MAIN
Engine (external)
Previous Page | Next Page
850 Fiat Spyder!!!! Almost bought one of these sweet, little LIC's back when I was young and joyfully insane! :) What a sweet LIC....an absolute joy to drive in terms of "handling". About as fast (maybe!:) as a 948 Sprite but just as much of a ball to drive!! These neat little machines sounded utterly fantastic with an Abarth exhaust. (Today, a Cherry Bomb glasspack, of course!:) Thing is, the steel (frame) in Fiats of this era was of horrible quality. Here in the states, Fiat was all but banned from doing business due to this major fault in... MORE
G'day Martyn "Stumbling" on initial acceleration is also a syptom of running lean as you crack open the throttle. Once you get to cruising, the combination of damper springs, metering needes and adjustment might give you the right mixture, but the carby piston could be lifting too quickly as you try to accelerate. Try dumping the oil in the dashpots and putting in 20W50 engine oil. avagoodday Colin "Colin@SpriteParts" 31444... MORE
"It pays to check everything (new or not)" Amen to this, Alan. Absolutely. The engine is the heart of the car, Alan. Of course, it's always a matter of one's "priorities" when it comes to spending one's hard-earned cash, though an oil cooler set-up is simply not that expensive when you consider the cost of building (or rebuilding?:) the motor. You might say a "new" (rather than used item) is, in this case, cheap insurance in the foregoing respect, "different strokes for different folks", notwithstanding. Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 31467... MORE
Ed, I actually agree with you , The proper way is to replace everything on the car with new items. That way you have no problems. !!!!!! On the other hand if money is tight ........ I think cleaning out , properly , is O.K. It depends what you need to spend money on. O.T.H. I didn't replace my secondhand cylinder block and sump , just gave them a good cleaning. Yet I have, in the past, heard of new parts being delivered with swarf or casting dentrite in them. I found what looked like a cast icicle in... MORE
I've got braided hoses but run an "off-engine" oil filter set-up ('cause I like to use the largest filter I can) and I like the protection the braid offers the rubber from any chaf, etc. Yet, James makes excellent and valid points for using rubber. Also, in the event you later decided to install an "oilstat", it's a much easier job with the rubber hoses. Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 31454... MORE
Well... Usually, a used oil cooler is not a good idea. Why, you may ask? Problem is you don't know the oil cooler's history...and those channels within are pretty small. If the engine the cooler came from was "making metal"....well....you get the point. Sure...you COULD clean the hell out of it, but...is it really "cleaned out" in the aforementioned case? Is it worth saving a couple of bucks to take the chance?? Your motor...your money... your decision!! :):) Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 31453... MORE
Roger wrote "Perhaps I am a fussy old git, but if you look after your engine by looking after the oil, it will look after you." I agree implicitly And Ed says never do it , fit a new one . (Ed, JustBrits sells oil coolers BTW :^) I agree to a certain extent, however the first time you use your oil cooler it will be second-hand. You will have the satisfaction that any crud that passes through it will be yours though.!!!! I believe if you thoroughly wash out the oil cooler with petrol or degreaser (paraffin /... MORE
Well after posting the message I cooled off and went back out and looked things over. I know that if the pistons open too quickly the engine will get a lot of fuel and not that much air. So I fiddle with the mixture nut and watched the piston when the throttle was opened. The pistons rose but the headers started to glow red! Argghh, I thought I'd timed the cam in better than that. Has anyone had a vernier cam gear slip on them? I don't remember a torque value on the securing screws, it's the Kent gear.... MORE
Hi Pete, I've seen CD players mounted in the console on Spridgets. Even with the 5 speed conversion. It was just a case of heating, bending of the shifter stick. Best, Paul A "Paul Asgeirsson" 31423... MORE
I have a '76 midget with the weber conversion (New carb). Car runs fine under normal use (35,000 miles), but sometimes when idling at lights, the engine will "choke up", and start to falter. Revving the engine will clear it (accompanied by black smoke until cleared). This also can happen doing short stop-start errands in town. I'll get back to the car and it will require full throttle cranking, will misfire and eventually clear once I've given it some revs (accompanied again by the black smoke). Plugs don't show signs of a rich mixture (healthy tan colour) and I... MORE
Many would proabably disagree, but I would never use a second hand oil cooler unless I knew its history. If you do there is a lot of cleaning to do internally to make sure that you are not importing some rubish that will ruin your nice engine. Trouble is, you would not know untill things went wrong! Perhaps I am a fussy old git, but if you look after your engine by looking after the oil, it will look after you. R. "Roger Stinson" 31405... MORE
