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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
Gavin... I know little about 1500's and nothing about European spec types however, I 'd not be driving the car with a fuel leak in the engine compartment. Not as bad as a Series A wherein the exhaust/carbs reside on the same side of the engine nor a situation wherein the higher pressures of fuel injection may be involved but....not a good idea nontheless. Pick up from your supplier an SU carb overhaul kit. This will contain the n ew gaskets/seals you no doubt will need to put a stop to the fuel leak, assuming it is from the... 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 had the same problem with my 1275 last week, the carbs had aload of rubbish in them, and one of the jets needed replacing, now its fine. Nick lordnicktheii@... 36863... MORE
Rick, When I went to install the Frontline tube shock conversion, I had to totally re-pipe the front brake lines from the MC to the calipers. (Frontline forgets to mention that small detail.) So I figured while I was at it, I would put in the LL. I do expect to run at the drags eventually and use it. It's good for laughs now - a couple of years ago at the Syracuse Nationals, Third Rail was a big crowd pleaser in an impromtu burnout contest in one of the hotel parking lots. Wheels - no, I have 14... MORE
Rick, My V6 is a GM crate motor sold for replacement of the Chevy S10 2.8L V6. It is rated at 160 hp if the stock S10 2bbl intake and cast iron exhaust manifolds were bolted back on it. With my headers and Holley/Offy intake system, I would guess mines's up toward 190 or so, but I have no dyno data. This month I am planning to install a set of Crane roller rockers, so that sould push it up over 200hp. My traction sucks. The 185s I have don't hook up. The only time they did when I... 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
Rick, I put on a glass pack for a Camaro on my 1500 (stock motor). It;s a 2 inch pipe and gives the little beast a snarly AND deep note. A little loud but not enough to do anything about. Best part was the $28 buck it cost. Though much longer it fit nicely where the stock resonator went so the system goes straight out on the Drivers side. Was also able to use the stock hanger points. Rob C-75 Midget headed to the Dr. Webfoot Leisure.com Your Local Pool Store-On the Web rob@... 866-530-9801 toll free " robbiesg@...... MORE
Rick, The clearance depends on how low your car is and how stiff it is. The closer to the pan the pipe is, the more important a heat shield would be. Especially where your feet are. In extreme cases, I have heard of doing the math and figuring out the area of a 2 inch pipe, then getting tubing of the same area, like 1 inch by 3 inches (or what ever is the same area) and that gives you an extra inch of ground clearance. Should work fine, just make up a square to round adaptor to attach... MORE
Mike, Assuming you haven't had the head off for a while I think backing the bolts off and retorqueing to spec and approved sequence is probably worth a try. Who knows, it might work! Rob C-75 Midget with asthma Webfoot Leisure.com Your Local Pool Store-On the Web rob@... 866-530-9801 toll free " robbiesg@... " 36791... 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
Much better to have the head converted to unleaded. Here in the UK I ran with an additive for a while, can't remember which brand, but later had the conversion done. The olny difference I noticed was that the engine ran a few degrees hotter, which I have ben advised is normal, as unleaded runs hotter than leaded. Hope this helps Margaret South Lincolnshire (UK) "May you be in Heaven half an hour before the Devil knows you're dead" mmbrock88@... 36784... MORE
Dear Listers, Since folks seemed to have so much fun with carb adjusting let me try and keep the ball rolling. What would be anyone's best guess on a timing setting for a 1500 engine with dual 1.25 carbs, 2 inch exhaust and the lower U.S. compression? My Haynes gives anything from 10dgs BTDC (UK spec) to 2 dgs.ATDC in stock US single carb tune. I'm just not happy with the way the motor runs in all ranges and am trying to set a baseline timing. Any input is appreciated. Rob C Webfoot Leisure.com Your Local Pool Store-On the... MORE
"It just might roll down the driveway" Geeze....BFD....like this is rocket science or something...yeh, right. It didn't roll yesterday when I set the "rollers" on my 1.5 set-up and hasn't in 42 years so I sorta doubt it, most especially since parking brakes and wheel chocks were "invented". Unless you got a clutch fan, do it my way and you won't need a chock anyway. Just leave it in neutr al and set the parking brake....OK!! If it makes you feel better, put a chock(s) under a wheel....or dead cat(s)! Now, take the damn plugs out so the engine... MORE
Did it take much to get through? I had a Honda N600 some years ago (the one that looks like a mini, and has a mototbike engine), and all it needed after 18 years was a good service and new tyres!! Margaret South Lincolnshire (UK) "May you be in Heaven half an hour before the Devil knows you're dead" mmbrock88@... 36757... MORE
"Put the car in second...." Sure...this'll work also the same...but.... ....why all the exertion when turning the engine over with the fan while lo oking directly at the valve(s) seems so much easier & accurate as well??? 'Course, if you've a "clutch" fan, you're SOL and "bumping" is indeed in the cards! :):) Cap'n Bob '60 :{) "Robert E. Shlafer" 36747... MORE
Do them .012" (on the loose side)"cold" From the front of the engine... Do 1 with 8 fully open.... Do 2 with 7 fully open.... Do 3 with 6 fully open.... Get the idea...each adds up to 9. To do this...in neutral....spark plugs removed...... you should be able to depress the fan belt and turn the engine by the fan. Cap'n Bob Basic Frog "Robert E. Shlafer" 36745... MORE
Vince....I may be mis-understanding your terms, but here goes..... Off hand, it sounds like the front carb is "weak" while the rear carb is "correct" or maybe a little rich. Don't forget, these are "interdependent" considering they're "connected" by a "balance" tube. Therefore it is possible for one carb to run the whole show....IOW, one "weak" and one maybe "overly" rich. For BOTH carbs..... the result with proper mixture should be a slight initial rise in rpm (50 or so) followed by a return to the prior i dle speed as the air valve is "held" less than 1/8"... MORE
74F here in Dallas. Drained just the radiator and replaced that volume with nothing but distilled water (thought that was the best way to go, introducing as little as typical water impurities as possible) and obtained some very notable running temp results. I'd say 20-25' less (from 190F) cruising temp and not quite 200F at most red lights. I'm satisfied. Thanks for responding. Now, if I can gain a comfort level in adjusting the carbs (dual HS2). You may be hearing from me next on that. If you know the cooling system is sound, and the engine is correctly... MORE
The rights to the K series engine have already been sold to SAIC. The venerable Rover V8 is out of production now. The production line/tooling for it was up for sale, but I don't know who bought it, if anyone. TVR have their own engines now and haven't used the Rover for quite some while. Don't Caterham also do Ford Zetec and Vauxhall engined versions? In a more mainstream vein, do the current LR Freelanders still use K series engines? I wonder where they stand. Regards David "David Jacobs" 36703... MORE
And remember the Fiat X19? Rear engine and hammered the Midget/Spitfire on the road...but could Fiat sell them? "joe blxfstz" 36693... MORE
Err how? the engine is in the back of the MG-F. On the road the two are totally unalike, in terms of technology the MG is lightyears ahead of the Mazda and hamers it in terms of ability. If you were on a bad acid trip you might mistake one for the other. Stewart "zaphod19692000" 36691... MORE
Two words. Crash Test. They have to furnish something like 20 cars to the testing bed. Aside from financial difficulties at the time (early 80s) MG found themselves increasingly unable to produce a quality roadster for the US market due to polution controls, crash test expenses, safety features and a lot of other concerns. The power output of even the B engine when harnessed to air pumps, hydrocatalysts, polution gear, crash safety problems (recall with the rubber bumpers were for!!) was really anemic. The midget - even the 1500 - was a dead loss with all that junk hung... MORE
