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Remember to lean the jack out at the top before you start and then you won't have any problems! A bottle jack is far too heavy to carry around in such a small car! There was a guy called McComb who used to edit Safety Fast, the MG car club mag. many moons ago who won races in an MGA by the simple expedient of 'adding lightness'. You do have to remember to try and keep slim too, so Cap'n Bob has a built in advantage by all accounts! :-) :-) R. "Roger Stinson" 23360... MORE
just purchased a 68 midget. the water/oil gauge does not work and want to repair or replace it. In doing so, I wanted to remove the dash to give me easier access to the faulty gauge but cant find how the top of the dash is attached to the car. service manuals talk about four screws along the top of the dash but haven't found them. any suggestions on how to approach this? "MARK " 23355... MORE
THAT task.... (removing the dash) was one of the few times I was willing to fork out $$ for a 'specialized' tool to get them out. The 4 nuts are right at the very top edge of the dash. They are REALLY a pain to remove or even get a conventional wrench or socket onto. The tool I bought was a socket wrench... but with a twist. The end of the socket wrench you hold onto... has a small 'butterlfy' handle on it. When you hold the wrench in place and rotate the little handle, it'll turns the socket.... MORE
Hi all, Well I am now back home from my week in Scotland, with over 100 e-mail waiting for me. I drove up in Ava, my Mk 3 Midget, and she behaved beautifully over the 503 miles. Only did about 40 miles while there, as we drove in the CRV each day from our B&B to the cottage we are renovating. We achieved what we set out to do on this visit, i.e. lay a concrete floor in one of the downstairs rooms, have the electrics hooked up properly to the new wiring, and get the windows in where... MORE
Hi I think I might be to late put my two pennyworth in. I have just done the very same job on my Mk1 Midget and it is exactly the same.The rear end was fixed to a point behind the trim with a self tapping screw.The frount and had a small bracket that fixed around the trim and bolted to one of the nuts that are attached to the padding on top of the dash.As far as the trim around the door space is concerned this is fixed by little clips with barbs on them that clip on to... MORE
Kim, Take it from one who can store twice the stuff in a given space than one normally does . . . Put all the bins and bags in it, lay the windshield flat over it and build a work bench surface over it. Otherwise you risk kicking yourself a few years from now for selling it. You can even open and close one door to put more stuff in it. A workbench with a Sprite cabinet door. Don, with more buried ex-hobbies that the squirrels have nuts stored in my back yard. "Don May" 23329... MORE
They just stopped by Placerville on Hwy 50 on their way to Gardnerville Nevada and eventually Wisconsin - or was that Minnesota? This is the cross-country pickup of a 71 Midget from Southern California. They've had a hot-running car, which fits the 100+ weather, but the 14lb cap is holding and, tho it dribbles once stopped, seems to be holding pressure fine. The fancy wide wheels are a bit too wide and the left rear tire has been rubbing, but a service stop in Fairfield on the way across California saw some adjustment for clearance. I wish now I'd... MORE
Sorry to hear you having to give up on the project you have put so much into and . . . what will we do without our only Asian redneck? . . . I was looking forward to seeing where you were going to mount the gun rack on a Sprite. :-) Trust you stick around. Don "Don May" 23288... MORE
a friend of mine wanted to test a secondhand Triumph Dolomite engine before buying it, and simply connected top and bottom hose together, and with the temperature gauge connected, just ran it till it showed on the gauge - a minute or two - long enough to see if there were any unusual noises or anything. (the engine was 'mounted' in a supermarket trolley for this test!) This method is simpler if you don't have access to a water supply, but slightly more risky than Cap'n Bob's, as there is nowhere for the expanding coolant to go, so pressure... MORE
G'day all Gotta ask - why?????? Under heavy braking, when the weight transfers to the front, the rear brakes lock up with the standard drum brakes fitted. I get slower as I get older (or so my bride tells me), but perhaps someone can explain to me why locking up the rears sooner (by using disc brakes) is an advantage. Personally, I enjoy power oversteer, but don't cherish disappearing backwards into the shrubbery under hard braking. Of course I have seen a few people fit rear disc brakes. Guess what they fit next. A brake biassing valve (usually off... MORE
Talk about redundant? What with weight transfer and momentum, the fronts do at least 75% of the braking. If we gave equal power to the rears, they'd go light and lock up, skidding and providing no control. The rear brakes mainly act like the tail on a kite, stabilizing the car. It's over a hundred outside today - no wonder I'm taking so much interest in my email! David McCartney 71 Midget 72 Mini 69AA etc Captain Rapture 23277... MORE
Hi, Jeremy.... True, true. But in normal traffic light to light stuff it could still get around town pretty quick without the max, all-out effort you speak of...matter of extent, not black and white. I mean I would never go through the expense of all this for sure....just not required at all, IMHO. I'm just trying to figure out logically why anyone would go through all this work and/or money doing this conversion...figure there must be a logical, rational reason and as previously expressed, this was all I could think of at the time!! :) In all honesty, though,... MORE
