Wing,
There are many things to look for in a Sprite. The most common is rust...in the floors, rocker panels ("sills"), the dog ears in the quarter panels and, most importantly, in the frame. Frame work is a lot more expensive than any other rusted body panels. If the car has a very rusty frame....walk.
We bought our '59 Bugeye in 1995 for a shade less than $5K. A great "20 footer" or as I like to say...a great driver. She will never win any awards, but she looks and drives well.
Our car has a 1969 AH Sprite (or MG Midget) 1275cc engine. A lot more reliable and powerful than the stock 948cc. We also converted the front drums to discs. Purists do not like these mods, but it took nothing away from the orignal look and feel and I CAN stop the car (which is always important).
Parts are everywhere for these cars and they are very reasonable ($). The cars are a snap to work on and they ARE fairly reliable (esp. the 1275cc engine).
It all boils down to what kind of Sprite you want...from '58 to '61 you can aquire a bugeye or "frogeye" with a 948cc... From '63 to (if I remember correctly) '65 a square bodied Sprite (the rear quarter panel wheel wells are squared off) and 1098cc...'66+ the MK III with the 1275cc and front discs... (again, this is from the memory banks, it may not be actual).
A decent "driver" cost:
Bugeye: $4,000-$6,000
MKII: $2,000-$5,000
MKIII: $2,000-$5,000
Good luck in your search...there's a bunch of them out there and they are all a blast to drive.
Cheers!
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