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Austin-Healey Sprite

Contact Rick Moses This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Dental Office 717-534-2222, Cell 717-379-5752

1421 E. Chocolate Ave., Hershey, PA 17033-1165

Updated 5-7-2012

What are you doing next May 2013?

Join us in Central Pennsylvania, May 16 – 19 for SPRITE 2013. It is our once every 5 year gathering! Everyone is invited to celebrate the 1958 announcement of the Austin-Healey Sprite.

55 years will have passed since that momentous announcement. We have faithfully gathered 5 times since the 30th anniversary, Spritefest '88.

Contact Rick Moses for more information, registration, tentative schedule and volunteer to help.

See all your friends again at SPRITE 2013!

Rick

Dear Sprite Enthusiasts,

SPRITE has been around since the early 1980’s as SPRITE Newsletters and recently as SPRITE email Newsletters and Updates plus every five year Sprite anniversary parties. Since our beginnings we have maintained the same worldwide address and worldwide telephone numbers for continuity and ease in contacting us.

You do not have to own a Sprite to enjoy SPRITE, and of course all Spridget owners are welcome. The main function of SPRITE is to have some fun with our little cars and to honor the Sprite in as many ways as possible. We welcome enthusiasts that enjoy any Mark Sprite or have racing Sprites, special Sprites, re-bodied Sprites and any mixture of Spridget imaginable!

Thank you for your past support and we look forward to having you visit with us here frequently.

Keep smiling,

Rick Moses

FRANK CLARICI 4/11/11 My friend and long time Sprite enthusiast has passed away unexpectedly. Frank Clarici at fifty six years old is well known to many for his energetic kind personality and can do it spirit. He will be sorely missed! Frank and his family were instrumental in making all of our SPRITE every five year anniversarys a big success since Spritefest back in 1988.

Contact Information:

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Telephone: (717) 534-2222

Mobile phone: (717) 379-5752

Address: SPRITE, 1421 East Chocolate Avenue, Hershey, PA 17033-1165 USA

Please note: The 'Login Form,' 'Username,' 'Password,' 'Remember me,' 'Login' and 'Lost Password?' sections module of this website has not yet been activated. When ready those who have registered and sent us their information will be notified.

Not registered yet? Click on the 'No account yet? Register' button located in the gray box to the left of these notes.

Also: Both websites www.spritejubilee .org and www.spritejubilee .com have been discontinued. Spritejubilee.org takes you nowhere and Spritejubilee.com appears to be run by another company and NOT being run by us the originators of Sprite Jubilee. These two links on this website will take you to these discontinued sites with the results as noted above.

You can see what was at these websites right now and in its entirety. Here on the home page go to: ‘Main Menu” (the top left gray colored area.) Click on 'Past SPRITE Events.' Under the 'Item Title' click on 'Past SPRITE Events.' Now click '2008 Sprite Jubilee.' This will take you to everything that was on these old websites. Most of the links still work on the old website examples. ENJOY!

SALE / WANTED / TRADE / MISCELLANEOUS

Please let us know when you sell, obtain or trade for what you want so we can note it in our advertisements. Thanks!

12-8-2011 Frank, VERY nice to talk with you!!! Thanks for the telephone call. It seems it is always a pleasure to talk with Sprite enthusiasts Down Under! I will do my best to place your information on the website today. I get time in between my dental patients to work on fun stuff. Recently the site has been giving me trouble when I try to update it BUT if I persist it will get done. If I can be of any further help please do not hesitate to ask. Keep smiling, Rick Moses Does anybody have access to any Austin Sprite boot (trunk) badges? If so send Frank Cohn an email. Yes he is in Australia. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

12-4-2011 Hello, my name is Rocky D. and I live in New York. A friend from New Zealand gave me this link. I am restoring a 1960 Bugeye absolutely as new and am in need of some minor parts as well as some help with the thought process (and the needed parts) of changing from drum to disc brakes for safety. Please e mail me with how I can chat with other Sprite site members and/or others that can help with parts and technical advice. I have restored several show winning TD's TF's and MGA's also a concourse 1930 Model A Ford rumble seat roadster most recently. So cars are my passion. I had a Bugeye when I was 14 years old, that was 45 years ago!! This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

11-14-11 SALE: Fiberglass hardtop for the MK II sprite. It is a “Denis Ferranti Lamination LTD" hardtop. The fiberglass double shell is intact and structurally sound as well as all the glass. The top is in need of cosmetic restoration, paint, weather stripping, and latches will need to be re-chromed, plus some other items. I want this to go to a good home and would like to negotiate a price with any interested member as shipping to your part of the country would be very expensive ($100.00 to $300.00) and I do not want to gouge a fellow gear head. I contacted the manufacturer in the United Kingdom and received documentation regarding, as he stated, that "these hardtops were the only authorized hardtop sold as an accessory to MG Abingdon and distributed through Unipart for Spridgets." He also stated that "it was the only hardtop made at the time that passed our federal DOT roll over standards as well as the stricter California standards" I will supply this documentation to any member that asks for it. Sincerely Jaime Saldivar, San jose , California. 408-251-8785 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

11-16-11 Subject: Hardtops From: "BRIAN OSBORNE" < This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it > Date: November 10, 2011 11:27:34 AM PST To: Jaime Saldivar, San José , California. < This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it > Hi, your email passed to me as the manager of Denis Ferranti Laminations Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Denis Ferranti Meters Ltd --- a Ferranti Group company (DFL).

DFL manufactured to MG Abingdon design & order hardtops for MGB, Midget & Sprite [latter two identical tops & in house known as Spridget] they were supplied from our N Wales Factories directly to Abingdon. Generally supplied finished in gloss cellulose paint, white or black. MG Abindon then sold either fitted onto cars, or through their spares business known as UNIPART. These hardtops were the ONLY hardtop design authorized by MG for use on their cars [MG, MG Midget, and Austin Healey Sprite] & were sold around the world. They were also the only hardtops for these models that were test approved for sale & use in USA especially California [who had strict safety standards --- the reason the hardtops had inner and outer GRP (glass-reinforced plastic) skins & steel reinforcement fittings.] When Abingdon closed, DFL manufactured around 500 more for a couple of U.K. firms [Sprite & Midget Centre, etc] who had them molded in white GRP & were not painted at the DFL factory. The moulds were then destroyed.HOWEVER, after a fire at DFL, MG arranged Watsonian, a well known U.K. maker of motorcycle sidecars, to enter production of the MG hardtop [not Spridget] & when DFL got back into production again, Watsonian continued making about a quarter of the total build runs of the MG unit.

Hardtops were never very profitable, making around 2% gross margin, due to MG being very tight on spec & cost control. NO SPARES are available from original sources of complete tops or parts [e.g. glass & rubbers] but it is possible someone may have made copies --- I've no knowledge of such. Note in a crash situation, only the DFL / MG hardtops met the Californian standards........ large numbers of "aftermarket" hardtops produced by others in U.K. & possibly elsewhere did not meet these standards [most were single skin construction]. DFL have not made anything in GRP for around14 years & the company is currently not trading on the open market. Trust this is of help.

Obviously, I caught the sportscar bug myself in these years, but being so close to MG's & often at Abingdon, I bought an MG ????? no. far better !! I run a Triumph Spitfire IV & two Triumph Stags ....... the latter has a Steel hardtop. Regards Brian Osborne DFL consultant, Denis Ferranti Group

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Black Sprinzel Smiling Sprite Pin