Good morning! I hope you all had a good long weekend. Today we’re back, and kicking off a whole week of British cars as we count down to one of my favorite automotive events of the year. But I’ll get to that in a minute; first let’s see which of Friday’s beater trucks you picked:
Interesting. I’m a little surprised, actually; somehow I expected the Ford to win. Not sure why. I guess I underestimated the appeal of a nicely-seasoned squarebody. I agree; I’m just surprised.
Now then: Every year, on the weekend after Labor Day (it used to be Labor Day weekend, but don’t get us started), British car fanatics from across the Pacific Northwest descend upon Portland International Raceway for the All-British Field Meet, or as some jokesters like to call it, the “Annual Oiling Of The Grass.” Several hundred British cars and motorcycles attend, ranging from 1920s Bentleys all the way up to brand-new Land Rovers. I’ve gone every year since I got my MGB GT, except 2020 when the event was canceled due to, well, you know.
If you’re anywhere nearby this coming Saturday, September 9th, and you want to see some cool old cars, consider this your invitation. It’s $15 to get in, but that gives you the run of the place for the entire day. There are vintage races (and not just British cars – the big-block Corvettes have to be heard to be believed), Land Rover drivers waiting to take you off-roading, slot-car races, and rows and rows of amazing old cars. Don’t want to spend fifteen bucks? Well, there is another way – the Portland Highland Games have partnered with the ABFM this year, and they’re giving free admission to anyone wearing a kilt. I won’t be in a kilt, but I’ll wear my Autopian T-shirt so you can find me.
You know the old fable about the blind men all touching different parts of an elephant, and none of them really getting an idea of the whole? Well, our first pair of British cars this week is a little like that. Both are partially-disassembled projects with running engines, and both have been photographed in a way that shows a lot of details, but make it hard to get a sense of the whole. Let’s see if we can piece them together enough to make a judgment.
1965 Austin-Healey Sprite – $4,000
Engine/drivetrain: 1098 cc overhead valve inline 4, four-speed manual, RWD
Location: Whittier, CA
Odometer reading: 99,000 miles
Runs/drives? Engine runs, not drivable
First, let’s just clarify what we’re deaing with here: This is a Mark III Sprite, not a bugeye. The Mark I was the bugeye Sprite, and it ended production in 1961. But the front ends are interchangeable, and grafting a bugeye front onto a later Sprite (or MG Midget) isn’t that uncommon. Most of these cars are bits and pieces of several cars these days anyway.
“Bits and pieces” is about all this car is, really. The front end is off, and most of the interior is disassembled. The seller says the engine, which I’m assuming is a stock-size 1098 based on the 1965 year given, starts easily and runs well. It has a ton of new parts; they just aren’t all installed yet. Or maybe some are. The seat upholstery is shown sitting on the ground in one photo, but the interior shot shows it installed. The red and white color scheme is a bold choice. Hopefully a potential buyer likes it.
The inside of the tub has been repainted, it looks like. Fresh paint makes it hard to spot rust problems, of course, but what we can see is encouraging. The bugeye nose has had some work done, and needs some more work before paint, unless you want to embrace the rat-rod look. The included aftermarket hard top is a nice touch, as is the roll bar hiding under it.
Four grand may sound like a lot for a pile of parts in someone’s driveway, but if you total up all the new stuff, it seems like a better deal. And it’s all things you would have to buy anyway for another car. This is a good start to a hobby that will keep you occupied for at least a winter or two. But that first drive once you get it all put together would be so sweet.
1963 Hillman Husky – $3,200
Engine/drivetrain: 1390 cc overhead valve inline 4, four-speed manual, RWD
Location: Palmdale, CA
Odometer reading: 45,000 miles
Runs/drives? Engine runs, not drivable
[Editor’s Note: Wow, a Husky! – JT]
I can practically hear Jason saying “Wow, a Husky!’ when he sees this, and nearly everyone else saying “A what now?”. The Hillman Husky was the estate (that’s a station wagon to us Yanks) version of Hillman’s Minx saloon. But what’s Hillman? It’s part of the Rootes Group, along with Humber, Sunbeam, Talbot, and others. Many years after this car was built, the Rootes Group was taken over by Chrysler Corporation – but that’s a story for another day.
So what we have here is a rare US export model of a very, very British small estate car. It has a pushrod four cylinder driving a solid rear axle through a four-speed manual, just like almost everything else built in Britain at the time. This car’s engine, like the Sprite’s, does run, but the rest of the car around it needs some help. It’s complete, it looks like, but disassembled. I think the seller started to take it apart to fix the rust (which there isn’t much of, actually) but only got this far.
But I get the feeling that you could put it back together as-is and enjoy it. It’s such a rare car that you don’t need to restore it, as long as it’s presentable. Any missing or damaged trim on a car this uncommon just adds to the character. Mechanical parts might be an issue; Rootes cars don’t have the following that BMC/British Leyland cars do, so nobody is reproducing parts for them.
It’ll never be a sporty drive, but if you want to start a conversation wherever car folks gather, this is your ride. You’ll have to learn the history of the Hillman marque, and the Rootes Group, so you can answer all their questions, and you’re likely to end up scouring eBay for parts and forgotten corners of the internet for advice on how to install them. A car like this is a hobby unto itself, damn near a lifestyle choice, but it could be a fascinating project for the right person.
Yes, I know – disassembled in a garage is the normal state of far too many old British cars. But when they’re so close to being on the road, like these two, I would hope that they find sympathetic and spirited new owners to finish the job. And what about you, dear reader? Which one would you reassemble?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
Both of these look like projects that will be tinkered with enough to figure out that I am in over my head, then sold off. Everyone knows the Sprite, but the Husky is more of a mystery, so I pick it. Also, read and white interior? No thanks.
