes were not very effective and you felt like a dwarf on the road amongst the huge trucks and 4WD's. 60 k felt like 100 at that height above the road. But the gearbox was magic to use and always had an answer for the engine and brakes' shortcomings. I loved that car and driving one up and down hilly areas was shear bliss.
That brings back some memories ! A good friend in high school(1967,1968) had an old happy Frog,a bit rough around the edges,but the most fun one could have with clothes on,probably many more modern little engines that would enliven it now,but it would no longer be it's happy little self,thus loosing far to much(I've sen one with a Corvette 5.7 stuffed in,but that would really despoil the personality in my eyes!)Just loosing that happy little exhaust burble would be far too high a price to pay.
I agree.. modern engine would be cool but you'd loose a lot!!
Just a suggestion. If that mechanical fuel pump is anywhere close to the exhaust manifold where it can absorb some heat that could be your intermittent fuel problem.
I experienced the same thing on a Cobra replica I built with a Ford V8 302 cid. Took ages to figure out what was happening until a friend who had lots of experience with race car building suggested a simple thin aluminium plate cut out of approx 1 mm plate, as a heat shield to absorb and draw the radiated heat away from the pump.
Cheap and simple and not a problem thereafter.
There is the saying that sometimes less is more. Well, those words suit the Sprite perfectly. Enjoy.
I, too, had a bugeye(!)...fifty years ago and it taught me why British cars as well as French cars and until very recently Italian cars are no longer sold in America. You work on your car a LOT and it can't even make it to the photo session without breaking down. A British car might be fun to drive, but it's no fun to own. And you can't drive it farther away than you can walk home when it displays its true colors and strands you along the side of the road. In the rain.
My favourite car yet, so simple, but better for it!
Great video as always! A quick suggestion that may bump of views on videos of the older cars is any work you do video it and upload it as a separate videos. When I watch people doing videos working on there motorbikes or cars it gets me invested more and by the time they come to start and use the car I've invested enough time that I want to see it run as much as the owner. It doesn't have to be Wheeler dealers but I think sometimes people are more interested in the workings and problems of an old car then the actual running of it. I think a video series on getting the car running would definitely help draw in the crowd that appreciate these fine beasts. But I could be wrong but what have you got to lose? Anyway you've always got my view on these old cars so the more the merrier!
great poi there.. unfortunately I do lack the patience to video the work as I hate having to multitask! But there as video preceding this one in which we get Fred going for the first time!
Number27 - We look forward to seeing that. Its really interesting the work you put in to get it on the road. I take it, it still has its DC generator?
I have a heavily modified bugeye sprite.
It's got an sbc 383ci. The transmission is automatic.
I've been building this car for years.
It has the upgraded front brakes, the tube shock system up front.
I'd love it more if it was quieter.
I owned a 60 sprite in 1963 until 1964. It was the best handling car I have ever owned except for my 1966 shelby mustang. It handled better than a Porsche 356 spider i drove and better than a A/H 3000. I also owned a 58 Triumph tr-3 and it was way better than the tr-3. It had more bang for the buck than any other car I owned.
I would come home in my '73 Camaro Z28 which was an amazing performance car just in order to switch into my other preference a '74 MG Mark 1 Midget there was kind of a same comparison I wanted a 911 but they were always just above my budget level
Love the Frog! Liking the broad spectrum of cars and you may be surprised to hear that I am not a big Porsche fan but love your blue racer!
Fab, thanks for watching Jon!
Love the frogeye. Will be adding one to my collection at some point.
You won't be disappointed Richard!! love these little things
Shows how underated the mg midgets are - great little cars and good value at 4-5k
Yep, great little cars
Have owned several MG Midgets, pre-rubber bumper models; one fully restored. Great little cars, loads of fun, sound, looks... had many a great 40 mile drives -- until the piece of crap broke down... always could count on a fuel or electrical Gremlin. I would never plan a drive outside of tow truck range. But all you say is true, they are truly endearing; but I sure love my Porsche!
Wow, yours sure does sound unreliable.. Fred is so simple I hope when fuel issue is sorted he will be good!! I think modern fuel overheats much easier and that's the source of my issues..
I still have fond memories of the one MG, it was gorgeous -- had a once in a lifetime byer come along who bought it for nearly $10K (in 1992)! She was terminally ill, wanted the car and did not care about the cost, make me that offer, I took it -- and ready for this -- she drove it everyday for 5 months, without one breakdown! ... I think it was meant for her.
