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Bill, Yes, had similar problems when I installed my Moss sourced Roll Bar on my Mk IV Sprite. The main problem was the side parts of the hood (top in US lingo as opposed to bonnet!) frame fouling the lower parts of the roll bar as the frame was finally lowered onto the wheel arch pads, ie the last 6" or so. I cured this as others have suggested, by gently bending the offending parts of the hood frame outwards until I got a a good clearance. Does not seem to have changed the shape or weather tightness of... MORE
which, if you believe in kharma, is as it should be. Intelligent we have not been... "psuedo intelligence" and "cowardly" would be more appropriately like it and now we are paying for it which, if you believe in kharma, is as it should be. Too many spoiled children running around with weapons, both here and abroad. So much for "political correctness" in terms of "tolerance and understanding". Time for the "good guys" to identify themselves and get together to practice a little tough love on the "bullies on the block" and put a stop to all this piss poor... MORE
LOL...:):) Margaret... I am not talking about the unawareness of childhood which allows a relatively carefree existence my good lady. I am talking about a mature adult with a keen sense of situational awareness who works with the positive while being totally knowledgeable with respect to the negative, yet has lived a carefree existence (as an adult) for the last 30 years!! :) It is not a matter of getting anything off my chest. You asked an intelligent question...you got an intelligent answer though you may not like what you hear! :) It is part of the reality that... MORE
Oh yes! I know that feeling too. Doing jobs on these cars can be frustrating at times. With regard to the Midget though, I only have myself to blame, being the present owner and also the 'daft previous owner' . Having said that, when it was still quite new, the garage who serviced it (and supplied it, The Bedford Garage, in Exeter Devon U.K. - no longer in existence, by the way) failed to lubricate the king pins properly, leading to them seizing up, so I resolved to do my own servicing, spending the remainder of what I would... MORE
Well, I took the carbs off and found that when the machine shop had bored the bodies for oversize shafts they did a very poor job. The center of the bore was shift a few thou up which caused the butterfly not to seal on the bottom. That job was done many years ago. Fortunately I have a another set of carbs that I can use. The engine no can be made to idle just about where I want it although with the cam (VP3 in a 1098) it doesn't like low idle speeds, greater than 900 is good.... MORE
Nigel, If I did not know what country you live in, I would think you were talking about the US. I think the last good place left is finding a little place on the beach in Mexico. Just sit in the sun, put oil on your honey's scantly clad body, sip some tequila and don't worry about anything. Then do it again tomorrow!!!!! Hmmmmmm I am close enough, I think I will go down there tomorrow for a few days.........lololol By the way, your David Frost, quite a few years ago said, "The American form of government is like... MORE
Jeff... Don't you work for a firm in the UK which produces A-frames (wishbones) and A- frame kits? Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 26508... MORE
That copper stuff is okay for anti-sieze, as on threads, but don't use it in wheel bearings or suspension/steering parts. Any major brand of grease indicated for wheel bearings will be fine. The purists here may object, but any name brand of chassis grease will do fine in king pins and tie rod ends. Some like greases containing molybdenum sulfide, but I don't bother with it. You should use gear oil in the steering rack, however. Probably most important is to make sure everything is clean and greased before you put it back together. I once read an article... MORE
Yes... Bill Perry does favor the new synthetic oils as they are simply superior to the mineral oil based products, which BTW are pretty damn good themselves these days. Synthetic also allows for MUCH easier shifting of the box in cold weather, especially subsequent to initial start after the car has been sitting in freezing temps. overnight. However, their "slipperiness" and flow characteristics virtually guarantee that in all cases, you will either "lose" more or "burn" more in either event, the loss of synchronizer action in the gearbox already having been discussed. I had a minor leak in the... MORE
Listers, one and all. For the past few years we've had a group of enthusiasts gather in Madison WI (USA) for a bit of post-Thanksgiving turkey Sprite dismantling and/or rebuilding called Save Our Sprites. These "events" take place the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving (Nov. 28,29 this year) and are viewable over the internet through some video magic. (details later) We hope to improve that this year with faster service for better interaction. In the past, those who wanted to contribute, but couldn't attend, offered food and beverage from their locality. We've had some great variety from scrapple to... MORE
No need to modify the complex hood struts and bows, they were there first! It sounds to me like a job for. "MISTER HAMMER"!!! Perhaps a really big hammer. We call them persuaders. If it doesn't work at first, get a bigger hammer. Or at worst, mark the offending area and cut out some of the roll bar, reverse the removed metal to retain the curved strength and weld back in the hole, thereby giving some extra room and retaining the strength of the bar. Better than finding a new bar and going through the install process all over... MORE
Bill, if you feel up to working out all that complicated geometry, for the mechanism, you might give it a go, but I should warn you Les Ireland and the Healey team spent YEARS perfecting that design! The packaway type from a '62 probably won't fit - the 'screen is different; one from a 64-66 would certainly fit the windscreen and door glass, though you'd have to do some serious modifcation to the rear of the cockpit area to get it to fit there. A better solution might be to admit defeat and get a roll bar that still... MORE
