October 2008
Len's funeral at Enfield on 8 October 2008 was a very intimate farewell with family, close friends and a handful of representatives from the car community in attendance. After a short and moving funeral there was a gathering nearby. In a fitting tribute to Len's handiwork, the first and last cars that he ever bodied were present, being "Number One", the Penney's 1935 Frazer-Nash BMW rebodied as W&P's first ever commission; and David Morgan's Lotus XI that was fully rebodied by Len in 1992 before his retirement. We are hoping to organise a gathering of W&P bodied cars in 2009 as a retrospective of W&P's work in tribute to him.
September 2008
LEN PRITCHARD - 26/12/19 to 17/09/08
Sadly and unexpectedly in the early hours of 17th September Len Pritchard passed away in hospital. He leaves a widow Gladys and son Graham. Our thoughts and sympathies are with them and with the rest of the Pritchard family. Please see the memorial page. Rest in Peace, Len
The Kelsey GT 2/4 outside Marler Haley Studios in Barnet - image © 1960 David Kelsey - all rights reserved
Kelsey GT 2/4
We hope to have more news soon about David Kelsey's special, the Kelsey GT 4/2 bodied by W&P around 1960. David was part of the famous Progress Chassis Company who worked on the early Lotuses along with W&P, and the car is currently under restoration.
Aussie Lenhams with Sebring GT fronts
In a new chapter of the Sebring GT story, renowned Aussie Sprite enthusiasts Ray English and Denis Best tell of the Sebring GT / Lenham Le Mans combination cars known in Oz as the "Lenham GT" on a new page - click on the new page link on the left to read about it.
8401 UE
Sebring spec Sprite - 8401 UE
We welcome Richard Wiffen's Sebring recreation with a Len Pritchard handbuilt rear alloy shroud to the Register. For more info on this exciting car, click on the image above.
Links to Sebring Sprite historic archive added
Many thanks to Jonathon Whitehouse-Bird for the links to his substantial galleries of historic images of Sebring Sprites and his detailed record of the restoration of his Sebring Sprite, 410 EAO. These can be accessed on the Sprinzel Sebring Sprites page.
Jim Morley in the Saturn GT in 1969
Saturn GT / Challenge GT
Don Stark has contacted us about this interesting and mysterious Lotus 23 based special in which W&P are believed to have had a hand circa 1968 / 1969. Click on the image above to access more photos (and plenty of questions!).
© 1968 Graham Pritchard - all rights reserved - image not to be reproduced without express permission
Graham Pritchard's lost W&P Sebring bodied Mk I Sprite - 4204 MV
Len Pritchard's son, Graham, has provided the Register with a photographic breakdown of the rebuild of his MK I Sprite by his father in 1963 with W&P Sebring bodywork. Being a Pritchard family car it is of great interest to the Register. Any information on its subsequent history or current whereabouts is sought. Click the above image above for more details.
Wingfield Dee-type Jaguar page added
Many thanks to Cees den Haan for his input and photos on this topic - and to Bryan Wingfield for comments. For more details see August news item in the archives.
August 2008
Sebring GT fronted Lenham Le Mans
Details of SNU 663K, Roger Hewitt's Lenham Le Mans midget with heavily modified Sebring GT front, have been added to the Sebring GT bonnet register. Click image above for more details.
New Brochure pages added
Many thanks to the Pritchard family who have made available from the company archive additional Sebring GT brochure material including the missing front cover from the 1969 brochure, a map to the First Avenue works, and a flyer for the Spitfire Sebring GT hardtop.
Sebring Sprite (Mk I) coupe bodywork
W&P's brochure from the 1961 Racing Car Show and detailed photos of PMO 200 have been added to this page, plus the text has been substantially updated - previously unpublished material follows.
Jaguar Wingfield Dee-Type and Lynx D-Type
Cees Den Haan has contacted us to add his Ecurie Ecosse replica Wingfield Dee-Type bodied by W&P in 1975 (the first of three) to the Register, and there will be detailed information on his car and W&P's involvement with Wingfield and Lynx added to the website in the next week or so. Given W&P's involvement in bodying the Lister Jaguars first time round in the fifties, who better to body the seventies re-creations?
 
DHM 810H - new Sebring GT fronted sprite added to the register ** for sale **
A nice looking red 1970 sprite in need of some work, with a Sebring GT front, was recently listed on uk ebay as item 260277216597 - this has been variously and erroneously mis-described as a Lenham and as a Sebring Sprite, but is just a Sprite with a Sebring GT front - and despite comments on the listing, no connection with the Donald Healey Motor Co is known by this Register. We'd be delighted for the purchaser to contact us in order to verify the originality of the front and to add a fuller entry to the register. Click on the image above for more info.
German car added to Spitfire Sebring GT hardtop register
Marion Winter's & Burkhard Eickmeyer's Spitfire with Sebring GT hardtop has been added to the Spitfire Register. Click on the image below for more details:
film-based Sebring GT Spitfire complete with flat-pack celebrity
2 Spitfire Sebring GT hardtops discovered in Denmark
Details of Rasmus Høyer's two british racing green original W&P manufactured Spitfire Sebring GT hardtops have been added to the Spitfire Register, along with some very detailed photographs, and they are for sale.
JBW 106L - new Sebring GT fronted RWA midget added to the register
Derek Chamberlain's 1310cc sprint midget has been added to the register, complete with modified Sebring GT front. This car is currently advertised on the Pistonheads website for sale.
E-Type Jaguar Sebring GT hardtop added to register
This would appear to be the genuine article from photos and, even in damaged condition, is very rare indeed. More details are available by clicking on the new E-Type Hardtop Register link on your left. It was recently on uk ebay as item 220264850683 and we believe it is still for sale.
Fourth complete Sebring GT Spridget imminent
Peter Vallins has acquired David Smith's Sebring GT hardtop for his '65 Sebring GT Sprite project - more news and pictures soon
New Lotus-powered Spridget added to the Sebring GT Hardtop Register
Neil's Jensen-Healey equipped "Scary Sprite" has been added to the Register .
New Spitfire Sebring GT added to the Register
Reinald Kirchner's race Spitfire with Sebring GT hardtop has been added to the hardtopped Spitfire register - click on image below left for more details
 
The Kirchner Sebring GT Spitfire, 2008 / The W&P Alexander Turner GT Prototype at Oulton Park, 1963
W&P Alexander Turner GT Prototype
Russell Filby, FSCC Turner Registrar, has added details of his exciting restoration project of the one-off Alexander Turner GT Coupe Prototype, bodied by W&P, and he and his father Terry are sharing their collection of W&P material with the Sebring GT Register. As a result of continued interest from a variety of sources we are currently considering whether to expand the scope of the Register to W&P work beyond the Sebring GT range and particularly welcome information on any specials, prototypes and limited production vehicles bodied by W&P.
Alexander Sprite Front
A picture of the Alexander Conversions tuning companies' front end for the Frogeye has been added to the "Oft Mistaken" page - many thanks to Gary Lazarus of MASC.
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