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Guy, I've made my living in the plating business for almost forty years. I can understand your desire to do this yourself, but I can't recommend it. Yes, you can buy one of those "plating" kits, and you can probably deposit a coating on a few small parts. It will cost more than having the work done by a competent shop, it will look horrible, and it will either flake off or rust through in a short time. You'll also be in violation of Federal and State environmental laws. If you're lucky, you won't hurt yourself or anyone else.... MORE


Ryan... There may or may not be a problem...it is not unusual to get noises emanating from the driveline of a standard shift car when running in gear with the driveline "unloaded". Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 22217... MORE


Before you commit to pulling the engine check and make sure it is the thrust bearings. You can check the play in the crankshaft at the front pulley. I don't have my manual handy right now but they do give the max spec for crankshaft movement fore and aft. This measurement will tell you if that is the problem or send you looking elsewhere. Biff Jones '59 Bugeye 'Kermit' '61 Sprite 'Ole Gray' in "The Healey Book" '71 Midget 'Freebie' under restoration http://sprites2.homestead.com/ "Biff Jones" 22200... MORE


Hey.... If it's working for you, who am I to question? But it would run even better (most likely) with a little "through airflow". It's not that I think so....the factory thinks so 'cause that's the way THEY hooked up both the early and late "add on" crankcase evacuation (emissions) systems. The reason the original PCV valve "goes" and the engine begins to smoke is the wearing out of it's rubber diaphragm. It's much like the diaphragm used....well, never mind! :) When it becomes porus the effect is somewhat like your hooking up your PCV valve arrangement in reverse...the... MORE


Hi, Bill.... Ok....we don't know what sort of a rebuild job was done on the engine. Judging by the "tone" of the contents of your mail, probably not a very concientious one with respect to assembly anyway, it seems. That "scroll" rear engine area needs pretty close tolerancing as well as siliconing of the half moon gaskets back there or it will leak to one extent or another I am told, even on a new engine producing minimal blow-by. Speaking of which....what sort of shape is the engine in (mechanically speaking) in this respect? Compression, leakdown, etc.? "Blue" exhaust?... MORE


Whoa, whoa!!! Well....we'll just have to deal with Ed, then! You doin' much Spritin'? It's gonna rain again this weekend...nice now...but not for long methinks. In the middle of doing minor rust work and spot painting on the mighty green Frog. Redoing the front of the bonnet for a smooth, seamless finish between running lights and grille and some other minor stuff. Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 22172... MORE


Messages that get through to me seem very erratic. Often I get the feeling that I have missed seeing a whole section of a discussion thread, but just seem to get random individual postings. It is ages since I saw anything with a "spridgets" tag from autox.team, although I do get MJB's occasional postings and I do see my own postings. I am subscribed to the full list versions of Spridgets, Spridgets-mod and to the Yahoo based midgetsprite. Anyone got any ideas? Guy "Guy Weller" 22164... MORE


Must sell getting married and have to cut back on projects, the car was converted to RHD with all parts imported from the UK. New Moss Alum Valve cover and chrome bolts, new transmission, factory motor, webber side draft, 1963 Thomas Denner Bonnet one of the only ones known to be left from the short production run from 61-63. Lots of extra parts needs resto finished. Very rare car with paperwork to back the history. Needs paint and minor floor board patching, also will need interior work, also have custom side curtains with tinted glass. MUST SELL BY NEXT... MORE


Hi, Bob in San Diego....bit warm out there today, aye?! When I was experimenting with a Judson blower on my PO'd '67 Sprite with stock 1275, I did experiment with adding an additional 2 quart tank, professionally fabricated and installed. This did slow the tendency to overheat in terms of rate of increase but eventually, it would get there anyway....it just got there more slowly once the boost truly came in. IOW, you could run longer in boosted operation before the temp. gauge began to climb towards never, never land. If there was someway to increase radiator cooling area... MORE


David, the MC just kept leaking down, ever sooooo slowly but more than enough to tell that it was going somewhere. I noticed it around the base and on the firewall behind it. I was talking to the mechanic that has the car right now (like I said, I'm no brake man) and he had just taken the MC apart. Somewhere in it's previous life, the thing had been re-sleeved so, he thought that the rebuild kit should fix the problem. I went ahead and bought the stainless brake lines. I hope that helps. The previous owner kept great... MORE


Driving my '76 midget, at above about 2500rpm, especially in higher gears (it happens before 2500, just very minor), i get a vibration, and an un-nerving "vibrating sound" that seems to be coming from up front, passenger's side. I considered tire balance, and rotated them.. no fix. I thought it might be starved of fuel at high rpm, so i changed the fuel filter, then rebuilt the carb (needed done anyway) i thought about timing advance, so i changed the vacuum line to the distributor. I'm all out of ideas, you all have any before I exhaust my wallet... MORE


the wheels can be rebuilt/repaired but if the hub splines in the centre are worn, then the cost is probably not worth it. Good second hand ones, or even new ones are available for not too much $$. In general, you will need tubed tyres, though there are some wire wheels available with some sort of seal that does away with the need for a tube. I've never seen them on a Spridget though. David "David Jacobs" 22112... MORE


Ginger.... If they each have a few spokes loose and only one wheel has a broken spoke, they are not all gunked up with rust and run on a tire balancing machine (or something like that) and show little if any "runout", I'd use 'em. Of course, I can't "see" them so it's difficult to give a firm answer. Just make sure you remove them once every 6 mos. to grease the hubs and keep them clean and painted...don't let them get all filthy & rusty. You MAY be able to run tubeless in a wire wheel but I... MORE


