Note: I want to preface the story with this reflection of why I want to restore this car and let young drivers use it:
My biggest concern about getting into racing was that the other drivers would be hyper-aggressive ‘type-a’ people, which I am not. I couldn’t have been more surprised to literally and figuratively be welcomed into the group with a big, warm hug, and untold amounts of help. The men in this group are, by far, the least toxic group of men I have ever associated with, and we need more men interacting in this way.
We inherited this Austin Healey “Bugeye” Sprite race car from my Father-in-Law, Sam Hamilton. When going through the paperwork I found a 1974 California registration card the listed the owner and address. Because the history of our vintage race cars is part of the fun, I endeavored to track down Arnold or his family and was, much to my surprise, successful.
Arnold bought the car at a Bay-area used car lot in the late 60s. He started with autocross racing as he, over several years, fully race-prepared it. On May 3, 1970 Arnold raced the car for the first time. Hilariously, the car was written up for having a then-illegal center main bearing strap reinforcement. I asked Arnold how they found this and will make a video in the coming months that explains it.
After years of racing at famed tracks like Laguna-Seca and Sears Point, Arnold sold the car to a Richard Gilbert in June of 1979. Our attempts to find Mr. Gilbert or his family have not yet been successful. According to the log book, he attended driver’s school the weekends of March 1 and March 15, 1980. The log book does not indicate where, but here are those pages:
The log book shows he entered an event called “G.S.I.R.” on April 13, 1980, and that is the last entry. Where the car was or how it was used from 1980 until my Father-in-Law bought it in the mid-2000s remains a mystery. If you have any info, please use email address listed below to contact us.
Update: 60 year veteran racer Stephen Newby informs us that G.S.I.R. stands for Golden State International Raceway, a.k.a Sears Point a.k.a. Sonoma. So we know that Richard Gilbert at least initially kept the car in the Bay area.
We are, as of Fall of 2024, working to restore the car to track-ready condition for the 2025 season. While the body is in excellent shape, it needs a lot of other parts and work: Paint, running gear, suspension, interior, wiring, etc. Arnold is quite excited about his race car returning to the track and we’d like to find a way to get it to Sprite-Midget Challenge race at Laguna-Seca next June. The car will be painted to Arnold’s original yellow with black stripes and roundels.
As I have my Father-in-Law’s Bugeye racer, this car will be used to allow new, young racers to begin their race career without the expense of buying a car. To help with this goal, we have a GoFundMe page that is accepting financial donations and have posted a list of parts we need here.
Every bit helps; even $5 or $10 means a lot and helps. For those able to offer larger donations, we are offering the following perks:
$100: Your name on the dashboard of my car for one live-streamed race and the edited video of that race, in 2025.
$500: Your name on the dashboard of my car for one entire live-streamed race weekend and the edited video of those races, in 2025.
$1000: Your name in decal on Arnold’s car for all of 2025 and a personal thank-you on a race live-stream.
$2000: Everything from the $500 and $1000 level, plus a plane ticket (continental U.S.) to see the car race on a mutually agreeable weekend, with a special in-person paddock thank-you.
All donations of money and parts will be used exclusively to restore and maintain the car in race-ready condition. Any extra funds will be used to help the young drivers with entry fees and weekend running costs (fuel, transportation, etc.) We have already purchased and enclosed trailer for the car and have begun interior and engine bay painting.
To donate parts please contact us at this email address:
Some photos from the start of the restoration. We will update with more photos and video as the project progresses.
