5447 HX / 455 EVE ~ Alistair Ross
On 9th May 1960, Austin Henry bought a new Speedwell-tuned Sprite reg. 5447 HX. He ran it for about a year as an open car before taking it back for conversion into a GT.
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Having retired from Cambs University at Xmas 2019, Alistair had little excuse not to progress his Speedwell GT during the Covid 19 lockdown: "I have rebuilt and fitted the engine and running gear; I ran the engine out of the car just to make sure I have all the bits in the correct place and I'm pleased to say this went well. I used a Weber 40 rather than the twin Amals as it was a lot easier to control. It remains to be seen if the Amals ever go back into the car!!, but I have attached pictures of these 'in situ' on the engine. They have been fitted with float chamber extensions - I think this was an Amal accessory of the day, I suspect because the float chambers could run 'dry' with a standard carburettor? So the engine is in the car and most of the pipework is in place, along with a new petrol tank. I have fitted the rear leaf springs as Speedwell's fitted them to the later cars, that is, beneath the spring socket, Speedwells had the springs re-set to suit this fitting, and according to Peter Eva this set up worked well, so I have run with this modification to keep the spirit of Speedwells."
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The car in period
In In process of re-assembly, 2020
With the Amal carb set-up
