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When I did my car I cleaned back to bare metal and welded the necessary areas in turn. I primed each area as I completed it to keep rust from forming, particularly within the seams. I also used that weldable zinc primer on all lap welded seams. As the whole process was done over an extended period it ended up as a real patchwork of primers, applied at different times, under different conditions (temperature / humidity) and I wasn't very confident of how good the adhesion of the primer was as a basis for finish coats. I then grit... MORE
Jim, After moving the stands from the axle to the floor (near the rear suspension mounting points), I walked around the car and suddenly noticed the front floating above the stands (positioned under the front chassis legs...) So the car was performing an unexpected balancing act :-) and almost tilted to the rear. If this had happened it would for sure have fallen off the stands! I immediately increased the front weight by putting a number of heavy items on the front chassis legs! Afterwards I moved the stands to the boot-floor. The car is completely stripped in the... MORE
Duncan I'm not that familiar with the term 'lacquer' as far as I'm aware it covers pretty much all car paints, as they're all a form of lacquer. What I think you mean is Nitro-celullose Laqcuer, commonly referred to as just 'cellulose' and if you do mean this then yes, thats pretty much your only option for spraying at home. (some bright spark trying to be clever will probably come up with alternatives, but in practical terms 'cellulose' is your only option for spraying at home). The other commonly used paint in the auto industry, in fact its the... MORE
From: amukdigiphoto [mailto: amukdigiphoto@... ] Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2004 5:50 PM To: midgetsprite@yahoogroups.com Subject: [midgetsprite] Re: Paint Advice Duncan I'm not that familiar with the term 'lacquer' as far as I'm aware it covers pretty much all car paints, as they're all a form of lacquer. What I think you mean is Nitro-celullose Laqcuer, commonly referred to as just 'cellulose' and if you do mean this then yes, thats pretty much your only option for spraying at home. (some bright spark trying to be clever will probably come up with alternatives, but in practical terms 'cellulose' is your... MORE
From: Robert D. Gardner [mailto: rdgard@... ] Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2004 6:42 PM To: midgetsprite@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [midgetsprite] Harbor freight tools, country of origin NLBC Duncan & Don, Which welder did you buy, how much and how do you like it? Mig? I found out the welding helmet does not work for Oxy-Acetaline. I guess it needs the "flash". the guy in the store put it on me and pulled out a bic lighter and put it in front of my face and I heard him light it but I did not see him light it. It went... MORE
Jim- It really was easy. After I had the rear support set up, I actually lifted the car ever so slightly with the floor jack under the diff. This took the weight off the attachment points, and away I went. Not to be a smart ass, but please don't forget the brake lines, emerg brake cable, fuel line and prop shaft. Once it is out, it is fairly easy for two people to lift it onto a set of horses for attention at a comfortable working level. I did a full restoration this way, including painting. By the way,... MORE
Duncan & Don, Which welder did you buy, how much and how do you like it? Mig? I found out the welding helmet does not work for Oxy-Acetaline. I guess it needs the "flash". the guy in the store put it on me and pulled out a bic lighter and put it in front of my face and I heard him light it but I did not see him light it. It went dark before I could even see the spark of the flint. Bob in San Diego "Robert D. Gardner" 28757... MORE
Hi all, One warning: The rear axle is indeed quite heavy...So supporting the car at the rear under the boot-floor is the best option when you have the car already stripped. When you support the car at the front mounting points of the rear suspension (as suggested by haynes) in this situation you could get an unpleasant surpise... Don't ask how I know this...now the stands are under the boot floor, which is a bit more stable. Best regards, Eeg. "eegoberije" 28715... MORE
Jim, I think Nigel & I use much the same system, although I would remove the whole lot, axle and springs as a single unit. It is easy enough for one person to manage. Jack the car up and support on axle stands close to, but not obstructing, the mounting plates for the front end of the rear springs. Use a timber support to spread the load if you can, but it isn't really essential. Get it reasonably high enough to give working space underneath. Support the axle on a trolly jack under the centre point of the diff.... MORE
Hi Vince Welcome to the list amd congrats on the work on the Sprite. I can't help you with the dizzy, others can. Regarding the Carbs, have they been rebuilt? Serviced? Twin HS2's are notoriously tricky to get right, even more so if the condition of them is 'unknown'. The first job if you havent done so already is to determine the 'condition' of them and see if any parts are worn, because if they are you'll never get them tuned correctly. Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 28681... MORE
Well... With no intent to be a wise-guy, ass-u-me(ing) it's all mechanically in decent shape...what's the problem? The timing specs are in the book whether it's the Cooper S mech. dizzy or the later vac. one, right? So are the carb. set-up directions. You MAY need an SU carb jet centering tool (much better than using the carb. needle shank) and a portable hand held tach so as to positively "see" that slight momentary rise in rpm as you lift the air valve 1/8" or so off the jet bridge and a Unisyn (or the like) to positively "see"... MORE
My dad and have been restoring a '67 Austin-Healey Sprite for the past year. It had been sitting in his garage for 15 years when I decided to underwrite the project, if he did the work. Well, I think we've done a great job (we've certainly had a lot of fun restoring the ol' Brit together). But, in the end, we're left trying to tune two HS2 carburators and a fickle distributor (sans the point sets, replaced with an electronic ignition). So, I'm like to find someone in the club who might have some experience with this. Anyone? Thanks.... MORE
