CHARLES WILMER’S 1960 AUSTIN-HEALEY SPRITE MkI
First registered in Surrey, England in July 1960, this Frogeye Sprite passed through several owners in the UK before the third owner, Carl Watson, brought the car with him when he emigrated to New Zealand in 1974 the car being registered here on July 17, with 62,182 miles on the clock and a Customs’ assessed value of $200.
In February 1981 the original engine ‘expired’ and Carl installed a refurbished 1098cc A-Series engine, refitted the original gearbox, carburettors and other ancillary engine parts.
Charles became the Sprite’s fourth owner in February 2017. “When I bought the car,” said Charles, “it had seen better days, not a disaster but it was a little worse for wear. In addition, it had Playboy stickers on it and ‘plush’ door inserts! It seems that Carl had been a bit of a ‘lad’ around town during the ‘70s and ‘80s!”
Soon after purchasing the Healey, it developed a fuel pick-up problem that was traced to a rusty fuel tank. Replacing the tank kicked off a nine month ‘lite’ restoration project most of which was carried out by Charles himself. Whilst not perfect, the car is now in a good useable condition, presents well but is still subject to a “rolling” restoration as required with a respray of the back half of the car being the next major project.
Originally born in England, Charles has been a car-nut for as long as he can remember, following in the footsteps of his father who was similarly afflicted. Charles and his father regularly went to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and the Motor Show at Earls Court.
Charles’ first car was 1965 Mini purchased for £50, followed by a Hillman Imp. His first sports car, a Triumph Spitfire MkIV, gave him his first taste of open-top motoring. Around the same time Charles began to gain some mechanical knowledge as he helped a family friend renovate a Triumph Stag.
Charles moved to New Zealand in the early ‘90s to set up a new business, something he successfully accomplished, retiring as Managing Director in 2017 after only thinking he would be in New Zealand for three or four years.
“I’ve always loved small British sports cars,” said Charles. “I think it’s the clean lines, the simplicity of the mechanicals and the sheer driving experience. With the wind rushing past your ears and your bum so close to the ground, it’s easy to think you’re in a car with the performance of a McLaren!”
Charles joined the Austin Healey Car Club soon after he bought the Sprite.
“Through the club I heard about an engine and gearbox one of the members had in his shed. After a hard negotiation a price was agreed, a case of Pinot Gris and the motor was mine.”
With his children getting older, Charles began looking for something more classic than his new company car and while he always liked the Sprite, he couldn’t find one at the time and instead acquired an MG Midget MkI. However, his desire for a Sprite eventually led him to the Carl Watson car.
“It’s an absolute buzz driving the Sprite,” said Charles, “it sounds great and is so easy to drive. The car is a real head turner and I get many admiring looks, waves and whistles. It’s a keeper, at least until I can’t bend my knees enough to get into the damned thing!”