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Hi Spence, It is the worst part. The engine is sweet and the interior has been well looked after. The front wings are new ones. It came with a van load of spares inc 6 wire wheels hub and 3.91 diff. New door and bonnet. I paid =A3300 for the lot so i am very happy with it. I am keeping the rostyles on it and selling the wire wheels and bits that go with it. I think that everything is there for a complete wire wheel convertion. My first job is to get it up on ramps and... MORE
I just found a 58 Bug-eye project in Concord (SF East Bay-area) CA. that I thought I'd pass along. I haven't seen the car and I'm real tempted to but if I do go there'd be a big chance that I'd also bring it home=85 so I'm not going. Besides, my wife would kill me if I brought another project home. Fell free to contact Charlie via email at WELLSC@... Good luck to whoever gets this car. I have no financial interest in this deal. -Drew Drew, I got the car through a neighbor about 3-4 years ago. I... MORE
It depends if you replace the whole panel or just the boot floor part - the complete original panel arches forwards and up over the axle and forms the 'dog shelf' behind the seats. The part panel ends at the edge where boot meets axle arch. Even the part one needs some care, because the rear springs mount to this panel, so you have to make sure you get things lined up correctly before it's all welded up; however, if you leave the reinforcing pieces in place where the spring hangers mount, this should give you a reference point... MORE
My horns don't work, The car is an early 1500 midget with the horn push in the centre of the steering wheel. The slipring contact is live, but the steering column shaft is not earthed. If I use a wire to connect the slip ring connector to the shaft the horn won't work, however if I jumper it to the outer part of the column it does work. From this I deduce that the shaft is not earthed. How and where should it be earthed? Stewart Weller General Reality Failure : Reboot Universe "Ford Prefect" 35547... MORE
G'day Guy Many cars in the BMC range had a common bolt pattern for the front brake backing plates. Not too surprising when you think they could have been drawn up by the same designer or draftsman. Larger cars had (wait for it) larger brakes. Disc brakes were quite rare and, in the 1950's and early 1960's, only used on expensive up-market cars, such as Jaguar. The Austin A40 Farina had 8" drum brakes, deemed necessary to slow down it's heavier sedan body shell. The Morris Major (also badge engineered as Austin Lancer, Wolseley 1500, Riley 1500) had 1500cc... MORE
Thanks Colin. Since I don't want to re-use the brake assemblies - I am more than happy with the discs that I have! - The real issue is to try and identify if the stub axle / kingpin unit is compatable with the disc set up. I understand there were changes between the original early drum brake stub axles and the later disc brake ones. So how do I tell if these are early drum brake variety or the disc brake version? Under the crud they look the same as my existing, but the difference, if it exists, may... MORE
I now have these hybrid front drum brakes and hubs. The drums are twin leading shoe 8" drums, fitted to what appear to be standard hubs. An odd combination. I cannot see why someone would fit drums in place of discs on a later bodied car and what the 8" drums are from! Guy "Guy Weller" 33616... MORE
Could somebody please tell me the exact size, type (deep groove balls?) of the front and rear wheel hubs on a 72 Midget. TIA Alan "Alan" 33564... MORE
Yes, you have to remove the nut, then pull the hub and bearing off. On some cars you can pull them off by hand; on others they are tighter and you'll need a puller. "joe blxfstz" 33548... MORE
Hi, I'm currently in the middle of stripping the rear axle on my '76 1500 midget. The brake drums are off, as are the shoes, slave cylinder and the half-shafts are out, im trying to get the bearing/hub section off so that I can get the backing plate from the brakes off the axle to clean it up and replace the bolts. What is the best way of doing this? Do I just need a 1" 7/8 spanner and just undo it or is there an easier way that I just haven't worked out yet? Thanks in advance Damien... MORE
Hello Spridget Gurus How do I get gear oil into the grease nipple in the steering rack of my MKIII? I have seen from previous postings that one should use an oil gun. What is this, and where can I get one? Thanks in advance... Regards Jan Erik "jmaalen" 33510... MORE
Cap;, Thats what I had in mind when looking. I may just find a 3.7 rear end and call it a day. If I want to go long distances I don't think a Midget is the ticket. Rob C-75 Midget it carb rebuild land, again. Jeez I suck as a mechanic. Webfoot Leisure.com rob@... 866-530-9801 toll free " robbiesg@... " 33494... MORE
