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Yep!! Same thing here, Guy Weller. We had to weld "plates" into each side...so figured this was as good a time as any to go "back" to rubber bushings for the bar as well, for a little more "give". Cap'n. Bob (Ret'd) '60 Frog PilotRob@... 18729... MORE
The following assumes a standard anti-roll bar from a later Spridget, not the Donald Healey Motor Co item, though they are broadly similar. Depending on how your front suspension has been rebuilt (what? it never has been??) the wishbones will probably have some mounting holes drilled in their front face; a triangular plate is bolted to the wishbone and the drop link is fastened to the 'spare' hole in this plate. If memory serves correctly, these links are handed, so you need to get them the right way round but it's pretty obvious. The other end of the drop... MORE
Exactly, Nigel.... That "harshness" can come as one hell of a surprise to the unsuspecting, for sure. It's like the guy who goes over to poly bushes for normal fast street work, without realizing what a beating the rest of the parts are going to be taking when when he "stiffens" the set-up in this manner, "noise" notwithstanding, considering the uneveness of some "normal" road surfac"i". Which is exactly the point of my post..... "awareness". A large bar really does completely change the "character" of the handling from original. Let's put it this way....I was originally thinking of a... MORE
Willy1....hi, there. Sway bar off a racing BE? Hmm..street and track needs can be very different. What size front sway bar? I ask for good reason because a "heavy" bar is definitely going to completely change the "feel" and handling characteristics of your machine.....what are you looking for in terms of feel and handling for your set-up, Willy1? A mild bar (9/16 or 5/8) will reduce the BE's natural tendency towards oversteer (or backend "twitch" over rougher surfaces) which helps get the car around corners at reasonable speeds very nicely. This "tossibility" is what makes the car fun to... MORE
What's a sway bar? Is this an anti-roll bar ? Nigel "amukdigiphoto " 18700... MORE
Hi all I have purchased a front sway bar, and a rear (?) is it called pan hard bar? all the pieces are there, (I think) these were off a competition car, and they look great, but I received no instructions, does any one have access to instructions that they would be willing to share? or know where I can find them? Also, I replaced all the interior of my car, including the door pockets, A friend of mine wants the old door pockets, but the rest of the interior will be tossed out. It is in very bad... MORE
On a lighter side. (pun intended) the weight (mass) of the bodyshell depends on the number of holes in it!! When I designed flywheels for dynamometer use, I had to define the dynamic and static balance tolerances. In order to balance we did not add weights as you do with a road wheel, but used to drill 'LIGHT' or 'HEAVY' holes !!! Regards Alan P.S. we did the same for vehicle clutches. The pressure plate would be balanced independently first, then as an assembly with the clutch cover. The OE clutches were more finely balanced the aftermarket ones. (I... MORE
Rio I don't think I've ever come across a review that criticised these little cars, but have read many that extoll their virtues. I, like probably everyone else on this list simply 'fell in love with my little Midget'. It was the first car I ever bought - going on the basis that if I were going to have to drive - I'd drive a car that was fun to drive'. So whats the appeal of them? They're not particularly fast in terms of top speed, nor acceleration, but the key word hear is 'fun'. Think in terms of... MORE
David Jacobs.... "Double the weight"? Yep!! Try picking up an engine/gearbox combo or rear axle assemby with the springs attached, but not before checking your medical insurance policy! :) Cap'n. Bob (Ret'd) '60 Frog PilotRob@... 18660... MORE
Hi Reggie: you wrote No Spark at Plugs, but Glowing at Solenoid! You may have had other answers already but here's my 2c: The glowing battery wire is unrelated to the ignition problem*. Sounds more like you might have either a bad ground (ie no ground starp to the engine) or either the starter or starter solenoid is shorting to ground, or you could have really corroded connections (unlikely). I would disconnect the battery, test for shorts using a volt-ohm meter. Test the solenoind first. There should be no continuity between the solenoid and the car chassis. Then, do... MORE
When I did mine - it needed extensive work to all lower panels and floors - I replaced the cills and A posts before removing doors or much else so that I didn't distort the tub. Once these were done I completly stripped the shell. I could then roll it over onto a couple of old tyres, without help. With only the bodwork they dont weigh much and are easy enough for one person to move about. I then bolted a pair of pallet castors to the spring hangers (front ones for the rear springs). I could then trundle... MORE
It was the early sixties, I was then the proud owner of a bugeye sprite. I was also a young aspiring capitalist that rented a small one room space that I was told had once been a small beauty salon. I fabricated a couple of work benches, invested in a few small hand tools and a couple of soldering irons, sub-contracted electronic assembly work from a local firm and with a work force of myself and a part time employee when into business. Naturally I had to have a delivery vehicle to pick up parts and deliver the completed... MORE
