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James; Potential problems would be rust, rust, and, err, rust. Oh and maybe the synchros in the gearbox. Frogs and Spridgets rust in the sills, the A-pillars, the rear bulkhead/suspension mounts, and the rear valence. Just like a Mini, in fact... The rear bulkhead of a Frogeye is expensive to repair- especially the area where the springs are bolted in. If you find a frog with rust in the rear bulkhead, just walk away. The sills are easy repairs- chop the old ones off and weld the new ones on. However, rusty sills probably indicate rust somewhere else, so... MORE
Gee....this used to be so different, but hey...I can do this. Installing front sway bar on my 71 midget but alas I don't see any holes for the sway bar locator brackets (u-shaped bracket for sway bar). Before I start making swiss cheese out of my frame, can somebody tell me where those holes might be (I presume on the longitudinal part of the frame that run alongside the oil pan). Are they threaded holes or can I just drill a pilot hole and use self tapping screws? Any help would be appreciated. Cheers. Stephen P. pgbrk2001@... 6304... MORE
Stephen, The mountings for the sway bar are indeed located on the two 'frame' members. Almost at the end of them you should see two rounded rectangle pieces welded on the bottom of them. Each will have two holes drilled and threaded in them. Usually they are filled with road debrie and must be cleaned out. I had to use a scratch awl to locate the holes and begin removing years of caked stuff before running a tap in them to clean them out. Forget whats the size thread but it's the same as ninety percent of the other... MORE
Yes, but only by a double-jointed eight year old girl with three arms. She did mine AND replaced it. Mike A "Carol & Mike Allen" 6311... MORE
Bill, HUN is not a mistake. It is the correcty prefix from the LH DOOR plate, if it's still there. Door plates were put on in the factory that built the bodies. The RH door plate can be used to track you original chassis number, but you say you don't have it. As others have mentioned the chassis number is on the RH shock mount and also on the RH floorboard, just forward of the frame cross piece. I'm not sure what year they started this, but I know at least by 1968. Gerard pixelsmith@... 6303... MORE
I thought some folks many get a kick out of this especially those across the pond Difficult English - Or - Read Only While Sober The bandage was wound around the wound. The farm was used to produce produce. The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse We must polish the Polish furniture. He could lead if he would get the lead out. The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert. Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present. A bass was painted on... MORE
The weather stopped me from working on the Midget today so for now I just want to let everyone know about all the parts I have. If anyone wants anything, just pay for the shipping and it's yours. I have pictures posted in the image/picture section or if you want more information and detailed pics, let me know and I will send them to you. One Each Radiator Fan One Each Distributor (Less Key) One Pair Bonnet Hinges One Each Radio Console (Just the case) Intake Manifold With Carbs (1 1/4 inch dia) One Each Stromberg Carb Two Each... MORE
Doug, Is the frame lower or is the body lower? I had a similar question, which was "Why would someone install a suspension lowering kit on the passenger side only? Which is what I found in my new 71. It could have been installed to correct this, however, with the kit installed, the passenger side body is 1/2" lower on the passenger side than on the drivers side, so with it installed I have a Starboard list. "Brent Wolf" 6166... MORE
I posted a note yesterday wondering why someone would install a suspension lowering kit on the passenger side only. Could be driver's side lean!!!!! "Brent Wolf" 6165... MORE
I will have to look at that. It looks OK and I fitted the springs without any forcing. Will look closer today. I did have a slight change when I flopped the springs but not the amount I expected. I picked up about 3/8" . Doug 77 "Doug Pletcher" 6164... MORE
HI folks I need some advise. My MG leans by about 1/2 inch on the drivers side. So I replaced all the bushings and the pads. I than installed the springs and flopped them right to left. Which should have made the passanger side 1/2 lower than the drivers side. Well it didn't it still the same way. How come. Any suggestions. Doug 77 dougp77@... 6157... MORE