My son and I have finally finished the Sprite. Now we're work on some final tuning. The engine is a 1098 with a VP3 cam and 1.5/1 rockers, carbs have the rich needles and stiffer springs at Cap'n Bobs suggestion which I agree with. I can get it to idle at 1000 or so but when pulling away it sputters and stumbles. It will rev freely in neutral. Does anyone have an idea what the problem is? Ignition parts are new. Thanks. Martyn "Martyn Eastwood" 31400... MORE
Terry I think it is a 3 into one tubular manifold you are thinking of, this is the usual tuning mod on a Spridget exhaust, and yes I have a spare one on my project car. The project is a 1098 however I believe the Manifolds are identical to the 1275. I am in Peterborough Cambridgeshire and would be happy to do a straight swap (assuming your cast manifold is in reasonable condition) since I am going for originality on the rebuild. Contact me off list but put Midget in the subject in upper case so I can spot... MORE
Hi Everyone My midget has been sitting for two years what is the best way to start it for the first time so i dont do any damage to the motor Thanks ED "nastyboy089" 31380... MORE
Ed.. 2 years isn't that long for the engine/ drivetrain though this will most likely not be so for the hydraulics. Have a portable FIREX standing by. Assuming the fuel pump is doing it's thing, add as much fresh gasoline as you can. Pull the plugs and using a healthy battery, turn over the motor until the oil pressure comes up. Do this in 5 second spurts over a period of time so as not to abuse the starter motor. Reinstall the plugs and fire it up, running initially gently. Good luck! :) Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 31381... MORE
Hi all As discussed in the previous thread my 1500 is totally standard bar the K&N filter, which was fitted and set up by the MGOC on their rolling road. However it has always been a bit hesitant, especially pulling away from cold. I also noticed it yesterday when it was fully warmed up and I was driving along at about 40.Ipressed the pedal down to accelerate and there was a definate hesitation, almost like turbo lag. Naturally I checked under the bonnet to see if some wag had fitted a turbo, but alas not! When I bought the... MORE
James... You may have the airflow balanced but you haven't got the mixture balanced. The twin carb. set-ups are "interdependant". You can actually go full lean on adjusment on one, and very rich on the other and the engine will run on all four cylinders but the plugs will "show"....... exactly as your engine does! Go back to "square one" and use the Colortune (excellent tuning tool) CORRECTLY. Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 31378... MORE
Because James mentioned the K & N deep rammed filters. I mentioned it to my insurace co as in the event of a major claim, I assume they would consider it an engine mod. The "Sprite" bit was just bragging :) "Gary Lazarus" 31372... MORE
I insure my frogeye through Footman James when I told them about my new 5 speed (Datsun/Rivergate)and anti roll bar they said it didn't affect the premium at all. Gary L 1958 Frogeye 1275cc 5 speed (and double pancake K&N airfilter with "Sprite" written on it) "Gary Lazarus" 31368... MORE
if you fit a *four* branch exhaust, that would be a seriously modified 1275 motor! ;-) Regards David "David Jacobs" 31366... MORE
I insure my midget through the MGOC. If I fit a 4 branch exhaust and K&N airfilter does it put up the premium? How much have I got to give for one of these for a 1275 cc 1972 Midget. Anyone got one going in the South East, if so I might just take a run out for it? Thanks Terry "terry.isherwood" 31363... MORE
Hi Terry So what you are talking about fitting is basically a stage 1 tuning kit. My Mini has a stage 1 kit fitted, but it really hasn't made much difference to the insurance premium. About =A310 more per annum or something silly like that. If you do the conversion make sure that you get the right carb needles as well, otherwise it will run horribly rich. Ideally these things need to be set up on a rolling road.............. There are 2 types of K&N filters for the 1275 cars, either 2 separate pancake filters or the deep combined... MORE
If your not in the US and you are talking about the 2TG and 3TG then your looking for a T-50 transmission from a 71-77 Celica. If your in the US then the only problem is that the US 71-77 Celica didn't come with the 2TG. The 74-83 Corolla came with that engine and tranny. Here's some links to help you out http://www.team.net/www/mg/tech/midget/engswapa.html http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Pit/9975/vehicles/Celica_A2.html http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Pit/9975/dataBySubject/Gearboxes.html http://www.toysport.com/ Alan Gram "Alan Gram" 31620... MORE
Yeah. It probably will handle good that way...:) I live in an area that has steep drive ways and I like my cars "looowww". The two things never mix so that's why Im going air ride. I haven't ran my Midget yet with the air ride suspension. Iv only had the car for about 8 months and 4 of those months its been in my shop being "tricked out". I do have air ride in the front of my 85 supercharged Toyota MR2 and Tokico 10 way adjustable shocks on all 4 corners and the car rides surprisingly very... MORE
James, I used to own a series of different Austin 7s - but a good while ago. One in particular was a pretty rare model which I wish I still had! No, not an M-type Midget but quite special, none the less! Guy "Guy Weller" 31314... MORE