Sounds like an invitation to go further out on the limb. I agree about the rubber hoses, and you mention that you had just replaced all of the clutch componenets, and not knowing what the car is, I will assume that it isn't a bugeye(dual master cylinder). There is a rubber valve in some brake master cylinders that holds pressure to the drum brakes. If this was deteriorating, it could keep pressure on the brake line. With it being old, and needing rebuilt, other than the brakes being serriously over tightened, I think it would be in the master... MORE


Hi All I am looking at a hard top that came off a 1973 midget.I would like to know if this will fit on my 79 midget? And what might be a fair price to pay. The top has a couple of scratches in the paint. Glass is in good shape.I would also like any pros and cons about the hard tops. Thank you Rick "mtman19552002" 22098... MORE


There are no iso-cyanides in any paint. Urethane paints (or paint additives) do contain isocyanate, which, while potentially toxic, isn't the stuff of gas chambers. All decent paints will contain some isocyanate, so the best thing would be to do all the prep work yourself, and have a professional do the actual spraying. That said, certainly many, many people have sprayed a few cars with urethane paint and survived to tell the story. If you just absolutely have to paint the car yourself, and are unwilling to risk any exposure to urethane chemistry, you could use acrylic lacquer. Also... MORE


Chaps.... Even with everything absolutely "spot-on" you are going to get a bit of this with a hot engine after a run so handling this through e-mail without actually hearing it (in terms of extent) and "being there" IS a bit difficult. My bet is that you would get less of this with an HIF (temperature compensated) carb., but this is just an educated (not very!) guess. I've always had at least a bit of this with every "A" or "B" series engine I've ever run, stock or "tuned", and more of it after a "run" wherein the engine... MORE


Hi all, Does anyone know of a good type of paint for respraying with HVLP? I want to use a type of paint that won't release iso-cyanides and therefore can safely be used with an activated charcoal mask. Nitro-cellulose isn' t an option, since the government prohibited using this type of paint (due to environmental reasons). I managed to find some zero-VOC types of paint, but they always need a 2K clear-coat on top of them... I know the 2K types of paint are probably superior to any other type of paint, but they seem always to contain the... MORE


G'day guys Isn't a bit of healthy debate a great thing? The usual reason for sloppy wheels, even after new ball bearing races have been fitted, is wear in the hub where the outer part of both bearings seat. Even a few thousandths of an inch of wear (due to previous bearings being loose, or the outer ring slipping) will mean that the balls aren't correctly seating on the radial face of the outer race - they are being held apart by the cast iron inner spacer. As little as .005" can make the difference between a loose wheel... MORE


G'day Jack The mechanic's advice is correct. Have the master cylinder re-sleeved in stainless steel. I have no idea what that costs on your side of the pond, but over here is is about $120 AUD = $75 USD. Then you can fit the kit with confidence, and have no more problems for 30,000 miles or more. And even then, you will just need a new kit, as the stainless steel will not rust, and being slightly harder than the rubber seals, it will not have worn. Don't waste your money on a new master cylinder. But after all,... MORE


"backfiring" Hi, Steve.... Not an uncommon occurrence at all my friend. With a new stock exhaust system you don't even hear this, unless the engine is really coming off a long high rpm blast down the highway and the engine is really hot and even then, it is so muffled you probably wouldn't hear it with a new stock system. With headers and/or a free-flow or "sport" exhaust system, you'll always here it to some extent after a long, hard run and truly warm engine. This will be probably more so with the strictly mechanical advance 23D Cooper "S"... MORE


Dear MG folk, Since the beaing question seemed to generate some conversation, here is what I have on getting some stouter bearings for the Midget front hubs. The Timken numbers for the front tapered bearings and races are: 07097 05066 05185 07204 You will need two of each of these. You will use the standard grease seal; for reference, the Carquest part number is 471192. Winners Circle in Cleveland is a good source and they are familiar with the upgrade. My set was about $90 for the whole thing. Rob C '75 Midget, McGee robbiesg@... 22044... MORE


The 3/4" dual master cylinders come up on ebay every couple of months or so, But they will need rebuilt or sleeved. If you have one now, you could just have it resleeved. The earlier cars used a 7/8" dual master cylinder and are interchangeable. The 7/8" was for drum brakes and the 3/4" was for disc. In going to a 7/8", the petal pressure will be harder. What seems to be the problem with your existing master cylinder/brake system? Bob, Troutdale, OR "Robert Webb" 22043... MORE


Hi all. Among other problems, I have been battling a cutting out problem on my stock '79 Midget 1500. Now after many test starts in the driveway it seems that I now have a getting progressivly worse starting problem: The engine cranks over for what seems to be too long with no sign of firing, then when it tries to fire the enging almost stops dead, like it almost jambs up then cranks again until the same happens. Only does this for 10-15 revolutions of the engine then solonid starts clicking. On just recharged battery.All electrical still operates but... MORE


Does anyone have an idea where I might locate a master cylinder for a 63 Sprite? No luck with Moss or Victoria British. I ordered the rebuild kit but, I'm not sure that it's going to solve the problem. Is it possible to use the master cylinder from an older car? There seems to be plenty of those around. Thanks "austinbud2002" 22032... MORE