Donovan Welcome to the list. Plenty of good advice here for 'restorers' on pretty much everything you need to know about putting one of these little cars back on the road. Floor/rear spring mounts/sills are typical rust spots on these cars and the quarter elliptic spring mounts are somewhat more difficult to repair properly than the semi elliptic spring mounts. Shout if you need any help : ) Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 26417... MORE
Just thought I'd introduce myself as I am new to the list. I recently began the restoration of a 61 Midget. The outer panels are excellent with rust free fenders, hood and trunk lid. That's the good news. The bad news is the floor and sills. The sills aren't terrible but the floor is almost non-existent. I'm going to be replacing the rear spring mounts etc. as well. The car was canabalised a bit so a few parts are missing. Ebay has been helpful for those. I may make pleas to the list for parts on occassion. I'll be... MORE
There are 4 gears floating around in there. The Big gear that drives the axles, a little gear that comes in from the driveline and 2 other gears that transfer the power from the driveline to the axles. Any one of them have a broken tooth, and it is time to say, what is your gear ratio. 3.9 to 4.22, swap rear ends, 3.7? or 4.55? what is it worth to stay at this gear ratio? 5.?? You are in trouble. Bob, Troutdale, OR "Robert Webb" 26411... MORE
Hmmmmmm. Interesting, the beginnings of a bullet proof LBC. Lexan side curtains, Kevlar top, Carbon fiber body panels, We may have something going here............ Perhaps we could sell them in Iraq.........lololol Bob in San Diego Age is a very high price to pay for maturity! "Robert D. Gardner" 26405... MORE
If what Mike says checks out and the diff looks okay, check the transmission/motor mounts. I had a similar sound and I guess the body carried or amplified the sound of the drive-train flexing because after I replaced the mounts, the sound stopped. Jack Texas "austinbud2002" 26390... MORE
Nigel, The second "Oct 69" is probably a misprint for "Jun 70" - if you look at his table on P112, that agrees with Anders Clausager's (official BMIHT archivist) chassis number/dates table in his "Sprites and Midgets - The Complete Story". There are some deliberate gaps in the sequence so new models could start at **501. Regards David PS You don't make clear whether your chassis no.86697 is a Sprite or Midget - Midget chassis numbers overlapped Sprite ones around this time; I know you've mentioned it before, but speaking as a fellow pedant, you need to be more... MORE
yes. Different crank and rods (inferior metal, but larger big-ends). Front mounting plate is different (and a mod to the oil pan too I believe) Oil filter is spin-on on the side of the block pointing upwards somewhat. low comp pistons I think. Single row timing chain maybe (OK, I am struggling to recall after the 1st three items) The A+ out of the Ital has a ribbed block, so that is good... Mike "Mike Gigante" 26375... MORE
Hi guys Was just checking something in the 'bible' and I noticed something strange. I think Terry Horler's made a mistake somewhere. On page 116 under Sprite MKIV and Midget MKIII Production Changes it says - GAN5-77803 (October 1969) GAN5-89501 (October 1969) Big gap in chassis numbers there . . . GAN5-89515 (Jul 970) GAN5-96273 (Dec 1970) Is he saying that 14 cars were built between October 1969 and July 1970? My car was chassis number 86697 and reckoned to have been built between May and June 1970. Me thinks Terry Horlers got his chassis numbers and dates way... MORE
Hi, Gerard... Good to hear from you....glad you are doing OK and hopefully, things will get better with seniority as you stay longer and move up the ladder. Meanwhile you're earning a (hard earned) buck until maybe an opportunity presents itself in your real field. But yes, as least you've got an income in the meantime and as far as jobs go, it's a seller's market for sure so I too, would consider myself fortunate in your position. Hummer did it right but......... ...a rollover stability system is much needed on SUV's from the two accidents I've seen in... MORE
I understand what you mean - I hadn't thought to check the amount of thread in the top of the dashpot. I might give this a go with the 1" SUs I've got sitting in the garage - the front one of those rattles the bonnet. There's no problem with the amount of free space for the piston when it's fully raised, is there? Regards David "David Jacobs" 26333... MORE
Hi All. I haven't had much time to write, but I wanted to share a driving experience I had last week. As most of you know I recently started a job selling new Volvo, Audi, Mazda and Audi cars. I've been out for some neighborhood romps in the Audi TT and the Mazda RX8, both of which are a gas to drive, but I had the rare opportunity to get a test track training from Volvo last week. They rented out a large section of tarmac at Alameda Naval Air Station and set up two coned off test tracks.... MORE
According to Horler's bible, Jaeger instruments were fitted to Mk 1 Midgets only, the equivalent Sprite Mk 2 having equivalent Smiths gauges, see Page 58. As far as I can recall Jaeger Gauges were badge engineered Smiths Gauges and were in fact made by Smiths in Cheltenham...like.... flame suit donned.... the Midget was a badge engineered Sprite! Mk 2 and later Midgets had Smiths instruments, page 78. Geri Sprite Mk IV "G & J Swann-Price" 26329... MORE
"...all you can do is steer them in the right direction...." LOL......priceless, Nigel!! I recall when I could not get the toe to stay put on my '74 Midget when I first acquired it. After replacing tie rod ends, bearings, etc., I finally just broke down and replaced the whole suspension with new parts. And prior to this, it WAS "stiff" and while it became less stiff with much grease, it then became loose due to worn clearances, even as it became less stiff as we continued to grease it often. So diplomacy aside, it can be just as... MORE
