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Hello.. I have two sprigets.. The first car is a 1974 1500 (yes they do exist as I had to keep telling anyone I orderd parts for it from!)Which I bought in 1988, dorve for 6 months and then stripped, scince then I have replaced the inner and outer sills, repaired the floor and the front chassis sections and inner fornt arches.. restoration has stalled there, and the last time I actulally worked on it was 1991 IIRC! If my research is correct it is the 126th 1500 midget built and it is /was teal blue registerd JMB742N The... MORE
Kevin No need to apologise, it's the old UK/American terminology thing again. Well, from the sounds of it, it's a pretty standard 'body rotten' Spridget! =3D=0D I think you'll also find that the rear spring hangers will need doing as well. You'll need to give this some serious thought, and Robert gave some good advice (if you remove the bit about pop rivetting the floors in!) First off you do need to consider whether you really want to start getting =3D=0D into body repairs yourself. Whilst as I said previously, there really isn't anyt =3D=0D hing bodywork wise on... MORE
Kevin First off welcome to Spridget ownership! Unfortunately, you've fallen into the trap many first time buyers of these cars fall into, namely that of purchasing a mechanically sound car that leaves a lot to be desired bodily and structurally. Don't feel bad, many of us have walked this path before you! You have, however, had the sense to limit your investment which is prudent. I'm afraid I am not familiar with the terms 'rocker panels' and 'body tub' or at least I cannot easily translate these terms into actual parts of the car. So until I understand what... MORE
Hi guys: I am still in the process of repairing my 1979 midget 1500.got my new carpet kit in and since I do not have any carpet in my car, could someone recommend a site for good, clear pictures of the interior of a later midget? I want to make sure I get the carpet pieces in correctly. If you did carpet kits, what did you use for adhesive? Did you also use snaps or just the adhesive? Parts car: I just bought a parts car its an early 70's or possibly late 60's (I have no title and... MORE
G'day Jeremy When I said "fine" emery or wet+dry, I meant something like 1200 grade. The stuff you use to rub down a newly painted car before the final polish. There is no way it will leave and residue embedded in the surface. Same with wire wool. The wire works like hundreds of little scrapers. Trust me. We need to do it in around 25% of engine rebuilds, as otherwise the camshaft is too tight. A bearing scraper in experienced hands is a better tool. But if you are not careful you can leave gouges in the bearing. avagoodday... MORE
First - will someone who has experience resolving off-idle stumble with a Weber DGV on a 1275 please post me off-list. General parameters: 1275, std bore, stock cam, head milled, Crane optical ignition, header. Use an aftermarket electric fuel pump with a pressure regulator set to 3.5 pounds. Engine has never idled this well in the 33 years I've owned it (even as low as 700rpm), idle set at 900rpm, performance above 2000 rpm is excellent. It just stumbles in the 1500 - 1700 rpm range when you hit the gas. Makes double- clutching a bit dicey. Have done... MORE
In between all the I wish I had not posted that posts I was able to re-install the steering column cowl on the 73 Purple Midget (Black Tulip) Then worked up my resolve to break out the MIG welder and tack one of the fenders back on the Bugeye bonnet. Some of the tack welds look fairy close to the real things. Took the 73 out for a run down the block and back for the first time. Bit of a noise maker in low but ok in the rest of the gears. The engine is very strong, all... MORE
The other day i installed a Lucas sport coil and the Luminition super blue silicon leads to go with it in my 948 frog. However i noticed that this coil gets very hot, too hot to touch for very long. Is this normal and will it help to widen the plug gap a little as adviced by Luminition. Anybody experiance with this! Cheers jens Jens P. Maudal jens.maudal@... Greetings from "BottomsUp Brewery" Drammen - Norway Work: +47 32833566, mobile: +47 90540409 ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Visit my humble RIMS and homebrew page: http://home.c2i.net/bottomsup/index.htm Norbrygg bryggeside: http://www.norbrygg.com ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, "jens maudal" 24122... MORE
No Bob, I wouldn't say fitting the liners made the block stiffer. But most blocks vary around 6 to 8 grade cast iron, and the liners are 22 grade - finer grains, more consistent, stronger material. So the rings bed in better, you get a better seal (against the finer grain of the liner) and the engine lasts longer as the bore doesn't wear as much. avagoodday Colin "Colin@SpriteParts" 24115... MORE
I keep looking at the .020 over 1275 block that has the spun cam bearings. Is there any way to still use the block, oversized bearings, or any other options? Brad Brad Fornal 24124... MORE
G'day Brad The valve stem diameters are the same. You can squeeze 1275cc valves into a 1098cc head (12G295) if you want to, but you will need to open the combustion chamber up quite a bit to allow gas flow around the valve, or you are defeating the purpose. Really no great advantage. 1275cc head will fit on 1098cc block, but if you have a high lift cam, and/or 1.5:1 rockers, the exhaust valves will hit the top of the block face. You will need to machine a crescent out of the block, up to .100" deep (I just... MORE
Indeed, all I was saying was that, all other things being equal, the heavier the engine the more the tendency to understeer. "Jeremy Cogman" 24091... MORE
