HOW TO HILLCLIMB YOUR SPRITE
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
It’s a good idea to spectate at a couple of hillclimbs, just to build some familiarity. Once you’ve done that, you’ll need a ‘non-race National B’ licence from the Motor Sports Association (MSA), which is just £33. Major hillclimbs like Shelsley Walsh, Harewood and Prescott offer schooling days. From there, you can either join the racing club of your local hill climb, or the national Hillclimb & Sprint Association. To pass scrutiny, you’ll need to make a few minor modifications to your Sprite, most of which are just visual aids for the marshals. Finally, you need to put a timing strut – a small bracket that trips the timing beam at the start and finish – on the front of the car. You’ll also need to get some equipment for yourself; a crash helmet that conforms to MSA specifications and flameresistant overalls and gloves are all mandatory.
FIRST IMPROVEMENTS
It goes without saying that you should be sure your car is in tip-top condition before entering it in competition, but why not improve it a bit in the process? Suspension bushes can be swapped out for polybushes – they’ll last longer and make it a bit firmer. Good tyres are essential of course, but fitting slightly wider tyres on some used Minilite alloys is a cheap way to improve grip. A better breathing exhaust and performance air filter are reasonably cheap improvements, too, which with a quick tune should gain you some extra power. You can also raid the later ‘Spridget’ parts bin to fit a thicker anti-roll bar and front disc brakes, while telescopic damper conversion kits aren’t prohibitively pricey. Reliability mods like electronic ignition and an electric fan should also be high up your list, because you’re going to be testing your car’s engine like never before.
MAKING YOUR SPRITE FASTER
There’s such a huge degree of parts support for the Sprite that the world is your oyster when it comes to upgrading the car – it really just depends how far you want to go and how much money you’ve got to spend. Frontline Developments’ famous five-speed conversion kit is a great way to improve the car for both road and track, the extra gear allowing you to run sporty gearing without sacrificing cruising ability. For more power, specific parts for the Sprite, such as Weber carburettors, tubular manifolds and sports exhausts, are available, while supercharging kits are available if you really want to push the boat out. More sensible, however, is just to fit a 1275cc A-Series from a later Spridget (or even a Marina), and while you’re at it, fit the cylinder head from an A+ Metro/Mini/Maestro so that it will run on unleaded.