FTD ratio is off the charts for these understated small sports cars. Bring on the curvy, two-laned rural roads!
i've been looking at buying a frog eye, they are so endearing...
Great video. You know there's no point asking me for an unbiased opinion. I've been smitten by them for over 20 years. Gary
Great!! I've just worked out who you are Gary!
The Healy is much more fun than the Porsche. The Porsche does however have a better heater and wind up windows :)
Had one many years ago. Yes, it's a fun car... And, yes, I spent many a weekend working on it! Not transportation, but a wonderful toy.
Loved seeing/hearing a frog again, though very puzzled by the comment of poor handling, mine stuck like glue to the road, regardless of speed, and Frogeyes are consummate racing hill climbers, see old Top Gear episode vs a fast Renault hatch. The frogeye won easily, due to its superb cornering, much to the Top Gear team's surprise, but not mine. My frog (607 FOD if anyone knows his whereabouts) saved my life when my brakes failed going down a steep hill to Ware, Herts. I had to do two right-angle turns either side of a train bridge, at a speed I would not have been doing, if I'd known the brakes were about to go! Any other car would have had me off the road, but Fod stuck tight through those nerve-wracking corners albeit going round on what felt like two wheels, first one way, then the other. Fod is still on the road according to DVLA, though is now green, with spoke wheels, instead of cherry red with the same wheels as Fred, when I owned him nearly 40 years ago. Fod had a heater, and wipers too (they were optional lol) and my only break downs were repeated knocking the exhaust pipe off as I lived up a half mile pot-holey cart track, and the brake failures due to a burst cylinder, and handbrake cable breaking. Thanks for video. I remember once at a garage, a mechanic told me my car looked as if he was eating the mechanic working under the huge one piece bonnet :).
Thanks for the lovely memories!! Just this evening got the new engine very briefly fired up!! 1380 with a Datsun 5 speed box. Can’t wait to try it!
My uncle had one and they feel like they are doing 100mph at 40. His had a straight through exhaust which was wonderful and maybe a bit of tuning (1100cc possibly twin SU carbs) brilliant thing.
Wow, sounds like fantastic fun!!
I have an Old English frog......its brilliant, i have 11 other cars, the frog is near the top as favorite
Austin froggie simple engine , save petrol , easy moving , easy handling , turf , suitable for old timer to go for a ride ...! Regard from kuala lumpur.
Really enjoyed your video, I had a frog eye in the late sixties, 1959 model with studs on the windscreen surround to locate the hood, trouble was that it billowed at speed and rain came in between the studs. came home very wet many times but loved the car anyway.
But I commented to mention that I too had fuel issues, when the engine was hot and I had to stop at, say, traffic lights the engine would stop and not restart for about 15-20 minutes The problem, a mechanic told me, was a vapour lock caused by the carbs being heated by the engine thus vaporising the petrol. I believe a mod. of some kind was or maybe still is available to provide some insulation of the carbs. I wonder if that might be your issue.
Thank for watching! Nice to hear your story. So it turns out modern fuel has a much lower boiling point than older fuels as modern cars have fuel injection so the boiling point is not a problem.. in the end I had to put in an electric fuel pump and that totally sorted the problem out!
@@Number27 Good for you, glad you sorted it.
Funny little bugger the “Frog Eye” 😊👍
Agreed!!!
Number 12... Got to be a TVR :D
Ha! fancy you bringing a TVR up again..
There will be a really simple fix to that fuel issue and you'll kick yourself once you find it. Here's two or three things which come to mind. Kinked fuel pipe? Rubber hose from pipe to pump collapsing inside under suction? Worn out eccentric on the cam? I remember in my youth that it was not uncommon to see fuel pumps with a line of weld along the actuating arm to compensate for this. I'd disconnect the fuel feed to the carbs, run the motor from a gravity tank, and see just how hard your fuel system is pumping. It hasn't got a reserve tank setup by any chance? I had a Rover P6 V8 with all the symptoms of vapour lock, but it turned out to be maladjustment of the reserve tap. To elaborate on that one, the constriction on the fuel flow caused by a not fully opening tap was not enough to prevent fast driving under cool conditions, but under warmer conditions the fuel between pump and tap was becoming vapourised under suction. Good luck with it!
Thanks Peter, will keep you updated but I think an electric pump will be the solution!!
The first car I ever steered (at age four, sitting in his lap) was my Dad's '59 Speedwell Blue Sprite.
I'd like to see you take a look at the Triumph Stag for your next project.
Bugeyed Sprite....that little gem of a car is not French.
