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Jim, Wetting agents are used to relaxes the surface tension of the fluid, thus helping the cooling abilities.Redline oils make something called water wetter it works and its easy to come by, another trick is to put a TEASPOON of dish soap in with the coolant it does the same thing and it much cheaper. Try it! Chris "Chris Eastwood" 37101... MORE
The Midget & Sprite club (MASC) Cambridgeshire and London groups are staging a get together of all Sprites and Midgets on the 22nd May at the Stondon transport museum which is about 30 miles north of London (a couple of miles west of the A1). We plan to meet at the museum at 10 am (look for the MASC tent, banner and lots of Sprites and Midgets) and anyone with a Sprite or Midget is welcome to join us. Stondon transport museum is an interesting place in it's own right (take a look at their web site, also useful... MORE
Rob : My headers (puttin in a V8) are custom made, actually a set of Chevy small block pick-up headers cut up with new Buick flanges, custom collectors with mandrel bent tubes. They are actually turning out better than I expected. My next question is the front valance structure, I basically need to remove everything but the lower front exterior valance sheet metal, does anyone have photos of any Midgets that this has been done to? I'll need to build a new tube structure to hold the new radiator, etc. I don't really want to use hood pins, so... MORE
I thought you might like to see these stats about dragsters. It is surprising and amazing. Bob Dragsters..... Cool info about dragsters.......... * One Top Fuel dragster 500 cubic inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower than the first 4 rows of race cars at the Daytona 500. * Under full throttle, a dragster engine consumes 1=BD gallons of nitromethane per second. * A stock Dodge Hemi V8 engine cannot produce enough power to even drive the dragster supercharger. * With 3000 CFM of air being rammed in by the supercharger on overdrive, the fuel mixture is compressed into a... MORE
Robert, You are going to be sorry you asked. For other listers, log off if this is too boring and it has NO LBC. Back in '72 or so, I was taking a camping trip around the United States with my then wife and two kids, age 9 & 10. We were driving my white Chevy California hippie van with side pipes and big tires in the rear. My wife was a fashion model and I had long hair and a beard. We stopped in Sheffield Texas for gas and I tried to buy some beer. The old crone... MORE
For the imperial yard to metre conversion I always use the phrase, 'all the 3's - three foot three and a third' When said with an Irish accent it sounds wonderful(!) One version of why US fluid sizes are reputedly smaller have a historical connection in that barrels of spirits exported to the New Colonies from the Homeland were subject to a high rate of evaporation (theft by the sailors/carriers) and what on paper was a gallon of whisky leaving the UK ended up as a short measure when it arrived at the Colonies..... Thus the short measure was... MORE
The Midget & Sprite club (MASC) Cambridgeshire and London groups are staging a get together of all Sprites and Midgets on the 22nd May at the Stondon transport museum which is about 30 miles north of London (a couple of miles west of the A1). We plan to meet at the museum at 10 am (look for the MASC tent, banner and lots of Sprites and Midgets) and anyone with a Sprite or Midget is welcome to join us. Stondon transport museum is an interesting place in it's own right (take a look at their web site, also useful... MORE
"RUN AWAY..RUN AWAY.RUN AWAY..!!!!!! Just a quote from the Holy Grail. Seriously, I suggest you try and get a $1000 for what you have and look for what you like for $7000. You can get a quite nice Bugeye or anything else for that. Then you can be driving for the summer instead of banging on tin. IMHO Cheers, Bob in San Diego "Robert D. Gardner" 36954... MORE
Hello, Well it's a sad day I have to sell my Sprite. Life and school don't seem to agree with my little English car. Here is a list of all the goodies that it has: Some details are: Engine 1089cc bored .040 over Intake valve is 1 5/16"(Rimflow) Exhaust valve is1 1/16 (Rimflow) The head has been ported and has a 10:1 compression ratio. The cam specs are duration @ .020 (In./Ex.) 268-272. Rockers ratio is 1.5:1 Duplex adjustable cam gear Also has Isky duel value springs. Pistons are flattop Hepolites Heavy-duty radiator/with 10" fan Twin HS2s with red... MORE
You've gotta love this one.A 1973 Midget that has been in storage for 20 years. One bid already for $500. The storage guys are now selling it, and some of their priceless gems include: 1) It runs but obviously will need a tune up. As it that's all it will need! 2) We did not drive the car and there is no fluid in the hydraulic clutch, but we were told the transmission, and brakes are OK. So please explain how you verified these bits were OK. 3) The only rust is where I am pointing in the photos,... MORE
I am mid way though replacing the head gasket on my '76 Midget. I am going to replace all the gaskets you get with the kit but I was wondering if there is anything else worth doing while I have the chance? I have already flushed out the radiator. My engine is a little sooty around the valves faces but nothing too bad. THe pistons bore are all nice and smooth. Also is there a special techinque for getting the choke wire off the carburettor? The nuts are too samll for any of my spanners. Cheers Gav. "gav_newman" 36921... MORE
Are you sure you are loosing pressure from the tube? Sometimes air can get trapped between the tube and the tire when mounted and slowly this "bubble" of air will leak out around the outside of the valve stem. How do you know it is leaking? Do you hear it? If you rub soap and water around the stem, do you get bubbles? Watch it and see if the air stops leaking at some point then add air to the tube and top it up and see if it still leaks. Bob in San Diego "Robert D. Gardner" 36913... MORE
