Project · Austin-Healey Frogeye Sprite

Austin-Healey Frogeye Sprite, 3.5 V8

A tiny Austin-Healey Frogeye Sprite with a 3.5-litre Rover V8 squeezed in.

It wouldn’t run right, so it came into the workshop for troubleshooting and tuning. Then Ray gave it the full paint job, and that video became the channel’s biggest Frogeye hit.

All Frogeye videos
CarAustin-Healey Frogeye Sprite
Engine3.5-litre Rover V8
WorkTroubleshooting, tuning, paint
On camera3 videos
StatusMoved on

The moments

November 2021. Ray lays the paint on. The biggest Frogeye video on the channel, with over 125,000 views.

September 2021. Sorting the V8 out, then taking her out for a spin.

The story

  1. 1967‘OWY’ starts life as an MG Midget.
  2. 2020Rebuilt during lockdown by Clive Hobbs in the West Midlands: Frogeye Sprite front and rear, steel box-section frame, a Rover P6 V8, five-speed gearbox and a Mazda MX-5 limited-slip diff.
  3. September 2021Arrives at Rusty Love. The V8 won’t run right, so it’s troubleshooting, then out for a drive.
  4. November 2021Ray gives it the full paint job.
  5. April 2022On the rolling road to get the V8 set up properly.
  6. November 2024Towed to the NEC Classic Motor Show behind Big Red, up for sale.
  7. SinceMoved on.

Photos

On the trailer behind Big Red, heading off for the day.
On the trailer behind Big Red, heading off for the day.
Bonnet up and the Rover V8 shoehorned in. Not a lot of room to spare.
Bonnet up and the Rover V8 shoehorned in. Not a lot of room to spare.
Gav giving her the thumbs up, with Ray keeping an eye on things.
Gav giving her the thumbs up, with Ray keeping an eye on things.
That red interior.
That red interior.
On the rolling road, April 2022.
On the rolling road, April 2022.
Out on the grass, spring 2022.
Out on the grass, spring 2022.
A photoshoot, March 2025.
A photoshoot, March 2025.
◂ Previous machineTransitAll machinesNext machine ▸VW Beetle
Got something knackered or seized?Mowers, motorbikes, engines, anything that’s been left to rot. Tell me about it.
Send it in