Loved this video - so many memories. Served my apprenticeship in Salisbury in early '60s on these along with minis, A30/35s, A40s etc. Have a thought for other old sports car projects - maybe MGA or AH 100/4?
Thanks buddy, glad you enjoyed it!!
Fuel filters plug up I've had had a plug up in the car running while and then it'll crap out if you have a bunch of crap in the end you have to flush the tank
good stuff.
just got my first bugeye today.
a 59" w 66k
What happened to the Enflunzo?
I had a similar issue with my MGA and I thought it was fuel. After changing pump, HT cables, distributor cap, the problem was with the rotor arm which had a loose rivet when it got hot and then it cut out. Once it cooled down it ran fine again. Until the next time. Try a new rotor arm. It took me a couple of years to find the fault.
Red rotor arm from Distributor Doctor does not have a rivet. Pleased with mine. No connection just a happy customer
@@stanbest3743 Yes, that's the same one I have now. Problem solved.
Like driving a riding lawnmower
Could it be corroded fuel lines causing starvation? I know the ethonol in modern fuels can play havoc with old cars. Great review and very much looking FWD to the finale...
Checked them all PJ and they seem fine.. I'm fairly sure it's modern petrol bubbling up with heat and therefore causing an airlock in the pump! but good call!
Sometimes the SU fuel pump tiny breather pipe on the side get clogged and prevent the unit to work .
Engine , are they A series like the Mini ?
I have a Porsche, but can appreciate great cars like the Frog Eye. I even like a FIAT500 (the original). By the way I have subscribed, but recently all my notifications have failed...I have resubscribed, to others, but they still fail. Hope your takes...if anyone knows the solution - yes I went to the notifications...???
That is not a standard Frog eye sprite as it is vastly modified from original. It is now a "one off" car. The comparison is not valid.
how much is one of these worth?
they start at 5-6K and go up from there to £30K for the very, very best
The Sprite makes friends wherever it goes. Don’t drive one if you’re not a “people” person. In the Porsche, everyone just assumes you’re an asshole.
Show the motor. Any car enthusiast will want the see the engine bay. Not a full review mind you but a few good closeups from different angles would do. Love the content!
thanks buddy, yes you're right, as I was editing I realised I forgot to get an engine clip...
I'm with Carl Harvey, you always do a great job Jack! Love the frog eye and see deserves her place in the 12 cars 👍. So then what about that TVR next!? 🤗😉
Another TVR nut!! Lets see.. the TVR I wanted may be more money than I want to spend right now..
Jack yeah I love TVR's!! Jack I've just watched the black Dino you drove on Jay Leno's Garage ! Number27 was there first tho 😉👍
It's not a pretty car, but Fred does look amazing. Flaws? Personality ? Which it has plenty of, one could say almost an excess of personalty. Why do the Porsche videos garner nore views? More relatable, you have to be almost of a generation to be enamored wit these. Porsche is still a car on many peoples car list, want, have or had. It's still obtainable in many forms, entry level to high end performance and still feels like an exotic.
Yes but Porsche stuff does better than anything else I do.. I think to a degree its a self fulfilling prophecy.. I started the channel with a 964 and the majority of my vids are porsche related as thats what I have most easy access to!
As with everything there's more going on than can be quantified. You do have excellent overall content but Porche content is just a little more complete a little better. While you you've had some wonderful cars, it feels like the Porsches are always there. They thread their way through. You have easy access to a variety of Porsches and enthusiastic owners? It leaves us with one conclusion, your a Porsche guy
In America we have ALWAYS called this car bug eye... not frog eye. Not ever!
Loving Frogeye Fred! The simpler the car, the greater the character!
good point well made Gina!!
When you buy your Frogeye, can I have a shot please Gina!
I love Fred! I've had a 69 Midget since 1979. These cars are so much fun!
Do they have A series engine like a Mini?
After Thought depends which one you get 1275 is the same but 1500 isn’t
"Doesn't handle"? The Sprite's handling is brilliant. M.
I own a Sprite, and yes, you "think" to steer it as the wheel is that sensitive and requires almost no input to turn. But, and this is probably because of it's light weight, it can be dangerous in a fast turn because the slightest cause to bounce will make the entire car leave the road (especially the back end) and you drift while in the air and come back down at the wrong angle, very hard and squiggly. You have to hold the wheel like a bear until the car regrips the road properly and gets back on the correct track. If you panic in that situation... you're a goner. (And it need not even be a sharp curve. I have had it happen going 70 on a highway on what would be considered only a slight curve in the road - when you go airborne at 70 you go a LONG way the wrong way until you come back down) So yes, it steers like a maniac... but it can lose the road suddenly and without warning... so I would agree that it has handling issues you must understand and be aware of to drive it safely. A Porsche has the weight in the rear, and so the back end tends to not bounce and leave the road.
