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Curt.. I've heard straight cut gear boxi at the track. They're all very loud as compared to the stock road boxi, which are also loud as compared to my Datsun 210 box. The first Datsun 210 I used was an original. It was extremely quiet. The 210 box I am now using is a rebuilt. The sychros are better but, the box has a distinct (but not unpleasant) whine in all gears. Your's may have been rebuilt at one point or another, so parts might not be as well- matched as in the original unit insofar as the first... MORE
(Sorry folks forgot the subject header last time.) A couple questions mostly for the racers in the group, but also any gearbox gurus. 1)Gear box whine: Got my retired racer, soon to be vintage racer Bugeye out for a quick (illegal) run down the road tonight. I have a rib case BMC competition (straight cut, non synchro) close ratio gear box. It whines VERY loudly in 1st through 3rd gears. 4th very was quiet. I wasn't surprised or worried about 1st & 2nd being noisy, but expected 3rd to be quiet. The two tracks I'm going to be running... MORE
A couple questions mostly for the racers in the group, but also any gearbox gurus. 1)Gear box whine: Got my retired racer, soon to be vintage racer Bugeye out for a quick (illegal) run down the road tonight. I have a rib case BMC competition (straight cut, non synchro) close ratio gear box. It whines VERY loudly in 1st through 3rd gears. 4th very was quiet. I wasn't surprised or worried about 1st & 2nd being noisy, but expected 3rd to be quiet. The two tracks I'm going to be running this year are all 3rd & 4th gear... MORE
Well, If this is the general consensus, then I have learnt something. Certainly at the time I rebuilt my system and made the switch, silicon was THE THING to use. And generally agreed as such by many on this list at the time. If the current view is to avoid using silicon then I will certainly think about reverting to DOT4. I was happy enough with DOT4 for the last 30 years of motoring. Serves me right for following the fashion! Guy "Guy Weller" 32037... MORE
Hang on. This is a daily used car. 30,000miles in 3 years since full rebuild ALL new brake parts at that time Regular maintenance - like every 2 weeks I grease the kingpins, top up dashpots etc.etc. Using silicon brake fluid and flush and replace that every year - although its due another change about now. I do a 80 mile daily round trip to work, in fast, heavy traffic conditions. My life depends on this car being in good condition. I started this "thread" to see what other experience might be out there. I don't actually think that... MORE
Matthew, At the risk of stirring up further controversy I believe the GVW figure is max normal capacity; two standard adults. I do now that according the the shop manual two guys my size in the Midget are over gross. I tip the scales at 225lb. Rob C Webfoot Leisure.com rob@... 866-530-9801 toll free robbiesg@... 31975... MORE
Hi Guy, I suspect that you have some calipers that are ready for a rebuild. These pistons don't retract as the new cars do, but merely relax. If the dust seals are stiff and totally dried out it will inhibit the relaxing of the pads from the rotors. I rebuild a lot of these calipers and sometimes it's almost impossible to get out the pistons because there's 40 years of crud and dried up rubber involved. Another possibility on the calipers is the m/cyl is holding too much pressure on the system with it's internal residual valve. A suggestion... MORE
These are strictly for reduced rolling resistance, not necessarily for improved performance, as certain things would increase your 'lap time' through worse handling. Fit narrow (standard 145) tyres and pump them up as hard as the highest recommended pressure; use the lowest viscosity oils in the transmission (consider ATF for the gearbox?); check/adjust the tracking to as close to zero as you can get it, and check all four wheels' alignment; remove any extra un-necessary weight. I also do the 'pushing out of the garage before starting' routine, but I can manage it by sitting in the car with... MORE
OK, time for some fun. Anyone here race their MG in solo II? Stories and suggestions would be appreciated. I've done AMA Motorcycle Road Racing, track days in my Beretta, and raced a friends 969 a couple of times when he was laid up injured. I was just checking out the rules for MGs, and they look to be in a fairly fun class for Solo II, and the very minimal prep work makes it quite feasable (and the fact that I own a B and a Midget makes this more fun). Any thoughts on the following: 1. Battery... MORE
Damien, Unless you are planning on replacing the needle roller bearings in the Hardy Spicer joints, I would not attempt too dismantle them as it will be virtually impossible to do so without damaging the bearing caps or grease seals. Clean the UJs in situ, taking care not to de-grease the bearings, and then paint the tubular part of the propshaft only. Guy "Guy Weller" 31950... MORE
Jens Indeed, you can release more power from having a more efficiently flowing intake manifold but you don't have to modify your existing one. There's plenty of aftermarket ones that do the job as well if not better than modifying the standard manifold. I've often seen them popping up on ebay - worth keeping an eye out for one. Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 31939... MORE
