Randy Byboth's 1964 Austin Healey Sprite Racecar
Owner: Randy BybothCity: Minneapolis, MN
Model: 1964 Austin Healey Sprite
Engine: 1275cc BMC A-series
Prepared by: owner.
Raced Since 1968!
This Austin Healey Sprite was actively raced in SCCA events from 1968 through ~1980, mainly at
Donnybrooke (renamed Brainerd in 1973), by a gentleman named Clayton Greely. After
Greely gave up racing, the car sat for about 20 years. Greely gave the car to Randy Byboth
in March 2004. At that time, the car was in pretty rough shape, but its engine and transmission
had been well preserved and it came with a lot of usable spare parts.
Randy worked feverishly to bring the car up to scratch so he could attend his
first drivers school, and he also enjoyed two or three more race weekends with the car in 2004.
Over the winter between 2004 and 2005 seasons, Randy tore the Sprite down and rebuilt it
to the high standard you see here.
Randy has made three especially important modifications to his racecar:
As originally acquired, this Sprite had a single roll hoop. It's much safer now that it
has a full roll cage, which was actually extracted from a wrecked Spridget and then grafted
in with very little modification.
One day at work, Randy was offered a vintage one-piece fiberglass front clip. Although it
required extensive restoration, the fiberglass front clip is a rare and unusual feature in
a Mk2 Sprite. (Of course, Mk1 Sprites came standard with one-piece front clips, and
fiberglass replacements for those have been readily available for many years.) Now, the
Sports Car Club of America didn't allow fiberglass front clips on Production class Mk2
Sprites back in the day, so technically they're not permitted by vintage racing groups who
follow SCCA's 1972 General Competition Rules as their basic rule standard. However,
no competitor has ever contested the eligibility of Randy's car. This front clip doesn't
really give Randy an unfair advantage.
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Finally, although Randy enjoyed the Sprite's original 1098cc engine, he soon joined the
legions of Spridget racers who have upgraded to later model 1275cc engines. The
consensus seems to be that the larger displacement engines are more lightly stressed and
therefore more economical and reliable for racing.
Randy has raced his Sprite at Brainerd International (MN), Road America (WI), Blackhawk Farms (IL),
Grattan (MI), Mid-Ohio, Watkins Glen (NY), and Lime Rock (CT). We met Randy when he traveled to
Road Atlanta (GA) to participate in the 2012 Classic Motorsports Mitty Speedfest.
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Features and Specifications
| Engine: | 1275cc Sprite engine.
(Rebuilt, balanced and blueprinted by Total Engine in Bloomington MN.
~100hp at the flywheel and ~83hp at the rear wheel.)
Nitrided crankshaft.
Stock connecting rods, lightened.
Venolia pistons.
APT VP11 camshaft.
Harland Sharp roller-tip 1.31:1 rockers.
Alloy cylinder head, with slight cylinder head porting.
Lucas distributor, rebuilt and recurved by Advanced Distributors.
Pertronix Ignitor breakerless ignition module.
MSD6AL capacitive discharge ignition system, with 7600rpm rev-limiter chip.
MSD Blaster 2 ignition coil.
NGK 8mm silicone spark plug wires.
Dual S.U. HS4 (1.5") carburetors.
K&N oiled gauze air filters.
Winners Circle 5-quart oil pan.
Accusump 3-quart oil accumulator.
Remote oil filter mount.
CarQuest 85515 oil filter. |
| Cooling: | Speedwell aluminum radiator.
Derale electric fan (p/n 14-4011S1).
Mocal 13-row aluminum oil cooler.
Mini Mania water pump pulley. |
| Exhaust: | Moss Motors tubular headers. |
| Transmission: | straight cut, close ratio four speed gearbox. |
| Rear Axle: | Sprite axle housing.
4.22:1 rear axle ratio.
Welded differential.
Stock axles.
Double-bearing hubs. |
| Front Susp.: | stock front suspension geometry.
Adjustable lever shock absorbers from World Wide Auto Parts.
3/4" anti-sway bar. |
| Rear Susp.: | 10-leaf quarter-elliptic springs.
Adjustable lever shock absorbers.
Winners Circle adjustable radius arms.
Custom-made Panhard rod. |
| Brakes: | (master) stock tandem master cylinder. (front) stock rotors and calipers. (rear) stock drum brakes. |
| Wheels/Tires: | Minilite 13x5.5 magnesium wheels.
Hoosier Street T.D. 185/60 tires. |
| Electrical: | absorbed glass mat motorcycle battery.
Nippondenso alternator.
Stock Lucas starter motor and starter switch. |
| Instruments: | (left to right)
Smiths oil temperature gauge (100-280F),
Westech dual pyrometer (700-1600F),
Smiths tachometer (0-10000rpm),
Smiths dual oil pressure (0-100 psi) and coolant temperature gauge (100-230F). |
| Fuel System: | Fuel Safe 8-gallon aluminum-canister fuel cell.
Stock S.U. fuel pump.
(No fuel pressure regulator.) |
| Safety Eqpmt: | Simpson 5-point latch-and-link safety harness.
Kirkey aluminum racing seat.
Leather covered steering wheel, mounted on a Troyer quick release hub.
Hand-held fire extinguisher.
Wink three-panel rear view mirror.
Late model MGB side view mirror. |
| Weight: | 1315#, wet. |
| Racing Class: | F-Production (vintage). |
Engine Installation
1275cc Sprite engine was balanced and blueprinted by Total Engine in Bloomington MN.
This racecar's original 1098cc motor was good while it lasted, but it broke one time too many.
Randy purchased this 1275cc engine from Kris Larsen (who now races SCCA Formula 500 cars)
and moved up one racing class. The new engine was spec'd to be tough, and sure enough Randy
went four years before refreshing it for the first time.