Hmmmmm... Let's see. Did you assemble this thing yourself? Was the clutch disc new? The release bearing? Did you inspect the condition of the pressure plate and flywheel? Might be some sort of clue there. Even if there were a hydraulic fault which is causing incomplete release, there shouldn't be a horrible grinding sound. A partially released clutch shouldn't make any noise. I'm still betting on the foreign object. Could be a piece of clutch lining, a lining rivet, a loose bolt, almost anything. You could jack the car up, remove the rubber plug and see whether you can... MORE
So.... If a DFPO had stripped all 3 front shock mounting holes, drilled and tapped them to 1/2", and drilled out the shock holes to match, (and you need to replace the shocks otherwise) would you.... a) Replace the shocks and drill the replacements? (there are good reasons to NOT do this, shock-wise) b) Heli-coil (or whatever brand) the holes in the frame back to 3/8"? Is that safe? c) Do it right by welding in new plates? (we'd rather not go that far into the project at this time) Suggestions welcome. Thanks Peter C. "Peter C." 28615... MORE
hi guys will metro alloy wheels fit on a midget or not? any other cars wheels that are interchangeable? also has anyone used ant of the following electronic ignition systems, msd6, omex's programmable ecu1, the alpha bronze system or the lumenition system? any feedback of experience would be much appreciated cheers Rob "lelubooboo" 28527... MORE
Yeah... Vulcans are (were?) cool...thundrous as they shook the ground you were standing on. You could feel it "in your bones"!! As far as props go....radials...yeah... Besides the Merlin and later Sabre Napiers (Tempests, methinks?) the "choppy" radial (until they "turned up" at which time they began to sound almost "turbine" smooth) are also a favorite. But nothing (IMHO) beats the smell of castor oil and the staccato "brruppp, burrrup" of a rotary operating on a stick mounted ignition "kill switch" or button! :) Very kewl! :):) Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 28500... MORE
Don... Is the '73 vac. cannister supposed to be ported to a carb or ported to the intake manifold? 'Cause if it's not the original dizzy and it's a mix and match set-up and you get it the wrong way round, the symptoms you got would be the symptoms you'd get. Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 28478... MORE
or if you are feeling brave, oil the dizzy shaft then put some epoxy putty inside the magnet and push it home. "Jeremy Cogman" 28399... MORE
Steve Woohoo! Many congrats. I don't think I am ahead of you Steve, I'm just finishing off the final primer coats on the passenger side wing ready for colour - that will be the last 'bit' on the car that needs to be colour coated. I still have both doors, bootlid and bonnet to colour coat as well. I don't know if you have this book or not - 'Restoring Sprites and Midgets - an Enthusiasts Guide' by Grahame Bristow (Brooklands Books) but it really is a very useful book in terms of reassembly. It's been written with the... MORE
when you turn on the ignition. tach, fuel pump, wipers, brake stop light, reversing lights, heater fan..... The fault must be on the "downstream" side of the fuse for it to blow, so it is likely to be one of those, or the wiring to them. Some of these are switchable: lights, wipers, fan etc so if they are switched off when the fuse blows then it may be one of the non- switched items although it could still be a damaged wire between fuse block and switch. Guy "Guy Weller" 28195... MORE
can't be certain, but I suspect it should. The late ital 1275 engine (also an A+) will fit. I know the MG Metro turbo cyl head fits! Still looking for one of them to turbo my Mk1 Sprite with. (along withe the pistons, manifolds carb and complete ignition system.) anyone know of a rotten but running Metro turbo? Stewart "Ford Prefect" 28144... MORE
G'day guys A recent posting from Alex on the MidgetSprite list mentions that: "Most BEs don't have a front bumper, and I personally think it makes the car." Well, front bumper bars were optional extras on the Bugeye. So I guess if you take a restored Bugeye to a Concourse, and you have no front bumper bar, then we can't deduct points for "item missing". About 10 years ago, I was a Concourse judge at our National meeting, and there was a magnificently restored Bugeye, complete with front bumper bar, and a proudly framed Certificate from the British Motor... MORE
Front Bumper...fitted on export cars, "option" on homemarket types. Ah, ha!!!! I had it the wrong way 'round. Thank you Nigel for straightening me out. Reasoning: The problem here is in "saying too much". Part of what the judges judged was the paperwork that came with the car, which specified the car before them on which judgement was predicated for that particular event did not match the car before them. So they had to deduct points accordingly. You can bet they agonized over this one. I woud've. Had the paperwork not mentioned the bumper one way or the other,... MORE
No, Bob... The "difference" lies in the fact the lack of a front bumper is part of the official "documentation" which came with the car in terms of what the judges were presented with. I thought I made that clear in my post on the subject. Had the bumper not being there NOT been documented, the judges would not have deducted any points for it being there, whether it came off the production line with or without. Another case of "saying too much", "volunteering information" which is not required nor asked for, screwing you!! :):) Cap'n. Bob '60 :{)... MORE
OK Gingerino...here we go.... The amount of choke (in terms of manual cable/jet travel) that is required to... 1. get the engine to "fire" to begin with 2. allow it to continue running smoothly (decreasing amount) as it warms up to normal operating temperature. Fr'instance: On 40-45F+ mornings, no choke is really needed at all. A couple of turns of the motor with the starter button is all it takes. We let the oil pressure come up and fast idle it for a minute or so (1200-1500rpm) using our right foot, then drive it gently 'til it comes up... MORE