Did you mention this in your video? M.
One of my favorite British cars ever. I've never heard any other four cylinder sound so good at the exhaust
Jack, many years ago I drove a frogeye from London, though Spain and Italy to Malta , with one of my best mates. Great trip and your video brings back memories! Thanks for the great content.
I loved my MK1 frog eye Sprite, It's not about power, it's not about road holding. It's about how it makes you feel, you cannot help smiling when you drive it!
Everywhere you go people smile and take pictures, when you pull up anywhere everyone wants to talk about the car. I drove all over the UK in mine, it would be happy at 60 mph on the motorway.
Mine was in Leaf Green with white wall tyres, and she is still running.
I feel your mechanical fuel pump woes. I have been dealing with similar from my Beetle. These old slow cars are still a lot of fun though (when they work ;) ).
I have a transistorised one in the MGB. So far so good, about 20 years.
What a beautiful car. In 1986 went to look at black mk2 16 ghia escort which I paid £1600
Sitting beside it was a frog espirt the guy said you can have this for £600 how I kick myself now.
Loved the video. As a model A ford owner I can appreciate that it is not always about how fast you get there but the journey. Looking for a Sprite as the next project.
Cool little frogeye, I love classic cars
My tr3 went through 5 or 6 mechanical fuel pumps in a very short time ,so I got an inline electronic pump almost 10 years ago & trouble free.I went the same way with an electronic ignition because I couldn't get a good condenser any more. Would love to have another bug eye .
Thank you for the fun video!I am a couple of months away from completing the restoration of my '59 Bugeye. I owned one nearly fifty years ago,and it was so fun to drive!
Had a sunbeam tiger in the 70s. Flogged the bejesus out of it then I sold it. 🙄
Just _look_ at Fred's big dopey smile. Of _course_ you couldn't help falling for him. :)
I used to own and work on both a Frogeye Sprite and a Sprite Mark II. Sometimes frustrating to work on but, as you said, everything is easily understood. My main gripe with working on the Sprite was that many nuts and bolts were often difficult to access. I think this is due to BMC using parts from other cars in their line. When I finally sold the Sprite and bought an Alfa Romeo Giulia Spyder 1600, lo and behold, most of the parts were easy to access and the car was easy to maintain. I still wish I had both the Sprite AND the Alfa and the later Lotus Elan Series 4. Dang- all those good cars but I could not keep all of them, so now I am happy with my 2006 Porsche Cayman S (987.1). I enjoy your channel. Keep up the good work.
Fun video. I had an MGB, which was also a perfect country lane car. Fortunately I worked at a car parts store back then, and much of my take home pay was in spares rather than cash. But your message is spot on: You almost can’t get more of a connection to the mechanical essence of a sports car than with a Mk 1 Sprite. That said… the German cars are so much more reliable. I also had a 356, which is a simple, satisfying car, and incredibly well made. If you can accept a lower performance envelope than that of a classic 911, the 356 is an ideal vintage sports car.
Jack I love every video you do, they are so interesting and informative. Can’t wait to find out what number 12 is!
Cheers Carl, much appreciate your ongoing support!!
Love it....nimble and small.
Reminds me of time spent helping my brother with his sprite back in the late 1970's - his car and yours could be twins.
25 years ago, Mom brought home a '69 Sprite that she bought on a *whim*. She loved cars and she'd wind out anything with a stick and clutch. We had a lot of fun in that little Sprite, and I fell in love with that car. Sadly, it stayed behind when we left my father, who was becoming less and less stable (bipolar, alcoholic, paranoid delusional).
She passed away from cancer in November 2020, and left me her life insurance. I don't want to fritter it away on meaningless little knickknacks, so I decided to spend some of it on something that would please her, to honor her memory.
A bad infection in December put me in the hospital. When I got out in February, I started thinking about that little Sprite from my childhood.
I looked online for weeks. Most were mid-60s and bug-eyes. Some were hotrodded racers. And they were all $13-24,000! My dream was still to get a 68-70 in relatively stock condition, something ready to drive yet not a flawless showroom display car, either. Most were also 12+ hours away from me in Michigan or Illinois. Then I found a 69 Sprite just 2 hours away! It was also less than $8k, which leaves plenty of cash leftover for any repairs.