Dave, The standard carbs are 1.25. Not as good as it could be but significantly better than the Stromberg 1.5. Rob C Webfoot Leisure.com rob@... 866-530-9801 toll free robbiesg@... 31929... MORE
Hi all, I have just started on a project to restore a 1976 1500 MG Midget, the car was given to me last weekend and it was already stripped down. The first thing I want to do is to refurbish and re-paint all of the old parts that will be underneath the car, including the rear axle, prop shaft and steering rack. I started on the prop shaft yesterday by clearing all the flaky rust off and getting it ready to treat with Jenolite before using some smooth hammerite on it, as I have not yet received my workshop... MORE
Are the standard carbs from the 1300 Spit setup 1" or 1"? David "David Jacobs" 31915... MORE
My reasoning for going with a DCOE is for the following: 1. It was originally fed by a Zenith Stromberg carb for the 1500 midgets. I'm doing a complete restoration on the car, however, between the engine that came with the car (with a thrown rod) and the one I purchased to rebuild, neither came with a carburetor or a distributor. 2. I want to get rid of the zenith stromberg =) The engine is a basic 1500 engine. Stock cam in it, 9:1 compression and .020" overbore from the rebuild. Currently no head porting or anything done to... MORE
Cap'n Yes Brit 1500's come with twin 1 1/2's which works quite well on the 1500. If it's a stock 1500, its a waste of time putting on DCOE there will be no performance increase and itll be trickier to set up. But his choice.... Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 31908... MORE
Guy Aha! That may explain it then, but I noticed how the original poster of this query totally ignored my comment ! LOL Even if it does have a Stromberg - I still feel it would be better to slap on some twin SU's than go to the bother of a DCOE. Good carbs they are, no doubt about it, but I fail to see any benefit at all of fitting one to a bog standard 1500, specially when you consider how tricky they are to set up. People are quick to dismiss the twin SU setup, but they're... MORE
Hi 1972 chrome bumper Midget. I suspect that a previous owner has nudged the front and pushed the front bumper back but I have to work out what is disto rted if anything. Can someone please nip out and measure the distance between the top of the front bumper and the curved bit of the grill trim above where the fixing bo lts are. I have 3 cm and 2.5 cm on my car. Also how far in front of the front valance do the bumper fixing 'rods' prot rude. I have 4.8 and 5 cm measured from the... MORE
Chris Me being me, and being unlike anyone else on here, I'm not going to give you the information you want, but simply ask you why you're thinking of putting on a DCOE in the first place? Is your 1500 a real firebreather needing a lot more air than a standard engine? If it isn't, to be honest, I can't see the point of installing a DCOE on a standard 1500, you won't see hardly any benefit at all until you reach the very highest BHP the engine is putting out. And how often do you actually drive the... MORE
I hadn't noticed the high Buy it Now price but that does make it less attractive. From what I understand now, the SU electronic pump is the best way to go. Buying it from LBC I will get the discount on the Moss price bringing it down to $107.06. Also looked at the possibility of rebuilding the mechanical pump and can't figure out why the rebuild kit costs more than a new pump. Guess they don't want to sell the kits. Thanks guys, Nelson 62 Sprite still needing many $ "Nelson Wittstock" 31870... MORE
Hey Chris (and Nigel!:).... Don't Brit 1500's come with the twin 1.5 SU set-up? If so Chris, why would you want to convert to a 45DCOE on a (assuming, here) stock 1500 motor? Are the SU's clapped out an in need of overhaul? Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 31877... MORE
I used one for a while instead of a standard SU electric pump on my 1275. It worked fine and I can't remember why I changed back, but it was probably something to do with not being able to dismantle the electronic one if ever anything was to go wrong. Incidentally, the Mechspec 'Buy It Now' price of U$70 + 18 shipping seems a bit steep to me - even Mo$$ list a pump for the equivalent of $80. David "David Jacobs" 31863... MORE
Hi Nelson, I have some AC rebuild kits for the mechanical pump. NOS, but who knows how fresh and good they are. Contact me off list if you're interested Another way of going and this is something my Morris friends do but for another reason. The Morris pump is mounted on the firewall in full view of anyone wanting to see it. Some want to have a pristine, all original looking engine bay, but prefer some reliability. So they mount an electronic Facet/Purolator fuel pump near the fuel tank and leave the old pump in the engine compartment with... MORE
my '77 midget is supposed to run on 145/82 x13 tires in Norway. I have put on 165/70 x 13 on stock rims. They fit quite nice, only some sounds when I turn sharply to the left out for the gaz statiom. regards Thorvald "Thorvald (Norway)" 31796... MORE
Curt, You must be careful. All of those wires have smoke in them from the factory and you must take care not to let the smoke leak out!!!!! Cheers, Bob in San Diego "Robert D. Gardner" 31818... MORE
