Meet “Righty” (AN5 12808), a 1959 Austin Healey Sprite that has quite a story to tell. Righty is an original home market right-hand-drive Bugeye, a bit of a rarity here in North America. If you are familiar with Bugeyes, you know that most were built LHD for export. A relatively small portion of the roughly 50k Fogeyes built were built with RHD for the domestic UK market.
This car has a particularly special story.
Righty was well-loved by one family for many years. They bought the car in the UK in 1975 and took the car with them from England to Dubai, where they moved for work. They then moved to Canada (onto a ship for Righty once again) and that’s where we found the car and acquired it in the summer of 2024.
We then sold it to a client in California in January of 2025. For that client, we performed a massive list of upgrades and improvements (you can see these on the spreadhsheet below). He then took the car even further, with new leather seats and new foam. They’re beautiful (and comfy). Now we have Righty back again and if you want a home market RHD Bugeye, this is a great driving and well-sorted Sprite that is worth a serious look!
Purchased new in England, restored in Dubai, shipped from Dubai to Canada, then to us here in Connecticut, then to California, and now back in Connecticut… this is perhaps our most well-traveled Bugeye ever!
It is hard to find an original RHD Sprite here in the USA. Note the Euro-spec amber rear turn signal lenses and windshield wipers that park on the opposite side of the windscreen from the USA market Bugeyes we usually feature.
If you’ve never driven RHD cars in America, you’ll find it a hoot. You’ll get used to it in minutes. And you’ll find that RHD Bugeyes attract even more attention than LHD Sprites, which amps up the fun factor! An impending thunderstorm also adds to the excitement; ride along in the driving video below as I try to outrun one!
The previous owner prior to our first sale bought the car at age 19 in 1975 in England and enjoyed it immensely, taking up to FOUR passengers with him to the local pub! (One sat on the transmission tunnel, two sat in the passenger seat (with one on the other’s lap), and one would ride in the boot! (I’m told this was a rotating arrangement so one passenger was not always stuck in the boot.)
He and his wife even took her to LeMans in 1991, the year the Mazda Wankel won. They stayed in a chalet near the track, and the Mazda was so loud going around the track they couldn’t get any sleep!
In 1994, Righty and owners relocated to Dubai. There, the car laid mostly dormant until 2005, when she received a rotisserie restoration by a specialty shop in Dubai. She wears this now roughly 20-year-old restoration well and her Iris Blue paint still shines very nicely!
After the restoration, there was a bit of trouble getting the car registered, as she is a right-hand drive car, which Dubai typically doesn’t allow to be registered. The owner brought a photo of his younger self standing in the driver’s seat to prove he’d owned her for 30 years at that point, seen below, at which time the authorities laughed and gave him his registration!
Righty appeared in a Dubai magazine article around this time, which you can view below.
Ultimately, Righty moved to North Vancouver, Canada in 2010, where she remained until earlier this year. Tragically, Righty’s owner passed away in 2020. She has been in the loving hands of his widow, who was by his side for many of Righty’s adventures. The car hadn’t been driven much since 2020, so we have refreshed the car to get it back into good driving shape.
Before we sold the car in December of 2024, we replaced the brake master cylinder, clutch slave and hard line, and rear brake cylinders to refresh the hydraulics. We also re-sealed the rear axles and installed new rear brake shoes and lowered the rear end-now the car is level.
After the sale, Righty’s new owner had us do an incredible amount of work to take her to the next level, including installing a rebuilt smooth case transmission, refurbished 1098 head, complete front suspension overhaul including an upgrade to front disc brakes, a sway bar, new tie rod ends, new fuel line and a re-seal of the fuel tank sender, new HS2 carburetors, electronic ignition, aluminum radiator, generator/alternator upgrade with dummy regulator, a new exhaust with header and twin-tip muffler, an air horn, new Dunlop Aquajet tires, and much, much more! Check out the build sheet from the December 2024 build before we shipped the car to California!
All of these items were completed within the last 20 months and have less than 1000 miles on them, so you are essentially getting a freshly upgraded car at a greatly depreciated rate!
A nice black canvas top and supports are present and are in excellent shape. The side curtains are usable as-is but we have the parts should the new owner wish to restore the windows to make them nicer. A new tonneau was fitted in 2024 and still fits perfectly. Other interior upgrades include retractable 3-point seat belts, new leather seat covers and a premium wood steering wheel.
There is one remaining issue… Righty does have a bit of an oil leak. If you are interested in this car, we can fix that for you by resealing the engine… or perhaps you would like a 1275 engine and five speed? This car is so well-sorted it would travel high speeds afforded by more power and gearing with grace!
Give a call to discuss… And click on “read more” below for the full collection of photos and give us a call if you are interested in taking Righty home!
[Read more…] about A 1959 RHD Bugeye (that has been around the world), for sale!
