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Full Version: My first car: '62 Sprite
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Yes... true story, where the sports car love started. Got it at 16 & 1/2, 6 months before I even had a license. We were all into the British sports cars, my brother and the gang of friends: TR3, Spitfire, MGA, Triumph Herald, Austin 100-4, etc. (we could not even come close to affording the new ones).

(One of our family winter projects this last few months has been to scan slides and pictures into digital form, and we found these old slides.)

So I joined the sports car fantasy with this one at $130.00. '62 Sprite. I was in heaven. Didn't run, we towed it home with boxes of spare parts. Took a couple of weeks, the parts in the boxes, and maybe $5 in stuff I needed to get, gaskets, and stuff as I rode my Schwinn to the auto supply store. Before this I had worked on or rebuilt a couple of mini-bikes before this car (you know the ones, we built using old lawn mower engines) so I had some reasonable tools.

[attachment=6150]

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No, it isn't a Porsche, but I still drove it on the lawn in the back yard thinking I was in the Pebble Beach show. The wiring harness consisted of 2 conductors and some black tape. The sound system was terrific, had FM with 1 speaker. Rain was no problem, since the floor boards were porous. What? Tail lamp cover? We don't need no stinkin' tail lamp cover!

Hey NJ guys, I am sure someone will recognize and cherish that bumper sticker! Write back if you went there.

Last thing before I bore anyone any more, I still have the license place from this car!

Roland

PS: Thanks to Flash for creating events like the upcoming tech day, I tend to read and write (and CLEAN the car!) a bit more before events.


This also was my first sports car. Mine was running a I uesed as a daily driver. Had great fun with the top. Usual Brit electrical problems. It was great until I totaled it in a head on crash in the back of a pick up. Still have the scar on the bridge of nose. Also had an Austin Healy 3000 MkIII. Sure wish I kept that car. Traded it in on a 67 Porsche 911E.
too cool - one of the local guys here just bought a spridget like that (68 though) - cool car - i went to look at it with him - the guy wanted too much for it in the condition it was, so he offered $1000 less - the guy took it!

i wasn't terribly confident about the car though, so it came here for a couple of days and i dialed a few things in so it would make it home - many memories while it was here

it now has a loving home and an eager owner - many plans for it - fun stuff

i can't wait to get the TR-4A over here so i can finally get onto that - just need to finish my car.............
<!--quoteo(post=68004:date=Mar 4 2009, 06:49 AM:name=cosimo)-->QUOTE (cosimo @ Mar 4 2009, 06:49 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->It was great until I totaled it in a head on crash in the back of a pick up. Still have the scar on the bridge of nose.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Cosimo,
This sounds bad, glad you are OK, these cars are really dangerous.

Later in the car saga I drove an MGB for a couple years as a daily driver. My commute was mostly on 2 lane higher speed windy roads. I found myself pondering the top edge of the windshield frame all the time, since it had almost a knife edge where the top connected. That was perhaps the main reason I sold it and bought my first Porsche which of course felt much, much safer.

Roland
That's excatly what happened to me, even with a seat belt (lap only). I was thrown up and foprward from the seat and hit the top of the windshield. They were dangerous cars in retrospect. I consider myself fortunate that I survived as I was young and more of a lead foot than I now.