Now sold and heading to Arkansas! Congratulations Amy and Brant!
This 1959 Sprite (AN5L 18190) is one lucky car. It has been completely stripped and restored on a rotisserie and will probably outlive us all. Ever square inch has been renewed, all parts are replaced, it has all the right upgrades, and it is now ready for a new home. Kelly was the builder, and I am delighted to acknowledge a whole lot of hard work that went into a long and costly project by naming the car after him. Thank you Kelly!
You can see in the build pictures that the car underwent countless hours of prep before paint, and it shows. The lines are clean and straight and the car shines wonderfully.
The build included many exceptional upgrades, like a wonderful and quick 1275 engine with a great hotter cam and new carburetors, five speed fully synchronized Datsun transmission with overdrive, front disk brakes and sway bar, electronic ignition in a new distributor, thermostatically operated electric cooling fan, brighter Hella headlights with upgraded relays, new premium interstate battery, uprated gear reduction starter, new interior, nice stereo with speakers mounted in the boot and an accurate dashboard display of switches and gauges. New premium door pockets-we replaced the busy ones that came with the car. New seat components. New windshield to body gasket and all rubber is brand new throughout. Tires are slightly wider 175/70 for better handling and braking and new, as are the alloy wheels.
We have gone through the car and finished the restoration, and now the car is ready for a new home. Just 63 miles show on the clock. For Kelly, the fun was in the build, and he has moved on to the next project.
A non retractible three point shoulder seat belt set is fit, which I would change for our inertia reel set up before the current seat belt flips out and hits the stunning rocker panels. That’s why I love the retracts, they are less apt to chip the paint.
Exhaust is a nice stainless steel new system, fed by an nice header up front. Lifetime K & N air filters are also fit. Radiator core has been upgraded to modern specs for better cooling.
The paint, incidentally, is base clear great work, with painted on stripes that have been cleared over, so they are a part of the finish. All very well executed. You can see the nice finish in the A pilar area as shown below.
A passable top is included (see picture) but it is not up to the caliber of the rest of the car. We can fit a new one if the new owner so-desires. Original side curtains are also included, but they too will need restoration, or we can provide new ones. The tonneau is new, and fits nicely.
This is a turnkey Bugeye, the recipient of thousands of dollars of new parts and hundreds of loving restoration hours. It’s an excellent final product. We can further upgrade the car with a supercharger and more (ala Gumby). Or use it as is.