On a RHD car the shim goes on the left rack mount - I presume that the opposite applies to LHD cars (i.e. on the right). I believe that the shim was a side effect of running an upsidedown LHD (on RHD Spridgets) Morris Minor rack (i.e. the rack & column don't align properly) James "James Bilsland" 6145... MORE
I'm in the process of reassembling the front suspension and steering rack. One of the rack mounting brackets has a 1/4 inch thick shim. Does the shim go under the bracket oppisite the steering shaft or under the same side as the steering shaft? I can't remember if it's driver or passenger side. Any help would be great. TimS. '63 Sprite MkII Detroit, Mi "Summers, Tim" 6144... MORE
Today I had to pull the engine out AGAIN. In my attempt to fix the oil leak, I had too much vacuum on the engine and it was sucking the oil into the intake and it looked like I was on fire zipping down the road. I don't know how I didn't get pulled over by the police!!! At the moment, I have removed the rear oil seal kit and back plate, cleaned everything up, and re-installed the parts with a heck of a lot of RTV. This time I plan to just let the crankcase pressure just vent... MORE
I have a 79 Midget, when I purchased it there were already tube shocks on all four corners. I have no idea of where they came from but there are obviously kits available to convert both the front and rear. John Poynton Havertown PA teachjp@... 6098... MORE
Thanks, Tim Summers- Ulix' experience is helpful. Don't know about the AVO shocks, though; must do a "search" on these to learn more about them. SPAX thus far, seem the most adjustable at reasonable cost. Carreras will work for the road on the softest of three settings but, they are not as reasonably priced as the SPAX. Still "learning". Cap'n. Bob '61 :{) PilotRob@... 6108... MORE
Chris, I ran 175s on my 65 Sprite and during the rebuild I noticed some rubbing on the inner wheel well. A Panhard rod would probably solve this, but it might be due to weak rear springs and very old rubber bushing! I never replaced them, might even be original looked pretty bad when I removed them a while back. Polyurethane will go back in. Martyn meastwood1@... "Martyn Eastwood" 6102... MORE
I happened to be at minimania.com and noted they have poly bushings for 1/4 spring radius arms part 2A7278/P. I wish I found these before I broke my radius arms.... schicmg@... 6097... MORE
I was doing some internet research and I found this site, http://www.mirafiori.com/~ulix/Sprite67/SpriteSusp.html He mentions Spax and Carrera shock conversions, thought you all might find it helpful. TimS '63 Sprite MkII Detroit, Mi "Summers, Tim" 6096... MORE
Aye Cap'n Bob. Good luck with your shocks. I'm looking for advice on tires. I'm currently running Firestone 560 sized 155R13. Does anyone know if 175/70/13 will fit a 1/4 elliptic spring squarebody on stock wheels? Mike schicmg@... 6092... MORE
Thank you for the excellent "Frontline" site. Considering their prices on rear leaf springs, this does seem like one of the the places to go in these (and other) respects. At 70USD per spring, that's a lot cheaper than I've seen here in US, even with shipping thrown in. The K-series engine transplant sounds like a great idea for those considering a "new" engine, doesn't it? Even the 120hp conversion is really all a street Sprite would need to go very well, indeed! Thank you, BECKERS! Cap'n. Bob '61 :{) PilotRob@... 6089... MORE
Thanx, Jason. I haven't seen a Spax kit for the front end either, but thought you might know something in this regard, I might not know (VERY possible!!). The last sentence in your post says it all, Jason, precisely and in a nutshell. Thank you indeed for your feedback; SPAX it will be, I think! Cap'n. Bob '61 :{) PilotRob@... 6083... MORE
Its very easy to fit tube shocks to the rear and it really makes a difference. If you are on a tight budget then you can easily fabricate your own upper mounting plates and fit a pair of standard front shock absorbers from a mini. ben.brown@... 6073... MORE
Hey Cap'n Bob I am using the spax tube fit on the rear end only. I have not seen were they make them for the front end. But answer the rest of the question I do daily driving on good weather day, Highway rural road use and have had good results with the conv. I don't have that nice feeling of hitting the ground now it is a nice smooth ride. Jason 1971 MG Midget "Jason Gross" 6079... MORE
In the spirit of information sharing, tube shock conversions for the front end are available. I am running Winners Circle's version on my 1975 Midget 1500. Installation is pretty easy as the old levers are used for the upper control arm with the valve removed. The car seems to drive and handle very well indeed and replacements are less problematic Robbiesg 75 Midget "Rob Coxworth" 6080... MORE