Simple...something is broken within... and driving further with it will simply cause more damage as metal parts circulate within, doing more destruction to the various gears, etc. So, it is overhaul time or replacement time. Who does Spitfire parts/gearboxes (or 5 speed replacements) for 1500's is the question. www.tsimportedautomotive.com These people should be able to point the way. I know there's a Ford Sierra 5 speed conversion for the Spit driven Spidgets but am unsure of it's availability over here on this side of the pond. Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 33486... MORE
i was wondering what to replace my stock tranny in my 78 midget with.also in reverse my transmision makes a grinding noise and falls out of gear.what is wrong?i cant go more than a few feet. "m_raade" 33483... MORE
A Spridget bodyshell has appeared in the local scrapyard. Very little left of it but enugh to identify it as a wind-down window model. But it has Drum front brakes? It has been used for autocrossing. Would drum brakes be less liable to wet and mud when autocrossing? Perhaps they have been retro-fitted Anyway, the front kingpins and shockers seem to have been replaced recently and are probably worth getting. Are the front swivel hubs the same on drum and disk brake set-ups? Guy "Guy Weller" 33454... MORE
Correct Bob, jack up one wheel and count the revolutions. But with a 4.2:1 diff, you need to rotate the wheel 76 times to 9 revs of the tailshaft. Ed and I have Oldtimer's disease and we lose track of the count before we get to 76. It takes us less time to remove it and fit a new one! avagoodday Colin "Colin@SpriteParts" 33400... MORE
Wow Colin, that is some back axle. What's your roadspeed at 5000 rpm? Guy "Guy Weller" 33401... MORE
David, I think someone else posted the speeds for the 4.22. As for acceleration, just take the % difference of 4.22 and 3.90 and figure that close to the same percent of an increase in acceleration will happen with the other diff. Perhaps like adding 20 more horse power, but at the sacrifice of the same percentage of top end speed. (Nothing for free in this world.) Assuming you like to participate in the "StopLight Grand Prix", go for the 4.22!!!!!!!! There is a diff ratio for autocross that comes from a Morris Minor pick up truck (if my... MORE
If the dif is out, then look for two numbers stamped into the outer edge of the crown wheel, divide one by the other and you get the diff ratio.. Stewart "Ford Prefect" 33397... MORE
Guy writes..."what is your road speed at 5,000 rpm" (in top gear). 'bout the same as the original early Sprites, Guy, so obviously Colin is more an autocross rather than highway kinda guy! :) Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 33404... MORE
Paul, Thanks, you are right, I just had a brain fade for a moment. That means that it even more accurate to tell the diff between 3.7 and 3.9 Cheers, Bob "Robert D. Gardner" 33393... MORE
Robert, With one wheel on the ground and one in the air, you need to rotate the air wheel 2 (TWO) turns to get the correct ratio from the driveshaft turns. Best, Paul A "Paul Asgeirsson" 33391... MORE
David, The easy and fool proof way to tell is to make a mark on the axle and a mark on the prop shaft and turn the prop shaft until the axel makes exactly one revolution and count the number of turns of the prop shaft and bingo, you have the true number, no matter what numbers are stamped on parts. You can do it on the car if you like. Jack up one wheel, in neutral and turn it one rev and count the prop shaft revolutions... Bob "Robert D. Gardner" 33390... MORE
That's the foolproof but difficult way; the easy way is to look for the stamped markings - either the ratio itself or the part number. I think this is on the outside of the casing for the diff assembly. The crownwheel (ring gear) and pinion sets are also marked with their own part number :- ATA 7326 and BTA 550 are the 4.2 diffs from early and late cars respectively. ATA 7266 and BTA 539 are the respective CWP sets BTA 1222 is the 3.9 diff, BTA1223 is the 3.9 CWP BTA 551 is the 3.7 diff from later... MORE
Some bits are interchangeable - tail lights are the same, mirrors are similar, but Midget ones need an extra angled plinth to sit at the correct angle due to the different curvature of the door panel compared to the 'B. Headlamp bezels again are slightly different, but you can generally make B ones fit. Without knowing the spec of your car (North American? UK?) I wouldn't like to comment on the air filter interchangeability. Wiper switch will probably be a two speed for the B and only a single speed for yours but again could be made to fit.... MORE