I recently purchased a basket case MG but I got a great deal!! So anyways.. 73 1275 Midget starts, runs, timing is good, spark is good etc... Car drives gets up to speed. Gets hot after about 2-3 miles runs like garbage. So I checked the thermostat looked like crap so I replaced it. I am now trying to figure out which way does the water flow on this motor? Does the radiator supply from the bottom or the top? Trying to figure out if they had the thermostat in backwards really..or if the water pump is hosed. Jeremy... MORE
Hi Jeremy, Water flows from the block/thermostat housing to radiator top then cooler water returns to the water pump from the bottom of radiator. Thermostat should have the heat sensor/bellows toward the block. There may be a passel of other things that are wrong too. Such as radiator blocked with debris, return hose collapsing, heat gauge off calibration, vapor lock, fuel hoses partially blocked, the list goes on!! Don't run the car without a thermostat, either. May develop dangerous hot spots in the engine. Paul A "Paul Asgeirsson" 36888... MORE
The valve controls the water flow through the heater core. Without the core the valve should be closed or some of the water will by-pass the radiator. With the heater core in place, the core will act like the radiator, cooling the water passing through it. Cooling problems can be caused by a number of things - "junk" in the radiator, bad thermostat, and, while not too common, the water pump impeller corrosion, amoung other isues. "Jim" 36873... MORE
I have a 73 Midget that is over heating.. Just bought the car. 1275 car, runs pretty well, timing is good, carbs are good but still getting hot. Replaced the thermostat still no luck. I noticed they removed the heater core and kinda looped it thru the water control valve. I don't seem to be getting any flow in/out of the radiator. J Jeremy Loukinas 36871... MORE
Jim, Common theory is that you should turn on the valve and either run the water through the heater core, or use a short by pass hose and loop the water back into the engine. That will insure better cooling for the number 4 cylinder which I hear can be a problem. Bob in San Diego "Robert D. Gardner" 36879... MORE
I have a 1500 US Spec and had that same occurance a long time ago. I thought I had a vapor lock so I did the old shade tree trick. I walked over to the closest stop-n-rob (mini market which sells petrol for you guys on the other side of the pond) and got my self a bag of ice. I iced down the carbs and the ignition module. i noticed that was a bit hot as well. 15 minutes of that, it was ready to go. Well, 2 years later after driving her on a 90 mile round... MORE
My car recently broken down and I was hoping somebody might be able to give some idea of the likely fault and how to fix it. After being run fairly hard for about 30 mins then pulling up to traffic lights my '76 1500cc Midget had very little power when I tried to pull away from lights. Pressing the accelerator made neighter the speed increase or the Revs. Instead it just made the engine sound rougher. I pulled over straight away and found out that the lower two pistons ( furthest from the driver) were doing nothing. (I pulled... MORE
I don't know what the deal is with motors and me. I think the only things I have that have good motors anymore are the two new cars I got in December. They are good, because I purchased them brand new. I don't tear things up; I just tend to buy other peoples worn and abused stuff, and more than likely they tell me things are fantastic, when in fact they aren't. Skorpion Motorcycle Motor dropped a valve, chewed the piston up, etc. etc. etc. - recently sold to a racer - was caused when the PO jacked with... MORE
Thanks, Matt. No I don't have any video. I've been meaning to do something like mount a camera to the roll bar looking over my shoulder and take some of a pass through the gears, but haven't gotten around to it. It turns out that a large share of the noise at high RPM and throttle is intake noise into the 4 bbl. It's pretty noticeable with the top down. If I get some shot this summer I will post it. A launch in 2nd gear, breaking loose and then releasing the line lock would look pretty funny too.... MORE
Remember the Auto Jumble on Sunday, April 24th in Portland Oregon. Sponsored by the Club T MG Held in the Montgomery Park parking structure at NW 27th & NW Vaughn. Lots of only British parts for all marques, along with Club information. Held rain or shine, Goodies and hot or cold drinks for sale at the Club T booth Setup time: 7:00 am to 9:00 am, sales from 9:00 until it's over. Lots of great bargains, drive on over and have some fun getting some goodies for your cars. Additional info at: Http://home.earthlink.net/~clubtmg Driving directions - From I-5 (North... MORE
Rick, On my Sprite, I run 2" pipes from my header collectors back to oval Flowmaster mufflers. They are pulled up hard against the floorboards with a quadruple layer of fiberglass/foli insulation. My floorboards do not get hot. The fuel and brake lines and the battery cable nearby are heavily insulated and I've had no problem with those either. Oh, and the exhaust sounds tolerably quiet at low loads and idle, but nasty when on it. My ground clearance is about 3" at the low spots on the collectors and mufflers. I have 24 ga. stainless steel skid skins... MORE
Hi I have noticed for quite awhile the faint smell of coolant while the engine is running. No dripping or smoke from the block. More like that "pissing" thing they do. In the process of changing the carbs and now have a clear view of the teltale rust trail coming from the front side of the head (manifold side). should I?? Crack all the head bolts a 1/2 turn then retourque everthing Just retorque now,possibly finding a loose head bolt in that area. I will probably end up having to do the new gasket but thought it may be... MORE
Unless you have an aversion to removing the water pump, I'd just go ahead and replace the head gasket at this point, based on my experience with "quick fixes" in this area. The hard part is already done - removing the carbs & manifold. An oil change is always healthy. However, if you do want to try the re-torquing bit, from what i have read/heard, you should do one bolt at a time - loosen and retorque - in a specific order (as listed in Haynes & Bentley manuals). Cracking all the bolts at once will allow the oil... MORE
