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I just got the renewal for my insurance on the Frogeye (also built by robsfrogs). 4 named drivers, 1275cc, unlimited mileage, agreed insurance value =A38,000. premium of =A3182.70. It's garaged in central London and I'm 42 years old. Gary L 1958 Frogeye (mostly) "Gary Lazarus" 23118... MORE

Thanks David, It really is a mess of a car, it looks like a Mk III but previous owner/ owners were very creative. It has the chrome strip down the hood/bonnet and down the sides and it also has the sill chrome strips and the Midget badges on the sill????? I think they liked chrome.... Wind-up windows and a fixed top at the back like my 1275. It has no engine, so I've been toying with the idea of doing something craz y with it. Anyone have a spare Honda S2000 engine? "Erich Maybaum" 23124... MORE

I have the same problem with my window crank. My solution was quick and painless. Wind down the window, unscrew the crank and position it in a comfortable place and re-attach. It worked for me. Rob C 75 Midget (now running) robbiesg@... 23095... MORE

You're not the only one Doug. I spent a great part of this weekend removing the clutch master cylinder from my '76 midget. Fun job isn't it!? "Alan Hearnshaw" 23076... MORE

Need some help on this. I intended to rebuild my clutch master cylinder so I looked in the Haynes 1275/1500 comic book. It says to remove the pedal box cover remove the cotter pin and pin and than remove the master cylinder nuts. How does someone remove the lower nut without taking off the entire pedal box along with also removing the brake master cylinder. Not so simple a job. Is this the only way to get at the nut. Dougp77 Michigan. "dougple" 23062... MORE

I purchased a 8 of 1975 USA mg midget and have been correcting what the previous owners did to ricky race it. I have talked to the mechanic the previous owners had work on the car about the things I noticed wrong after buying it. The left front end has too much negative camber, thanks PilotBob. The mechanics answer "the owners just replaced tires and did not drive fast" what he meant by fast must have been any thing over 40 MPH. The engine isn't original for the car. Its a 1275 instead of the 1493. The mechanic had... MORE

Wimpy.... There are 1500 owners who would very much like to be in your shoes with your 1275 driveline set-up, believe me!! When YOUR transmission goes, you can at least exchange it for the readily available, easily installable Datsun 210 conversion for about what it costs for a rebuilt British ribcase at today's prices. AND, you have the benefit of already having the higher geared 3.7 diff. as well (most likely) which came stock in the later 1500 Spridgfires. Which is a good thing considering the first 3 ratios for the 210 gearbox are slightly lower than those in... MORE

Toyperson!! I have no reason to think the Mikuni isn't a superb little carb considering they're everywhere on bikes but, the Weber kit already set up for the stock Spridget 1275 is no problem and will give you more of that fuzzy warmth you're looking for when you put your foot in it...BTDT and no set-up problems, either (as long as the engine is reasonably "healthy" to begin with!:). Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 23038... MORE

Brad, I can't comment directly on your question, but some things I know (or think). Weber side drafts aren't much fun to try to tune and keep in tune. If I were going to upgrade the carbs on an A- series, I'd go with twin 1-1/2 or a single 1-3/4 SU. Easy to tune and parts are no problem. I did once convert an Elan from twin Strombergs to a single side draft SK, which is basically a Weber copy. It ran like stink, but I ended up buying many dollars worth of jets, air bleeds, emulsion tubes, ect,... MORE

On the Brit A series engine, the most common aftermarket carb is the Weber. I have a friend I am going to visit tomorrow that has a Mikuni sidedraft that he is willing to sell me. I have no idea of condition, age or model, but ballpark figure, what would be a fair price to offer for the carb, should it not be visibly abused. My other questions are, are these worth fitting to the 1275 cc engine, too much, or too little. What is the parts availability on these carbs? I have a Dellorto on a rotary project... MORE

G'day all If you want production info about your car (build date, colour, engine number, even sometimes key number, etc) then you probably need to get a Certificate from the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust. But it will cost you. Click here for details. http://www.healey.org/production.shtml avagoodday Colin "Colin@SpriteParts" 23015... MORE

Although I have owned my 66 since new, I have been told several times that it has the wrong seats in it. The Mk2 originally came fitted with the bucket type seats, but my car, one of the last hundred or so, had the same seats as the early full length chrome bumpered Mk3 with the 1275 engine - that is the seat with the flatter back. I used a tight seatbelt to stop me sliding about in corners. The vertical profile of this later seat is better for me though, the earlier seats used to give me back-ache.... MORE