I think we need a little more detail. However a weird thing you need to know is what happens at each end. The rear of the seal comes off the seem and is trapped behind the rear trim panel, much cheaper than the fancy moulding used on later cars. The front end disappears under the dash though I can't remember how it is held. "Jeremy Cogman" 23241... MORE
Hi A friend with a 1500 rubber bumper job has just bought (breakers yard job) the rear disks and calipers from a Rover 216 GSi. He has been told these will fit his midget, all he has to do is make up a new back plate to support the caliper. He has been told the original habdbreak cable can be retained. Has anyone done this if so have you a drawing of the backplate to give him a start. He has just fitted the frontline telescopic mod and thinks it is fantastic, makes the front of the car more... MORE
including some UK Spridgets They had the horn push on the stalk around 70 or 71 - should fit without too much difficulty. David "David Jacobs" 23218... MORE
Well....obviously, RBH! And, good to have you baaaak, fully erect of course. Let me know if you want any tips on Corvettes. I know a fellow who works at Sports & Classics building a convertible Sting Ray in their back yard. Does his own engine work, fibreglass and paint... real talented young adult!! Good taste in paint color, too....deep metallic blue with a little purple thrown in..beautiful! :) Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 23209... MORE
On the unit I have there are three bend over metal tabs holding the case sections together. Carefully bend them up to pull the unit apart. There may be some resistance at the float shaft end that looks like a slotted screw to pass through the hole, a little cleaning there and you can pull the case apart enough to remove the brass spring. I also rubbed the ends of the spring on fine sand paper and cleaned the case surface around the shaft hole where the spring contacts the case and the surfaces of the round bushing next... MORE
I happened to have a sender unit out of the 69 midget and measured the resistance with it removed from the tank. It reads roughly from 20 to 250 ohms as the float goes from empty to full position. Now mine was not working correctly so I took it apart and discovered a weak point. Inside the case the arm of the float unit connects to the wiper blade that moves across the wirewound resistance surface. To assure good contact of the arm to the case/chassis there is a spring that presses against the inside of the case. The... MORE
LoL, Bill B.!!! That IS one helluva horn set-up, eh?? Blow you right off the road! Mine is "girly man" by comparison...this is very humbling and embarrasing...I must leave quietly now and maintain a low profile for a while, accordingly! :) Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 23191... MORE
"Manly" horns!!! Ahhhhh...."I percieve" (said the blind man as he walked across the busy intersection, totally unaided!). Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 23187... MORE
Geeze, David...LOL These aren't halogen headlights!! :):) A "tap" on a horn shouldn't lead to overheating of that little tiny wire unless you are one of those guys who really "lean on it"! :):) (YOU better use a heavier wire....and yes....with a relay!!!:):):) I'm kidding you here so don't get upset at me, OK? :) Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 23185... MORE
Bill, Unless I am mistaken, the original horn switches have heavy contacts that can handle the amperage necessary to operate the horn. The "curly wire" you are interested in is of a very light guage. I don't believe that it would handle the current that it takes to make the old "beep-n-tooter" work without overheating. I would suggest that the curly wire would work well if you incorporated a relay to send power to the horn instead of direct wiring. Again, I defer to the experts in the group to make the appropriate corrections. Cheers Dewd David A. Stevens... MORE
When you operate the starter, do the lights dim? If so check your battery. When the ignition switch contacts failed on another of my cars, I removed the cowl and put a jumper across the two terminals on the back of the switch after looking at the wiring diagram to establish which colours the relevant wires were. (Workshop Manual) Another indicator that the switch is going (although different contacts) is that the engine will miss a few beats, particularly when the engine is pulling, for example up hill, leading to a bit of Kangerooing. This is usually caused by... MORE
The fitting that comes off of the radiator for the top radiator hose has rusted and is leaking badly around the base. It also leaks slightly from the bottom. With both of those, I thought it would be better to just get a new one. More cooling sounds good though. rlirwn@... 23161... MORE
Hi everyone Things have not gone quite to plan... My intended midget has been ditched. I was going to pay a fair bit for it, and having spoken to several people (including a guy from the MG Car Club's Midget Register) should have got a good car for my money. On further inspection, the one I was going to have had a mileometer that didn't move, doors that didn't lock, an oil leak, VIN number that didn't match the documents and so on, so I've hung on to my cash and will keep looking for a car slightly nearer... MORE
