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Hi Dermot It would probably be un-economic to have the car professionaly restored to origninal, but could make a good restoration project if the owner is prepared to do the work or has friends that can help. (see Lyndsay Porters book and Practical Classics on Midget and Sprite Restoration.) Manual dexterity is a must as is some form of welding (MiG/MaG as a min.) It might be difficult to get hold of the 'correct' wings now (sidelight height in relation to type of bumper) but this is only really important if originality is your bag. The inner wings are... MORE
A while back I wrote about British Victoria British sending me a defective ignition wire set. I did call them and they not only replaced them but also did not make me go to the trouble to send the original ones back. The first set had not been terminated on the spark plug end and it was simply a defective set that had been missed by quality control at the factory. Now for a question . . . My 63 MK1 does not like them, runs very rough when I installed them. They use resistance wire while the original... MORE
Fitting the rear brake circlip - people make it sound difficult but it is really simple, you just have to BELIEVE that it will go on first time .... and it does. The clip ( called an E-clip) has 3 contact points with the brake cylinder. Position it with the open side towards the bleed nipple. It looks as if it won't cear the axle casing next to the back plate, but it will, there is a bit of a groove there that the outer edge of the clip fits into. Don't grind away any of the clip as... MORE
Hi all, The latest events updated listing - well before Mascot (sorry Mike N - the power of the net and all that:-): September 2002 Sunday 22nd Surrey Area goes to Brands. The MG Challenge Series. Details from David Wright, Tel: 0208 642 4789 dandcwright@... Sunday 29th Totally MG at Kempton Park =96 Spares Day & Auto Jumble organised by MGOC, MGCC and Octagon CC. Details 01954 231125 October 2002 Wednesday 2nd Dorset Area visit to Bournemouth Flying Club as the guest of the Jaguar Enthusiasts Club when the guest speaker will be the Chauffeur to the late Queen... MORE
Before I get under a car on stands I give it a good rock, if it moves then the stands need doing again and wild horses would not get me under there (not that we have many wild horses in Hampshire except New Forest Ponies of course, I digress). Front end of the prop shaft (driveshaft) is an internally splined tube that slides into the back of the gearbox onto a splined shaft. Can be a bit tricky to get back on as it's down the tunnel. Either put it back on before the box goes in or check... MORE
So despite some advices on taking the transmission, I decided to jack up the car to take a look to see if it was possible without taking the engine out. First of all, this is my first ever experience with these small cars. Man, it took some imagination jacking up the car both front and back. If I got the front lifted, the back got too low to get the jack underneath. So I had to go back and forth. Anyway, the transmission well looks too tight to drop it down without taking the engine out. My Sprite/Midget book... MORE
Peter, I assume you were holding the 'shift' key down while pressing '5' and also that the last character is actually a 'G' not a 9 (not the first time this has been transposed when copying from chassis plates or other documents) This being so, I reckon your car would have been built around May/June 1972 (The last 1972 model was GAN5-123644 built in June '72); though that would suggest it was hanging around more than a year before being registered which is a bit odd. There may be other clues to it's age, for example, are the quarter... MORE
Peter, you want the Production Record trace certificate..... http://www.heritage.org.uk/archive/trace%20certificate.htm Remind me, what is the cut-off date for tax-free status? The 'Original Sprite and Midget' book has chassis numbers against dates for milestones such as the first car built in 19** so if you let me know your chassis number, I can give you a rough idea before you spend 28. Regards David "David Jacobs" 15069... MORE
Little Tommy was doing very badly in math. His parents had tried everything:tutors, flash cards, special learning centers. In a last-ditch effort, they took Tommy and enrolled him in the local Catholic school. After the first day, Little Tommy came home with a very serious look on his face. He didn't kiss his mother hello. Instead, he went straight to his room and started studying. His mother was amazed. She called him to dinner. To her shock, the minute he was done he marched back to his room without a word and in no time he was back hitting... MORE
The plate mounted in the door frame gives month and year of manufacture. If your car is a '75 or later, try this guy... davethepaint1@... Late last year, he wrote the following in the www.midgetweb.com guestbook... ...Hi Folks, I used to work at the MG factory in Abingdon,on the 2 midget production lines,have fond memories of the little critters also owned a 68 and a modified 79.I have the original production line chassis number books with all the dates that the midgets were built on.....will try to find them if anyone is interested in finding out when their car... MORE
Further to this, I can now tell you it's chassis number 62/553 and is Rob Moody's Ford engined MkII Sports. Regards David "David Jacobs" 15061... MORE
I presume its one of those with a loop of white wire on the back? apparently, how this loop is arranged can have an effect on the accuracy, but I've no idea of the proper alignment. Regards David "David Jacobs" 15040... MORE
