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Wanted to thank everyone for the advice I received on installing resleeved master and clutch cylinders and with the resulting leak of the master cylinder. Especially the suggestion for using the nylon washers on the master - worked like a charm. The two make an amazing difference in braking and clutch. rlirwn@... 36877... MORE

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

Just wondering if the gasket has failed between 1 and 2.. as when I had the head off my '75 I found some odd machining round the top of the bores.. this overlaps between 1 and 2, then 3 and 4, no idea what it was for, but can't help gasket sealing, but I just put it all back together and found I had good compresion so did not worry too much. If anyone knows what this is for I would love to know! Stewart "Ford Prefect" 36865... 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

I misunderstood. I thought you said it misfires above 2800, when what you actually said is that it misfires AT 2800, but is okay above and below. I'm pretty sure this is a carburation problem wherein at a certain rpm there is a strange harmonic set up in the intake manifold and carburetor, which causes erratic, uncontolled movement of the air piston. Try this: Remove the old oil from the piston damper. To do this you'll have to remove the cap and the screws which hold the cover in place. Then remove the piston and it's diaphragm. Be careful,... MORE

This is my first posting here and it is just a quick note to introduce myself. I have at last bowed to constant pressure from the FPO to get rid of the Panther motorcycle combination (as so many men did in the early 60's when the BL Mini arrived) and get a 'sporty' car that she too can enjoy. We live near Bournemouth (south coast UK) and I am about to get my hands on my first Midget in 40 years of driving. It is a 1979 model in brown with new hood, starter, timing chain, exhaust and MoT.... 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

"Should I worry?" The objective results of a compression/leak-down check will answer your question my friend. Cap'n Bob Basic Frog "Robert E. Shlafer" 36815... 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