Back On The Road: The 1962 Austin-Healey Runs Again

After more than two decades sitting silent, our 1962 Austin-Healey is finally moving under its own power again. Hearing the engine fire is one thing. Watching the car pull away under its own power, after years of restoration work, fabrication, problem-solving, and waiting for parts, is something else entirely. For the first time in over 20 years, the Healey is no longer simply a collection of promising components. It is a running, driving car. (Watch Paul from Apex Auto Works drive it for the first time below)

1962 Austin-Healey Sprite: What’s Left to do on the Hundred Dollar Healey?

There is still work to be done, but the project has entered that satisfying final stage where the remaining jobs can be written down as a punch list rather than an endless restoration plan.

The headlight switch still needs to be installed, and we need to finish fishing the custom fuel filler into position. The trunk lid must be mounted, while the custom front bonnet requires a few final adjustments to improve its fitment and alignment.

Inside, the dash brackets need to be completed before the interior can be considered finished. There is also some overspray to clean up, along with the installation of the roll hoop, and of course, our Moto-Lita steering wheel, which is sitting here on my desk. We are waiting on a fresh set of lug nuts for the wheels, which should be one of the final pieces needed before the car is ready to move into its next chapter.

None of these jobs are especially dramatic, but that is usually how a restoration ends. The major fabrication and mechanical hurdles are behind us. What remains is a series of small details, each one bringing the car closer to the vision we started with.

Once the punch list is complete, the 1962 Austin-Healey will head to Sean Starr for a period-correct racing livery. The goal is not to make the car look freshly decorated or overly polished. It should look like a competition car that could have rolled into a paddock in the early 1960s, complete with the purposeful graphics and details that defined club racing during the era.

That livery will be the finishing touch, giving the Healey an identity that matches its mechanical transformation.

There will still be adjustments, refinements, and the inevitable sorting that comes with putting an old competition-inspired car back on the road. That is part of the process. Vintage cars rarely declare themselves finished. They simply reach the point where the work shifts from building to driving.

After more than 20 years, this 1962 Austin-Healey is ready to make that transition.

Austin-Healey Sprite Quick Facts

• Introduced: 1958
• Manufacturer: British Motor Corporation, in partnership with the Donald Healey Motor Company
• Vehicle type: Two-seat British sports car
• Layout: Front-engine, rear-wheel drive
• Transmission: Four-speed manual
• Production run: 1958 through 1971
• The Austin-Healey Sprite was created as a small, affordable sports car positioned below larger and more expensive models such as the Austin-Healey 100 and 3000.
• The original Sprite became known as the Frogeye in Britain and the Bugeye in the United States because of its exposed headlights mounted on top of the bonnet.
• Rather than using a separate frame, the Sprite employed lightweight unit-body construction, with the floor, transmission tunnel and body structure contributing to the car’s strength. Many mechanical components came from existing BMC models, including the Austin A35 and Morris Minor.
• A 1962 Sprite is part of the Mark II generation, which replaced the Bugeye’s distinctive front end with more conventional headlights and added an opening trunk. The Mark II also formed the basis of the closely related MG Midget, leading enthusiasts to refer to the pair collectively as “Spridgets.”
• Early Mark II Sprites used a 948cc version of BMC’s A-Series four-cylinder engine. Later Mark II cars received a 1,098cc engine and front disc brakes, so the original specifications of a 1962 car can depend on its production date.
• Although the Sprite was never built around massive horsepower, its low weight, compact size and responsive handling made it popular in club racing, hill climbs and endurance competition. Three factory-prepared Sprites finished first, second and third in their class at the 1959 12 Hours of Sebring.
• The Sprite remained in production through 1971. The final examples were sold simply as the Austin Sprite after British Leyland’s agreement to use the Healey name ended.