There hasn't been any mention about Larry Macy's wedding on Sunday! I was there and a good time was had by all. Larry arrived in the passenger's seat of his '79 Midget, in top hat and tails. His driver was best man, Reg Kennedy. Of course, Larry caught his tail (coat tail) in the car door, so he sported a nice greasy spot all day. Larry and Theresa were married in their back yard. The rain held off all morning and until after the wedding, but the mud was amazing. They had a nice big tent and a wonderful... MORE

I don't know how others feel, but to me it comes down to building your own personal confidence in the car. Some will drive a car for years and still go out expecting something to go wrong, whilst others assume there is nothing wrong until the engine has actually blown up on them! I find with any car purchase, new or old, I need to drive for a few miles until it begins to give me confidence that it is ok! I guess I would arrange to collect the car and maybe spend a day with it, checking it... MORE

midgetSpriter's, I've been trawling the lists for an answer to what seems to be an eternal struggle of getting my Standard Block 1275cc Midget (1970) to run in a reasonable fashion. I've read with interest a number of suggestions and am even more confused as to what the right thing to do in regard to getting this car to run with todays fuels. I've tried the full complement of fuels and am currently running with Premium Unleaded. The engine has been recently rebuilt with the addition of hardened valve seats so I guess I should at least have some... MORE

Guy.... You people are very strange, "over there"...likeable, yes....but strange, nontheless!! And politically very conservative as well... always bearing to the right, no matter what...very strange! :) Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 22927... MORE

I checked and have found the relevant mounting points. The wheel well attachment consisted of two studs with chrome dome nuts. Can anyone suggest a US source for the proper 3-point belts? I don't believe that they would have been retractable. Thanks, Herman "hermanfarrer" 22891... MORE

Ginger You've obviously never taken an A series engine out without a hoist then *smile* Now thats frustrating! Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 22883... MORE

Hi, The bulb for the flasher unit, according to my Brown & Gammons catalogue covering Midget 1275 & 1500 and Sprite Mk 4 is part no. 57H382, but I'm sure that any bulb of the right rating with the same fixing method would suffice. As for the green cover on the dash, I can't find it in any of the catalogues or manuals I have. Perhaps you could use a piece of green perspex and glue it in place? Not original I know, but needs must!! Margaret South Lincolnshire UK mmbrock88@... 22873... MORE

Good Morning Spridget Land, The right turn signal lamp on my 74's dashboard is burn out and the lens with the little arrow symbol is missing. Darn if I can find a replacement lamp or the little lens cover in any of my catalogues. It would seem like a minor thing but not having a flashing indicator when I am making a right turn is an annoyance and an obsession. Anyone have one or know a source? Its not like you can hear a the flasher unit when doing sixty on the freeway with 16 wheelers on both sides... MORE

Don, Have been following your discussion of mystery mods. This may help. It sounds like your 74 has twin carbs. In 75 they went to the single Zenith and the third rubber hose from the canister hooked up to a compression fitting on the back or firewall side of the carb near the bottom. It may be that the emissions equipment was retrofitted. FWIW Rob C 75 Midget robbiesg@... 22781... MORE

Actually, Bob... Number of carbs notwithstanding, it's probably the same system they used on the single carbed '75, slightly modified for the different engine and/or single carb. set-up and/or closed loop fuel system. However, your input gives us the reason for the compression fitting in the first place...I was not at all sure how it figured into the system, as you may have guessed! And while I do not recall it being a part of the emissions stuff I pulled off my previously owned '74, most likely it was there, in the same place as Don May finds it... MORE

Hi, Don... Well, I have to admit I am doing most of this from memory of what I had on my po'd '74.....this was like 20+ years ago!! Naturally, when I looked at all that stuff cluttering up the engine compartment, I barfed! Then I took it all off, cut the restrictors on the carbs, got a ventilated/ filtered oil filler cap and set up a "ventilated" rather than "evacuated" system. But as Gerard and many others have correctly pointed out, a properly working PCV system is a "good thing" in more than one respect. Yes...the engine breathes in... MORE

Hi Bob, The restrictor inserted in the hose from the oil separator is a modification and not a stock part rather a jerry rig piece of a standard plumbing compression fitting he used to restrict the line, so it was not an official California set up. All I know to do is return it to the direct hose and see how it runs. Although curiosity leads me to wonder why he did it. If I recall correctly in 74 model year the pancake looking PVC valve on top the intake manifold was deleted and the Y connector to the... MORE

Morning Bob, So the collected fumes in the charcoal canister are fed back into the system via the hose to the head cover. It appears there is no collection ports from the fuel bowls on the carburetors. So that would explain their being no hose from them to the canister. That leaves why the PO felt an additional restrictor was necessary, or desirable, in the oil separator to carburetors hose. It was my understanding that as you say "The input fittings within the carbs are in themselves graduated orifices." Think I will take the additional restrictor he inserted out... MORE