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All turn signal wiring on cars with the hazard flasher switch, runs through said switch. Look there first!! Brad "Brad Fornal" 25259... MORE
I just returned from "Fallfest", Moss Motors' show held behind their NJ warehouse. I went as a spectator only as I wimped out on taking my Midget out on a rainy day! Forty or so people did show an LBC (200 last year). Here is a picture that shows the scene... http://www.1978mgmidget.com/Fallfest_at_Moss_Motors_2003.jpg You will need to scroll left and right to see the whole thing, as the picture is W - I - D- E, about 2500 pixels. If the picture appears small, at the top of your screen, point your cursor at the lower-right corner of the picture... MORE
Bob, Can't add much to your post. The same here. Until you are completely out of the SF bay area, going south more than 55 miles, the idea of just staying in the right lane is near impossible and even then, as you say, people passing someone in the left lanes who are not going the normal 5-10 miles above posted speed come up behind you at 70 plus mile per hour speeds. Then when you do clear city traffic and constant merge lanes and say travel I-5 south to southern California the traffic flow is 80 miles per... MORE
Don, The 3.73 diff from a late rubber bumper Midget will drop a couple hundred revs at 70 mph, and larger tires a little too. Lots easier and cheaper than a different tranny. I don't remember what year your car is, but if it's a 1275, 4000 rpm all day long won't hurt it. Now that you're older (like me), you just worry more about that stuff. Just FYI, I have read that the factory test, when they were building new Spridget engines, was 100 hours on the dyno at max HP. That's about 10,000 miles pedal-to-the-metal. "Jeffrey Holmes"... MORE
Congratulations Gerard!! This is no mean feat today....very tough "out there"....good for you, man! :) I could get enthused selling these kinds of cars...the new turbo convertible Beetles are gorgeous machines as are Audi TT's...beautiful cars.....enjoy my friend....:) Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 25225... MORE
Thanks for the reply Gerard, It looks like I'm going to go with a contoured to fit airdam from spridgetech.com. I like the looks of the spoiler better but the ones I've been able to find are either generic (not contoured) or they are contoured but are too thin because they were made for racing applications. There is an image of the airdam that I'm leaning towards on the spridgeteck web site (Kendall.jpg an H-production car, #40) but it doesn't do it justice because the owner didn't trim the corners to make it look more appealing, it's also hung... MORE
All the discussion on transmission and differential changes have forced me to face some harsh realities . . . Where I live in order to get out of town there are only two choices; Freeway or miles of traffic clogged streets. Freeway speeds here outside of work hour traffic and accidents seldom flows less than 65 miles per hour and 70 to 75 miles per hour is the normal traffic flow speed any speed less than 60 and you create a dangerous traffic slow down and hazards as people pass you on any side there is an opening. Makes... MORE
"What's the sense of gearing these cars primarily for highway cruising?" Well.... 'Cause I didn't get a BE so I could leave it home in nice weather when I commuted down to NYC airports to fly the friendly skies in bascially 70mph limited access highway driving circumstances where having a 5 speed enables me to tune for low and mid-range instead of top end, as one might have to do with a 4 speed and 3.9. :):) All depends upon the driving circumstance, state of tune, spec., etc. Considering my engine spec in terms of torquey low and mid-range... MORE
"have I lost the point of this thread" LOL, Guy.... No....it's most likely on the top of my head. :) Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 25195... MORE
Pretty sure the diff in it is the 4.55, whether its original or not! As for the engine.. its a bored out 1275.. to 1380. although not much more is know about it apart from the idle has always been lumpy and the car went like stink! The car itself was used for hilclimbing, but this was with the original 948 engine taken out to 998. this engine had been tweaked beyond all hope, and a useless road engine as a result (hence the later bigger engine). It has disk brakes on the front, riley 1.5 drums on the... MORE
You can anticipate the changes by working it out in terms of percentages. Changing a 4.22 diff with a 3.9 diff is about a16% change. Revs in any gear for a particular road speed will reduce by 16%. Or road speed will increase by 16% for the same revs. In theory (but not in practice) acceleration will be worse by 16% which sounds a lot but is barely noticable. That said, acceleration changes are not quite so straightforward as it depends on how well the gearing is matched to your particular engine torque and power characteristics. And these depend... MORE
Stewart..... If your engine is tuned for the high end (and it certainly sounds this way.."useless road engine"...."lumpy idle"), then going to a 3.7 will make it more a useless road engine in terms of the low end. So...it you are using the car mostly at highway speeds (say, 3k or higher) than no problem. Town driving will become more of a hassle as you'll be at lower rpm more of the time at lower speeds, unless you retain lower gears more of the time then you are currently used to. The more available 3.9 might make for a... MORE