Later model Spridget master cylinder has separate front and rear circuits for safety's sake.
(However, no mechanism for easy adjustment of front-to-rear brake bias is in use.)
As the decal suggests, this engine features Harland Sharp roller-tip 1.31:1 ratio rockers.
Dual S.U. HS4 (1.5") carburetors. K&N oiled gauze air filters.
Mini Mania water pump pulley. Moss Motors exhaust headers.
Speedwell aluminum radiator. Derale electric fan (p/n 14-4011S1).
Mocal 13-row aluminum oil cooler.
A lightweight Nippondenso alternator ensures a healthy ignition spark and a happy battery.
(Hint: it's particularly wise to use an alternator if you're using an MSD ignition system.)
Besides, SVRA rules mandate a 25 pound weight penalty for removal of the charging system.
Randy uses a stock Lucas starter motor. When he built-up this Sprite back in 2005
he installed a lightweight Nippondenso gear reduction starter, but it wore out.
All Lucas distributors aren't the same. Randy tracked down this distributor from a
1980s vintage Mini. (Beware of new replacement Made-in-China Lucas distributors.)
The Lucas distributor was rebuilt and recurved by Jeff Schlemmer at Advanced Distributors.
A Pertronix Ignitor breakerless module was installed to give reliable and precise spark timing.
Stock Lucas starter switch.
Remote oil filter mount and CarQuest 85515 oil filter.
Fuel Safe 8-gallon aluminum-canister fuel cell.
Front Suspension
3/4" anti-sway bar.
Adjustable lever shock absorbers from World Wide Auto Parts.
Goodridge stainless steel braided brake lines.
Rear Suspension
10-leaf quarter-elliptic springs. (Original springs had fifteen thinner leafs.) Adjustable lever shocks.
Winner's Circle adjustable radius arms make it convenient to accurately align the driveshaft
to the rear axle / differential, which is important on a substantially lowered car.
Randy custom-made his own Panhard rod.
A Panhard rod can transfer a lot of force into the body, so its mounting must be robust.
Randy has used an S.U. fuel pump in his racecar since 2004 and it's never given
a bit of trouble. He uses it without any sort of external fuel pressure regulator.
Interior
This roll cage was extracted from Gary Curtis' crashed Spridget racecar.
Randy modified the cage to make a little bit of room for a passenger seat.
Kirkey aluminum racing seat. Simpson 5-point latch-and-link safety harness.
Leather wrapped performance steering wheel of unknown vintage and manufacture.
Troyer quick release steering wheel hub.
Smiths oil temperature gauge (100-280F), Westech dual pyrometer (700-1600F),
and Smiths tachometer (0-10000rpm).
In the heat of battle, it can be entirely too easy to push a gear lever into its "reverse" position.
Randy's solution is a reverse lock-out that's engaged by pressing a spring-loaded "floating pin"
down like a pushbutton. (A hairpin secures the floating pin in position.)
Pedal box details.
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Door latch details. (Note: through 1964, Spridgets didn't have roll-up door windows.)
Side intrusion protection.
Wink three-panel rear view mirror.
The MSD6AL capacitive discharge ignition system (at right) has a built-in rev limiter. Randy
has it set to limit engine speed to 7600rpm, but he generally tries to upshift at ~7000rpm.
Accusump 3-quart oil accumulator.
Hand-held fire extinguisher.
Roll cage installation details.
Exterior
We enjoyed watching Randy race his Sprite at the 2012 Mitty at Road Atlanta, where his best
lap time was 1:59.024 for an average of 76.8mph over the challenging 2.54 mile circuit.
Randy Byboth is the Shop Manager at Quality Coaches in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Dating back to 2004 when Randy started building up this Sprite racecar, the gang at Quality Coaches
has enjoyed meeting in the shop on Wednesday nights. Randy, shop owner Mark Brandow, and good
friend Steve Nichols are among the regulars. They work together on all sorts of automotive projects.
Surprise! Randy's one-piece fiberglass front clip tilts forward like a bugeye Sprite's and it's easily
removable for better engine compartment access. The specific origin of this part isn't known... just
that it sat in someone's front yard under a fruit tree for about twenty years before they walked into
Quality Coaches and offered it up for free. Randy put a lot of work into getting it back into this shape!
(SCCA didn't allow these on Mk2 Sprites in the day, so technically they're not allowed in vintage now.)
This style of mirror was frequently dealer-installed on Spridgets after 1974.
Previous owner Clayton Greely molded this low profile windscreen himself.
F.I.A. approved engine kill / battery disconnect switch.
Quality Coaches (dot com). VSCDA: Vintage Sports Car Drivers Association.
VSCDA: 50th Anniversary Reunion Challenge Series (Austin-Healey Sprite / MG Midget).
Advanced Distributors. BMC: The British Motor Corporation Ltd.
Still Racing: Bob Youngdahl #8. (Bob passed away on February 21, 2012.)
Support By: Tim Byboth and Steve Nichols. Sunshine Sales.
SVRA Rules: "All cars should have a dedicated towing eye or other means to attach a
tow strap to the front of the car. A similar device is recommended at the rear."
MG Vintage Racers.
Vintage Sports Car Drivers Association (hosts vintage races in Illinois, Wisconsin & Michigan).
Vintage Sports Car Racing (Randy serves on the club's Competition Committee).
Minnesota Austin Healey Club.
Vintage Minilite 13x5.5 magnesium wheels.
Hoosier Street T.D. 185/60 tires.
All photos are from April 28-29, 2012 when we viewed the car at "The Mitty" at Road Atlanta in Georgia.
All photos by Curtis Jacobson for BritishRaceCar.com, copyright 2013.
All rights reserved.
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