Hi there everyone, I know you all are saying, who the heck is that? Well I'm Reggie in California, and have been a member for several years now, but haven't posted/contributed for about a year. Sorry :( Anywho, intrductions aside, found a little relief from the lack of info on the dual line master cylinders and those damn piston linkages! Was rebuilding one myself these last few days, and stumbled upon the perplexing problem of the pistons no longer being connected to each other. Read the posts on here and found no one else could find reference to them... MORE
Have you measured for 12V at the coil connection when the key is turn on? I would say recheck your point installation connections and point setting. Test for spark from the coil without turning over the engine. Not having spark may not be related to the heat at the starter solenoid connection. However, if it is not a dirty connection causing the heat at the solenoid connection then as David pointed out a bad bearing or short in the starter motor could be a likely cause. Don "Don May" 18636... MORE
Yuchol The DeVilbiss range of Finishline Spray guns are exceptionally good pro quality budget priced spray guns. However, please bear in mind you'll need a minimum of 12-14cfm air displacement, and 3bar pressure at the air cap, air requirement - thats a lot of compressor! You'll have to be looking at a minimum of a 50litre air receiver and 3hp compressor motor to run that air gun - you're looking at about 500 dollars worth of air compressor. The other thing to bear in mind about that spray gun is that it's a semi-pro gun and therefore needs skilled... MORE
Happy to report that I took the 63 out for a drive and all the struggle to install new rear springs was worth it. You never seem to know how bad some things were until you fix them. Car feels solid and responsive now. Before it was a bit like riding on top of an overloaded washing machine on spin cycle. As David said... the battle is over . . . but not the war. On to the next projects. I suppose I should start thinking about the front coil springs. Any tips on how to judge how good... MORE
David. There was no rest between battles . . . as I tightened the last nut on the spring retaining U bolt I heard a POP! The rebound strap snapped . . . 40 year old rubber . . . a strap to order and two more rusty bolts to remove. The war goes on :) Don "Don May" 18592... MORE
G'day Bob The bush inside the spring has a central steel sleeve, and if the bolt wasn't lubricated liberally with grease when it was last fitted, there is every chance it has rusted and seized along it's whole 3'' length. I had exactly this problem with a customer's car about 3 years ago. Fortunately the customer was hanging around the shop at the time, since he wouldn't have understood the 3 hour charge to remove one bolt!. Yes, it took him and me and the gas axe just under 3 hours to remove it. You're right - you just... MORE
Stanley 210's are a pretty rugged engine and probably good to 300,ooo miles if it been cared for decently. Thay are a 5 main engine and they have a lot of nickel in the block making them very durable. Your best bet is to do a leakdown test to determine the condition of valves and rings. What you descibe about colant could be just a weak or incorrect pressure radiator cap. Later A14/A15 actaully have less HP and torque due to increased SMOG requirements and are detuned. The sluggishness could be due to timing or other tune-up issues too.... MORE
Well i brought home the datsun today. Heres what i found.Tag says its a A14/A15 engine with 89.something c.i. displacement.Does anyone know the horse power rating for it?Removed thermostat and drove it 26 miles without overheating.But it does blow coolant out the top of recovery bottle.Pulled plugs they all look chocolate brown and dry.Does this sound like a head gasket? Transmission works well but shift lever has lots of slop and play.It didnt smoke and no water vapor from tailpipe.I was a bit disapointed in the performance as one i drove years ago seemed quite lively.This one shows 155,000+... MORE
I finally took the sawsall route. Because the bearing protrudes about a 1/16 of an inch past the width of the spring and rubber insert on each side A thin metal blade will fit in the space between the side of the spring and the inside of the arm. It was easy to cut the bolt on each side of the spring and the two ends of the bolt popped out each side of the arm. There was more fun . . . the holes through the end of the new spring were slightly misaligned through the layers of... MORE
Hear, hear, Don May....!! :) How'd you make out with that pesky spring bolt? Cap'n. Bob (Ret'd) '60 Frog PilotRob@... 18556... MORE
On my 1/4 elliptic spring replacement project I managed to remove all the nuts and bolts except one. That is the bolt through the bearing at the end of the spring where it connects to the differential housing. So far all attempts to force it out have failed. The nature of the beast is that the head is rounded with a flat side that fits up against a tab welded to the arm. That makes it impossible to rotate the bolt in an attempt to remove it. It has to be forced straight out until it clears the retaining... MORE
Last Midget off th line was on the 7th December 1979, had black paintwork was retained by British Leyland and is now part of the BMIHT Collection. Chassis number was GAN6-229526 Nigel "amukdigiphoto " 18509... MORE
If it will make you happy Bob I can assure you I am suffering sufficiently to satisfy your weather envy. :-) And, the bolt holding the end of the spring to the axle will not bulge out of the spring bracket on the passenger side. Don't you think that is punishment enough? All the other bolts are loose. The drivers side spring is installed, but no, can I finish the job before nature forces me into the house hacking and my sinus feeling like they are about to cast a dark cloud over Berkeley when they explode. All this... MORE