Entered my 63 MKII Sprite in my first show this weekend and won the popular vote for best in class square body Sprites ( There were only 4 of us but still...it proves to the wife that the time and money were well spent) I've been putting this car back together since 1980 and between money, family, and career, finally got it on the road this July. It's taken a beating in that time and some things like the paint which was done years ago have to be redone because of the bikes,snowboards, and hockey equipment that shared space... MORE
Thanks to all the advices on trailering the Sprite, I finally got it home. Just before we loaded it up, I noticed that the whole car leans to the left (driver's side). Could it be the springs? "Yuchol Kim" 14988... MORE
my mistake - I realise the handbrake linkage is always next to the hydraulic cylinder. Have you taken the drums off and got down under the car to watch what is actually happening when someone slowly puts the handbrake on? you should then be able to see where movement is being lost, whether it's in the compensator or whatever. Regards David "David Jacobs" 14967... MORE
I've just been talking to our oil sales rep . This was in regards to my vintage motorcycle but might also apply to Spridgets and frogeyes etc. I told him that I had put a 10/50 multigrade oil in the bike ' as a treat'. He asked me if it had any brass or phos. bronze bushes in it , yep, cam bushes and in the gearbox I said. He suggested that I removed it ASAP, because the additives in modern multigrades leach out a constituent of the phos. bronze and effectively destroys it. I have also found this... MORE
Thanks David, but I guess you must have missed earlier postings on this. The footpedal works well, very little excess travel, no servo but very good response. It has new shoes, so no taper wear there and they are fitted the correct way round for single leading shoe operation. There is a new handbrake cable, the adjusters are good and are adjusted for a fairly close tollerance. It is a 1971 Sprite, on which the handbrake linkage operates alongside the hydraulic cylinders, not on the opposite end of the shoes as you suggest. It is just that on the... MORE
Hello folks This is a little early for the season but I thought I would ask. Last Fall and Spring I rebuilt the front and rear suspension. I would like to put my Midget up on jack stands this winter so to allow the suspension to hang and on wear over the long winters here in Maine. I would like to have advise from you folks to were the best place to put the jack stands for a 6 month period? Thanks for the advice Jason 1971 MG Midget 1275 "Jason Gross" 14920... MORE
I got this off the Autox Roadster list, I thought passing this along would be appropriate. For those of you that tend to bitch about NO LBC content, let it lay for one day.................................. Fellow listers Today is a sad day for many. To those who lost Family, Loved Ones and Friends, this is for them and all Americans. This is for all the Heroes who were their when we needed them. One year ago today a great lady was attacked By cowards who thought god was behind them Maim and destroy the harlot their leaders told them Her... MORE
so badly worn as to be totally u/s, but the PO (stupidly) re-used the pin with the new a-arms... Mike "Mike Gigante" 14859... MORE
This is a job I have done a few times, and the spacer has always been able to move about after removal of the hub from the car. The original workshop manual for cars up to and including the 1275 spridgets shows no shims with the spacer and I have never found them necessary, but hey, what do I know? Other listers may have other ideas. On later cars of different models made by the same manufacturer the spacer was designed to be slightly crushable to ensure correct assembly, and therefore required replacement with the bearings, [use shims to... MORE
Jay Shaffer asked: pin Firstly, go and do the checks listed at http://www.ahsdc.org/goblins/tech/frontend.htm That will tell you if anything else is in *need* of repair/replacement. Now my observations: 1) just replacing the fulcrum pin is a waste of time. The pin rotates on its threads and since the pin is hardened, the wear is not just limited to the pin itself - the threaded insert in the a-arm is certain to be worse! While you can buy the repair kit and braze them in yourself, most folks just buy reconditioned (change-over) units. I think Peter C now has a-arms... MORE
Agreed. You'll need to raise the engine perhaps 1-1/2". The bolt may be really tight if it hasn't been off in a long time. If you've got an impact wrench with a 1-5/16" socket, great. There are other ways too, such as laying a wrench against the rail on the driver's side and bumping the starter (coil wire DISconnected!). Not elegant, but usually effective. "tloutrec" 14839... MORE
Forget using grade 5 bolts for anything other than holding the license tag on. Grade 8 are considerably stronger, cost perhaps a nickel more and are available from any fastener supplier. Every city of any size will have a source. AS far as the front end - if the fulcrum pin and/or bushes are badly worn, chances are everything else is too. Take it apart and see. A complete major suspension kit is cheap if you are going to race. Shucks, it's cheap for a street car...and, by all means, crack check everything. Twice. "tloutrec" 14838... MORE
The fellow I sold the '62 Midget to a couple years ago has a job that keeps him on an airplane most of the time and he hasn't had any time to drive the car in the last year+. He's decided he wants to sell it, so if anyone is interested, please contact me offlist. Because I know the car, He's asked me to assist him in finding a buyer that will appreciate the car as he's too busy even to deal with that. He has a brand new wood steering wheel and a brand new Caribou Canvas top,... MORE