Seems the PO's of my purple 73 wanted that race car sound, well its not modified to be a race car and the sound level is annoying especially out on the freeway, like riding on top of a WW2 buzz bomb. It's a fairly new muffler and pipes so its not loud because of age. The question is, what are the considerations I should keep in mind when choosing a new muffler? Don't care if it is stock as long as it fits and is correct for the engine which I suspect is bored out a bit but otherwise... MORE
Stewart, is the 1275 in standard tune? If so, the acceleration won't be sparkling but it's perfectly usable and much more relaxed than your original (which would have been 4.22:1 not 4.55) The top gear mph/1000rpm will go up from around 15 to 18, so 70mph will see the revs drop from 4700 to 3900 (roughly) Don't forget though, that BMC could get away with making 1275 Spridgets with 4.22 diffs as standard, so they must've thought it was reasonable at the time! Regards David "David Jacobs" 25148... MORE
IIRC the fraction you refer to is in fact the number of teeth on the pinion/crown. Actually I was gong to ask about diffs any way. I have two for the frogeye (which has a later 1275 motor) the original one which IIRC is 4.55:1 and a riley 1.5 one which is a 3.7:1 diff. What would the effect of fitting the 3.7 diff to the frogeye have, as it stands its will rev straight through the red line and out the other side in top gear, even up hills speed at the red line is 80 ish with... MORE
Nigel, There is a number stamping at the top of the mounting flange about the same position where the brake tee union is attached. It is expressed in the form of a fraction, i.e. 10/39. This exaple would be a 3.9 diff. you can do the division or goo to the Sprogets Specs page on my site (in the Tech tips section) to see the different fraction and corresponding ratios. http://www.gerardsgarage.com/FS_Garage.htm Gerard "gerardchateau" 25133... MORE
Should be OK though you'll probably only get one wheel turning and just hope it doesn't fall of the jack when you are doing 6500 revs in top. Also some possible issues with lubrication if you are jacked at an extremme angle for too long. "Jeremy Cogman" 25122... MORE
When I converted the 65 Midget to negative earth, the only thing that neede d attention was the tach. I just unhooked it. Wiper motor, fan motor, fuel pump, etc. not affected by the swap. Brad "Brad Fornal" 25130... MORE
I am going crazy with metal glaze and compound curves. A bugeye bonnet is nothing but a mass of compound curves . . . thank you listing to my vent. only my bald head exceeds it. Do you know how hard it is to shave your head? flat razor blade . . . hard round top of head . . . well, sides of head, nature took care of the top. Don "Don May" 25139... MORE
Hi David, The engine mounting plate is identical to the Spridgets as are the rubber mounts. Because the frame is completely different in the Morris, the frame to rubber mount bracket is completely different. The Datsun engine has the motor mounts near midway in the block, so new mounting points to the frame are required. Also, they are not symetrical like the Spridgets, so two differnt length frame mounts are necessary. Paul A. makes the motor mounts and so there was no need to reinvent the wheel. I just purchased them from him. Placement is a matter of position... MORE
So I am motoring down a nice quiet highway at 50MPH and come to a leisurely stop at a traffic light. 30 seconds go by, light turns green and I motor on up to 50 MPH again. AFter about a mile, I detect the distinct smell of burning brakes. Dang, I hope that's not me.... unfortunately it was. SO I pulled over to the side and came to a stop. The brake pedal was hard and would not depress very far. Furthermore, the brakes were not responding very well (nor grabbing). After stopping I noticed the stinky smoke coming... MORE
Hello folks A friend of mine has a 1973 MGB GT with a back lock assembly. Would a Midget lock assembly work on his B? Thanks for the help Jason 1971 MG Midget "Jason Gross" 25017... MORE
Steve, I never had to remove the column, but I had to loosen it to be able to remove the cowl. As for the ignition switch, when you remove the switch itself from the key lock and tumbler assembly, see if the key rotates then. I had the ignition switch itself jam up twice on my 76. The original one and on the replacement that was only 2 weeks old. I took the old one apart and the contact tabs had just worn away, broke and jammed. The new one I just sent back. Haven't had any problems since.... MORE
Hi Ideally as other posters have stated, you'll need a BMHIT Certificate to tell you exactly what the colour of your car was. However, with a little detective work I'm sure you can figure it out yourself, unless of course a previous owner was very thorough in his re-spray that he completely repainted the entire shell. The OE colours for the Mk I Sprite were as follows: Old English White (WT3) Seats/Trim Cherry Red or Black (from Jan 59) Seat Piping White or Black (from Jan 59) Cherry Red (RD4) Seats/Trim Cherry Red Seat piping White There should be... MORE
Very different over here in Berkeley on the mud flats without any bed rock close to the surface . . . and close to the fault. Was Short but very strong and super loud. Course nothing compares to the 89 as far as quakes I have been in. I usually don't go into survival mode with quakes, sort of a cheap thrill, but the 89 quake sent every cell in my body into survival mode. Strange sensation when the body does that, mental control goes out the window and the organism goes into fright and flight. Don "Don May"... MORE
