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Oh, you probably haven't heard the latest proposal. A couple years ago, the state implimented a reduction in Vehicle license fees called a VLF OFFSET. This reduced my fees on my vintage cars from $1 to $4 and on my daily drivers, $16 and $43. Now Davis is proposing an increase in license fess of about 250%! The government gives... and then takes it back... TENFOLD...'-) Gerard "gerardchateau" 11675... MORE
Hello Folks What would you folks recomend for a nice replace ment for the stock fuel pump? The car is a 1971 MG Midget 1275 Thanks Jason "Jason Gross" 11678... MORE
I tried to order the Gunze Gangyo Sprite Mk1 model through st.Martins models (I live about 2 miles from their very fantastic shop) but they said they don't have it in stock and don't know when they are going to get it. I bought one on ebay for $20. There is one on ebay now for about $70 !! Gary L camden, London 1958 Frogeye "garyloisuk" 11626... MORE
I want to offer a big thanks to everyone that offered help on my unusual lug nut situation. I received a great deal of assistance from many of you and a few leads actually went somewhere. I don't have the problem 100% solved yet, but there are two possible solutions. One is fading quickly but the other is my fallback position so one way or another I think it will happen. In the process of looking for these lug nuts, I ended up contacting a guy in Connecticut who is, I believe, _the_ US distributor for Genuine Minilite wheels.... MORE
Hey !!! Bob !!! Due to daily matters here, I have some "free time" months?? years?? LOL !!! just call me and we can start restoration!!!!!! Jorge PS: I can contribute with some bucks after selling out all here!!!!! LOL !!!!! "Jorge Dimitrakis" 11595... MORE
A rollbar is a safety device, not a racing device. Porsche, BMW and other convertibles come with these "stock" these days. Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 11582... MORE
Having rebuilt my 67 Mk IV Sprite and gassed it up for the first time in donkies years, I was dismayed to find that the fuel gauge only read 1/4 full. There would seem to be two adjusters on the back and I assume one sets the empty reading the other the full reading. I know mine reads MT when the tank is MT, but which one do I adjust to give the correct full reading without disturbing the MT one? Or more generally, what is the best way to set up these gauges? Can anyone give me some... MORE
I have been pondering installing a rollbar in my 78 midget, and in doing so wonder... - What are the stats for Midgets rolling over? Do real stats exist, anywhere? Maybe old Leyland tests? - What does it take to get one to roll over? I mean, how sharp CAN I take that turn? On dry pavement, will it tend to fishtail first? - How can I know if the rollbar I buy is a "real" one, or a decoration? - Is there any mod I can do short of a rollbar to help lessen the chance of a... MORE
Ted The Chicago standard sounds real close to the Denver standard. It took me a couple tries to pass my Midget. I have access to a shop that has an exhaust gas analyzer so I took mine there and leaned it out as much as possible and messed with spark timing till it was close. (Remember as HCs go down, CO goes up. So you've got to watch both.) Made sure the car was up to temp and ran to the emissions place. If there was some air introduced to your exhaust system (say that some holes got poked... MORE
Dowels are used for location and positional timing, they should be soft not hardened or they can snap like a carrot, The drive is actually transmitted from the friction between the crank palm and flywheel caused by torquing up the bolts , even though in theory there is clearance between the shanks of the bolts and the flywheel , but little or no clearance between the dowel hole and flywheel, Positional accuracy of the dowels is in the order of 0.001" (one 'thou.) I'm not sure if its the same for your motors but there were timing marks on... MORE
I need some help here folks. I have a 1974 Midget that has failed the Illinois emmissions test. Somewhere down the line, the previous owner replaced the head that was fitted with the ports for the air injector rail. I have the air pump and gulp valve, but the air rail is long gone. The car tested high on hydrocarbons which is unburnt fuel. The legal limit is 800 PPM, the car tested at 1325 PPM. Is there anyone out there is the six-county Chicago area or anywhere for that matter that has managed to pass this test without... MORE
Dear list: Does anyone know the proper sequence to reassemble doors with the roll up window assembly? For example: I'd wish to avoid installing the window rubbers if I then need to remove them to get the window mechanism in. When I disassembled the doors, the outside rubber squeegee and the inside felt strip. were already gone. I only had to remove the window glass, wind-up mechanism, and the wing window assy. Can anyone tell me which clips to use for the rubber squeegee and the felt strip? Can I trust the diagram in the Moss catalog to indicate... MORE