Oh the Hillman, definitely. The Husky might be the reason I drive a wagon now, growing up with fond memories of taking holidays in it. They are a perfectly sized car, meaning small enough to fit into anything while still being practical, but big enough not to tremble at the sight of an oncoming modern SUV the way you likely would in the Sprite. They were just on the this side of reliable, far better than anything from BL, but nothing as like a comparable Japanese car. They are in many ways comparable to Jason’s Pao, and probably just as rare despite the big age gap. You can’t really see it from the pictures, but they had a side hinged door in the rear, making it easy to load. This was the first year of the Series 3, and it’s the best looking of them from the front.
I wouldn’t worry about restoring it; though there are owners clubs and they can help you get what you need, the beauty of this car would either making it something that could keep up in daily traffic, or something to go totally insane on without a huge entry fee. These things are endlessly mod-able, and despite their comparably diminutive size, they engine bay is surprisingly big. There’s a few people that drag these cars, and slightly less but still crazy people who drop in an SBC or a massive Hemi.
If you’re curious, there’s a guy on the Jalopy Journal that painstakingly detailed putting a 392 Hemi in his:
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1957-hillman-husky-392-hemi-build-thread.866779/
Or if you just want to see his cart finished or some other Rootes cars, you can check out this one:http://www.dougscars.com/
There are far worse rabbit holes to fall into
A what now?
The Austin. At least I’ve heard of it. The What Now is pretty cool, though.
“If you’re anywhere nearby this coming Saturday…”
The Portland ABFM is always a good time but this year I’ll be working at a race instead:
https://24hoursoflemons.com/race/?id=354
so that’s one fewer entry for their Marques from the 80s-on (i.e. Miscellaneous New Stuff) class.
Man I love the old Sprite, but there’s something about that Husky that appeals to a different part of me. Plus, when I’m hanging with the guys, saying you drive a Husky just sounds better than a Sprite. And you can haul more beer.
Coward! Utilikilt is even based in the PNW!
https://utilikilts.com/
$400 !!!!???!!
woof
You just forced a memory to lazily float to the top. Of a lighting tech at our local Equity theater who wore one circa 2005. Nobody would hold his ladder until he agreed to stop going commando
What’s the black car beside the Husky? MG Magnette? Morris?
It’s a Morris Minor, an earlier one with wide B-pillars and trafficators.
Since we are dealing with fake internet money, the Husky for me with a EV conversion to soon follow.
The Sprite for sure. Needs an LS1 with a big-assed supercharger sticking out of the bonnet.
What’s the deal with the poster of the shepherd girl taped to the cabinet in the Husky garage? Is that what passes for a pinup in the High Desert?
I voted for the Husky
Both are over priced for that they are. The Sprite wins based on parts availability alone.
I think that’s what makes the Sprite the better choice here. I’d rather drive the Husky, but it’s a major rabbit hole of a hobby. For the right enthusiast, it’s not a bad project starter, but that is going to consume somebody. Then you’ll end up with something only slightly more unique than an Austin panel van.
So I’ve got badness in me today and I’m thinking small block Ford and beef the suspension and drive train for the Husky. There is a little bit of Rootes Group history that goes along with the swap in the Sunbeam Alpine to Tiger makeover.
And that’s a car that made Chrysler cry, for a short time they were selling a car with a competitor’s engine. The small block Chrysler V8 was too big to fit and the rest of the story is sad.
I voted husky, but I don’t really mind the eye blinding interior for the sprite, tho brits are usually understated right? lol
I love Sprites but not that one. Husky-doodle-doo.
Sprites are cute and all, but I’m a sucker for wagons and original paint. Hillman for me!
That Husky is adorable. One more vote for the Hillman.
I know it’s the wrong way to spend my internet fake money but I can’t help myself. Even though parts and support will be next to impossible to acquire, I’m going with the Husky today.
The sprite is more expensive and that interior is blinding with the red white and blue, Husky it is!
Wow, that Husky is just barely pre-Chrysler, as they grabbed their first stake in Rootes in ’64, and put a stop to US exports (other than rebranded ones, like the Plymouth Cricket, not too long after). One of my dad’s friends in high school apparently had a new US-spec Hillman Imp that the other kids made fun of, but the guy’s parents were Scottish expats and his dad apparently insisted on only British cars in their household. Kid ended up being legally blind due to an injury in Vietnam, so had to sell the Imp, but it was apparently seen still running around town in increasingly rusty condition well into the 1970s. I have no idea how many Hillmans of all stripes were ever sold here, but you had to have been some sort of eccentric to have bought one
Both would be nice…at least if the Sprite were a) a genuine Frogeye and b) not so garish paint- and upholstery-wise.
I owned a Hillman Minx — a ratty ’59 I got for $50 — and drove it during my last year in high school. A neighbor had a Husky, which I really wanted until he rolled it, after which I transplanted its floor shift to the Minx.
Later, I coughed up $75 for a Frogeye. Sweet little fun ride. Amazingly reliable, considering an almost total lack of maintenance from previous owners.
In the end, I’ll take the Husky. Even if my local Hillman dealer shut down some time before the majority of the people on the planet were born.
The Husky, because in a pinch, when I’ve bankrupted myself & defaulted on my mortgage trying to get it running, I can probably sleep in it down by the river.
I like the Husky. In many ways I’d prefer to have the Husky instead of the Sprite, but I’m not sure I’d want to start a project with a car made mostly out of unobtainium. On that basis I voted for the Sprite, but, idk, that kind of feels lame. I should have given the Husky the vote. Oh well.
I’ll take the car I can fit in best, and it ain’t no sprite.
I am feeling sprightly for the Sprite!