Description Austin Healey Sprite factory works car 9255WD. A unique opportunity to purchase the Austin Healey sprite MK2 works demonstrator 9255WD. Featured in the works tuning catalogue and heavily photographed in period , this car was not only fitted with many period tuning parts but was the sister road car to the works Sebring cars entered by the works dept in 1962 and raced by Stirling Moss, Innes Ireland , Pedro Rodriguez and famed actor and racer Steve McQueen. Only one works aluminium panelled Sebring survives 9253WD driven by Rodriguez, 9254WD the moss car was destroyed. My car 9255WD was first registered to the Donald Healey motor company - originally lhd and painted Highway yellow (a DuPont colour) it was listed for export but we believe stayed in the UK and then changed to RHD after it had been used by the tuning dept for advertising purposes, it is possible it went with the race cars to the US as an advertising tool and then returned with them but I have no history of this. More recently the 9255WD has been used for Historic rallying. I have copies of the Donald Healey ledger and the car has a Heritage certificate confirming it’s history. My aim was to convert the car back to its original colours and race it but unfortunately I now find I don’t have the time, however since my purchase I have found several of the missing tuning parts, that would aid in getting the car back to its period look, these include the very rare Warwick works hardtop, the basically unobtainable and totally original Healey Aluminium works rocker box and a works fibreglass drivers seat. The chassis plate is totally original, and traces of the original highway yellow can be found all over the body, this is not a rebody! The front wings are later and the rear probably require a little work, the body and shell are very solid but showing patina. Currently the car is on the button running very well albeit in historic rally trim with rollcage and rally mods. The engine is based on a 1098cc block with bore size of 65.40mm with a capacity of 1126cc, fitted with modified Fiat pistons, crank tuftrided, ground and wedged, lightened flywheel, 7.5 inch AP racing clutch, rods lightened, balanced and shot peened. New cam bearings and a Piper BP750 cam, exhaust valve cutouts in block, cylinder head is an 11stud 12G940, Valves sizes- 35.6 inlet, 31.0mm exhaust, fully baffled sump, Aldon automotive distributor, Duplex timing chain, Maniflow exhaust and rev limiter set to 6,500 rpm. The engine was built by Don Loughlin Engineering. Front springs have been uprated with new competition lever arm dampers, top trunions, Peter May negative camber kit, 11/16 anti roll bar, updated and lowered rear springs and late 1275 back plates on the 1/4 elliptic axle, front brakes are disc with minted pads, aeroquip lines, with all lines running inside the car. Also included are two sets of spare wheels - original steel rims as per original and a set of black original mini lites with Dunlop racing tyres, not to mention the set of silver minator minilite road wheels fitted to the car. I shall be very sad to see the car go as I have long had an interest in these early MK2 works cars . |