That sweet little Sprite is mine now, still wearing the original "Primrose Yellow" paint. Sadly, it doesn't have a top, so I can only drive if the weather is nice, and my state takes 2 weeks to issue a license plate, so I can't drive at all (legally). Oh, and it doesn't have an antenna, rear bumper, or radio antenna, either! So yeah, she's far from mint condition, but her only problems seem to be some easily replaceable parts, which I hope to do myself. Even after the repairs, it will be much more affordable than the $13k+ that most Sprites cost.
I think Mom would be pleased :)
outstanding Austin Healy Sprite....they are such favorites of mine...stunning little car
Luv that exhaust note!
Owning a “Sprite “ almost becomes a lifestyle . Ageing sports cars always seem to have something to do on them.
In the U.S., we call them "Bug Eye" Sprites, but they were and are a fantastic little car. Very simple, but very satisfying car to drive. The slightest thing you do as a driver, has an immediate and direct effect on what the car does. In my mind, this would the PERFECT car to teach kids how to drive and how cars work.
Here in Australia they are also a "Bug Eye". I own a US Bumpered, LHD MG Midget which has a Tifosi Bug Eye front added, and bumpers removed, in order to make a 1500cc Sprite. The front gives it that cute "bug eye" appeal in a better performance package. So much more character than the original Midget.
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My first sports car purchase in 1961 was a 1959 Sprite. It was very cute, ran well, and was easy to fix. I once got it up to an indicated 78 mph but 55 to 60 mph was a more reasonable highway cruising speed. Sprites are too small and slow for San Diego freeways so my current British car fix is a 1974 MGB.
Really enjoyed this. I own a Midget 1500 so can identify with many of the features of the Sprite Mk1 that you like (looks aside). I also like working on the Midget and after 18 months of Midget ownership I've given my MGF to a nephew. The F, rather like your 964, was a far superior car in every aspect but once I had the Midget, I lost interest in it. Old school is better!
Just one of those vehicles that is fun while not moving very fast. One of my neighbors, two doors down, as a kid had a bugeye. My next door neighbor had a Sprite MkIII. This was in an American suburb. The Northern Ireland immigrants across the street had Renault Dauphins! Neither Sprite was very fast, but you looked great getting there. It so much reminds of my 74 X1/9. I know, this is sacrilege to British car owners, but consider: The original X1/9 was not beast. Yes, the rack and pinion steering, and four wheel disc brakes were appreciated (and not common for the times), but the four speed transmission without overdrive, and the limited power band of the 1.3 liter carbureted engine meant you had to think and plan, because the unfamiliar American would be in the wrong gear without fail. Truly unsuited for the Interstate, and barely suited for main roads as your were limited to about 45 mph on hills. But get out on a country back road, without a number, and you could have a blast, even on those standard 145SR13 tires.
This is great, I actually have a white rhd bugeye and a blue lhd 911 c2. What a coincidence.
I had a 1960 left hand drive, with an apparently aftermarket bonnet-the headlights were in the wings! Traded it in on the only new car I've ever bought, a Florida Green, 1968 Austin America. (Paid full price, even tho' it was in 1969, because it was the only Stick they had left!)
I owned a 1967 Mark 4 version, I believe, and it was a mechanics dream or nightmare, depending who was geting paid. Driving it was and is the most(almost) fun I ever experienced in a vehicle. Country roads, city street, or travelling down the highway were all enjoyable rides in this wiz of a toy car. You get what you paid for and this car delivers.
My 1st car was a bugeye. Had about the same HP as my Honda 350 CL.
On my Bugeye. Insufficient fuel was traced to a new aftermarket fuel pump (from China?). I found that the lever arm was moving only part of its intended travel. I had to modify the lever, I can't remember exactly how, to get additional flow.
i’ve owned several British cars unfortunately not a Bugeye yet ! although i do have a Spridget i’ve always love the look of the FrogEye or BugEye depending on what side of the Pond you are on there is something about the Sprites that are just exciting to drive like most British Sports cars you just become a part of the car when driving them as it always feels like you are going way faster than you really are especially around tight cornering and similar conditions
Who wouldn't love these little cars,there always smiling.
You are contributing to making sprites to expensive. I could get a 3.0 Healey 20 years ago for what sprites cost now. They should be 5 or 6 grand tops.
still sorting out the fuel on my 76 midget, so i feel your pain! trying a mikuni carb conversion...can't be worse!
You named your car fred. I've named ever car I've owned, in order for a car to be named it needs some personal character. I now have a Toyota corolla (new one). I can't think of a name for it. It has no distinguishing character.