Jeremy There are many reasons for understeer and oversteer and as many ways of fixing them. The extra weight of the engine at the front is not the sole contributing factor to oversteer, but when you take into consideration all the other factors, oversteer is the result. Your example may well be correct in some instances - but not in this one. Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 24089... MORE
Because the larger weight in the front of the car want's to carry on going in the direction it is going. In 'physics' terms the change of direction requires that you accelerate the engine to it's new velocity, more force is required to accelerate a heavier engine. "Jeremy Cogman" 24085... MORE
Sure, Neil... You came upon the solution as you "worked" the problem and ended up killing two cats with a single rock while you were at it!! The thing is, is that we learn by "doing" and the "doing" can be done safely as we experiment to get what we want from the application. And of course, as you go about the process, you normally learn more in general about the whole car so it's all educational. You can't be afraid to safely experiment or you can't learn. Risky? Lindberg flying the Atlantic alone (and remaining awake) in a... MORE
Colin... The cylinder liners then, actually make the engine "stronger", in terms of less bore flex, thus making for better ring "control" and therefore more horse- power, all else remaining equal? Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 24087... MORE
I need the top bar that secures the intake and exhaust mechnisim together. Thank You. I will post a picture of my engine later. "ooohaynow1" 24081... MORE
David, Guy is correct about the spacers (except it would read better if you fit the spacers before tightening the rack mounting bolts!) What you don't mention is whether you replaced the levers (the arms that connect the trackrod end to the stub axle) with the older type as well as the rack. They should match together with the equivalent rack. This might have altered your steering geometry - the Ackerman angles/toe-in on turns but I don't know if this would affect the self-centring effect. Regards David "David Jacobs" 24075... MORE
Valve stem diameters are the same for 1098 and 1275 (and 948) engines. So are the rear plate gaskets. If by front gasket, you mean timing chain cover gasket, that's the same too. As to the moving liner, the only way to salvage that block would be to find (or have made) a liner with a sufficiently larger OD than the one in it now. That may not be possible or practicable, so that block may be scrap. I'd rather have a bored block than a sleeved one anyway. "Jeffrey Holmes" 24077... MORE
Well, Nigel... Your searching for something here but it's not about the 1500 or a correct way to modify or sort the handling on a car. With respect to the 1500, It's mostly all add-on stuff to the original type so the mfgs. could extend the life of the type while meeting later day safety standards. As such, all "earlier" prior specs and parts are available so it's not as though one is dealing with a new type. So, none of this is really rocket science as I am sure you know, though some bending here and there may... MORE
Cap'n They don't weigh 100lbs each. I'm afraid that was me muddying the waters a little, and being a little lazy. What I should have said in my post and made it clearer, was that the addition of the energy absorbing bumpers AND the bodywork modifications, as I detailed in a previous post added about 200lbs to the weight of the car. I would assume that the bumpers contribute significantly to this weight, but the additional 200 lbs is not soley the bumpers. Also, the 1500cc engine is heavier than the previous 1275cc engine, so that means the front... MORE
Cap'n Bob, Appreciate the insight. The last 1275 I drove was a 73 back in 1981. Didn't know jack about such cars so comparison's are impossible. I was planning to lower the rear of the car with a block arrangement that raises the rear axle where it attaches to the spring. Since fitting the new wheels and tires I'm not so sure about this. I had to do some sugery on the rear to eliminate the "tuck-in" flange for clearance. The front wheels were even worse. Had to raise the wheel cutout an inch. Will probably flair them. Do... MORE
Brad... Those sleeves are machined to a press fit, just like press fit piston wrist pins. So I don't think they should be movin' before the pistons do, as in your case, but I'll let Gerard, Frank and the more experienced and "current" engine guys speak for me..they know a lot more about it "hands-on-wise" than I do. The only disadvantage of a "sleeved" block as far as I know is in the area of heat transfer, wherein the sleeved application is at a disadvantage in this respect. The CC blocks are of the stronger variety (as you already... MORE
Well, Rob... Vicky B. offers a rear spring lowering kit at a very reasonable price so you wouldn't be out much if this approach didn't work. I think the Ford Sierra 5 speed is what Guy Weller has used or is currently using....and.... .....refering to fellow spritester Daniel's handy, dandy informative book, we find (Pg. 63) that "Frontline Spridget, Ltd. has a sseparate kit, with special adapter plate that allows conversion to the Ford" Sierra 5 speed gearbox. On Pg. 144 Daniel further kindly provides: http://www.mgcars.org.uk/frontine Also, if the lowering blocks don't work you might try Motobuild, Ltd. for... MORE
We put the pan back onto the 1275, but cannot go further until I have the proper gaskets. I will not make them out of silicone!! So, in the interim, we took the 1098 apart. The problem we found, in the removing the frozen pistons, is that there are sleeves on the back two cylinders. One of the sleeves was moving when I was trying to pound the piston out. What holds the sleeve still? I want to build a motor for the Frogeye, to get it on the road, until the 1275 is built. I have two guys... MORE