Jason & rlirwn@aol. Looking at your (USA) prices for doing up an engine $4000 ? Astounding. That's what I'd expect to pay for a car, in running / good condition . A rebuilt midget engine is about =A3700 =3D $1021 over here, in stock form. And =A31281 =3D$1868 for a 1293 cc tuned to stage 2 (fast road use) by rep utable builders. Shipping costs to USA ?? surely not $2100. Rebuilding an engine myself , but having a rebore and regrind plus new par ts should only cost about =A3350 (yes I know its my time ,but I'm... MORE
In the UK it is NOT illegal to re-set or adjust an odometer. What IS illegal is to do so with the intention of misleading a purchaser as to the true mileage. So you can re-set the speedo, so long as you notify the next owner when you sell it on. At present I have no intention of selling my Sprite anyway, but would be quite happy to explain that I reset it to Zero when I did a full "nut and bolt" rebuild 2 years ago. Guy "Guy Weller" 11348... MORE
I had similar with my Midget, but the paint didn't come off, it just crazed. It is still like it 10 years later!! The PO had badly prepared and painted the Heritage shell, using Jagusr paint, and when my garage tried to put a proper top coat on it didn't work, so they had to strip it all off and start again. The theory is a silicone residue, so the paint can't adhere properly. Margaret South Lincolnshire (UK) mmbrock88@... 11318... MORE
Hi Group, Has anybody come across the paint lifting on a newly painted bonnet? The particular area is between the wing & the headlamp bowls. When I first got the car the paint in this area lifted off in big chunks, as if the metal had not been prepared very well. However it has recently had a bare metal re-spray & the same thing has happened in the same area. I have this theory about it being the only concave surface & therefore paint drying in tension causes it to lift. All other surfaces are convex. Incidentally 2 pack... MORE
What a pain, glad to know it's all on now though. Is this part of a restoration or were you just doing some jobs? Jeremy "Jeremy Cogman" 11295... MORE
Alan E-J! Thanx for the Federal aircraft sign - we have these all over general aviation facilities "over here"...... Like the British "attitude" on the "Car Show" post - the appreciation of what lies beneath the obvious!~! Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 11302... MORE
Phil... You've got something "in" the metal there. Why this particular area on this particular car? I have no idea. Sometime in it's past, somebody spilled something on this particular surface and it's (obviously) "soaked in" more deeply than normal pre-paint surface prep will handle. We have a paint (prep) expert anywhere out there? :) Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 11300... MORE
Best place for MG ?AH bargains is the car shows. Also a copy of classic car magazine etc or the MG car clubs own magazine usually have special offers etc, Possibly because you aren't a British citizen you may not have to pay the VAT (value added tax) I'm not sure how that works though. The biggest MG event is at Silverstone in July , you can get virtually anything there , as well as watching the racing etc. Regards Alan "alan.east-jones" 11273... MORE
Chris: Vintage British cars and airplanes....... ah, yes.......... "My" kinda day, for sure!! Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 11278... MORE
I think Poppy probably 'came home' because she was in a sorry state, and the last owner in the US couldn't sell her over there. Also, about that time, there was a call for Midgets to restore. Just my guess. But if anyone on the other side of the pond has any other suggestions???? This would have been about 10 or 11 years ago. Margaret South Lincolnshire (UK) mmbrock88@... 11237... MORE
Hi Brad, The PO changed Poppy to RHD, did some minor repair work, and had the garage across the road from him do the paint job. The only body bits to have been replaced were the driver's floor pan (was passengers in the US, so got wet from time to time) and the cross member under the seats. The rest of the body is original. So is the engine, although I had the bottom shells replaced some years ago. She also runs on unleaded fuel with no problems. Tomorrow, Sunday, if the weather holds out, (she is Totally topless!!)... MORE
Hi Jeremy Lots of people seem to fill the AH in in red (my old caps were like this) But originally they had no paint. Not all the cars in Terry's book are concours, although most are very nice, take a look at the mineral blue MK IV on page 86, the passenger side has a front wing from a later thin bumper car. Look at the distance from the bottom of the headlight to the top of the side light both sides. I have just corrected the same fault on my Sprite. Regards Dave (66 Sprite in Cambridgeshire... MORE
I've just acquired some lovely NOS AH stamped hubcaps for my mk2 Sprite. The ratty ones on there at the moment are, I belive the originals and the AH stampings are filled in with body colour (ish) paint. The new ones are unsurprising not, so you can fill them in with the colour of your car...I thought. I had a quick look in Horler to check that they should be painted and as far as I can tell every picture that shows them, shows them unpainted. Is this as original, or because all the cars show are 'concours' and... MORE
