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A common mod is to replace the locally operated valve (ie one with the hand wheel attached on top) with a remotely operated one which are much more commonly available. The advantage of this is that you can then buy a control cable (either a heater control from say an early mini or a choke control for a Spridget - I've used a rotary control from a B in my car) mount it in a suitable place in the car and you then can control the heat without having to get out and lift the bonnet (hood). Geri. "G... MORE
hi, Im in the process of pulling the engine from the car (1500) so it can be rebuilt. While it and the box are out it seems like the ideal time to change the box. However, im presented with a dilema. the purpose of rebuilding the engine is so i can run the car in sprints and hillclimbs so the close ratio box is pretty attractive, however, the ford box is still a closer ratio set than the original and has the added attraction of the extra gear for better cruising. Having said that the Moss close ratio box... MORE
From: G & J Swann-Pric [mailto: swann-price@... ] Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2004 1:20 PM To: midgetsprite@yahoogroups.com Subject: RE: [midgetsprite] Re: Heater valve A common mod is to replace the locally operated valve (ie one with the hand wheel attached on top) with a remotely operated one which are much more commonly available. The advantage of this is that you can then buy a control cable (either a heater control from say an early mini or a choke control for a Spridget - I've used a rotary control from a B in my car) mount it in a suitable... MORE
Listers - I posted a message a few weeks back about attempting to get a proper title for my 75 Midget, without much luck... Yahooooiiiieeeee ! The title arrived in the mail a couple of days ago! After 4 calls to the local and state DMV offices, I finally talked to someone who new what was going on and gave me the direct line of the lady who handles such things, sent me the proper papers and local police officer inspected the VIN numbers signed the papers and bingo.... Guess it pays to talk to the proper people. Been... MORE
Nigel I posted the original question and I seem to have confused a few of the guys who were kind enough to take the time to try to help me out. The floor is rotted away from the outside in, I will be replacing both inner and outer sills however the left and right hand floor panels would not (even if welded together) create a new one piece floor, they are not wide enough. The panels are designed to be welded to the centre section of the floor which is under the centre tunnel and never goes rusty. In... MORE
Ben, ive got one of these on my 1500, it does make a difference. However, the precision (or lack thereof) in its manufafcture made it very very diffcult to fit (lots of heating and bending to get pipes that should mate up properly to do just that). However, this has obviousley come off a car so it might be ok. The standard peco back box for this system is very loud. I don't have a problem with it but some passengers do! You;ll need richer needles once youve put this on btw. If your cars lowered, then like me... MORE
Hi Ben Don't forget that plain rubber hoses aren't just a rubber tube..... or at least they shouldn't be!! The standard hoses should have a sort of fabric mesh inside the rubber, a bit like the wires in a garden hosepipe to stop it expanding under pressure. I've never heard of a plain rubber oil cooler hose popping....if they did nobody would make them! BL fitted plain rubber to Cooper S Mini's, MGB'S and even Midgets (with the optional cooler)and they never gave any problems. James (President of the plain hose fan club) "James" 31482... MORE
Who out there has experience/knowledge of the OBDII systems present on 1996 and newer cars. I'd like to get something to interface with that port under the dash. You can get OBDII code readers from the auto parts stores or even Sears, but I'm curious to know what others have found that they are really happy using. I'd be particularly interested in what someone has that will interface with a Palm or a laptop. There seem to be quite a few of those out there too. Anyone know of Mac compatible stuff? Thanks Gerard P.S. This is for my... MORE
Ok, I am sure you all know what POS means. LIC is for Little Italian Car. I am about to acquire an 850 Spider, of late 60's, possibly 1970 vintage. Anyone know if these things have any intrinsic value. It is a complete car, but no title. Burgundy in color, I could take photos if there is an interest. True to form for the LIC's, it is rusted, even here in humid Texas. Please feel free to contact me off list if you are interested. I don't want anyone to have to be embarrassed in front of the rest... MORE
Hi Ben The stainless braided hoses look good, but my experience with braided hoses (fuel hose) is not positive. I find that the stainless braiding either eats it's way into the rubber hose and chews through it, or the rubber hose inside perishes without showing any visible problem. The first you know about it is when the pipe is dripping in petrol! Ok, oil pipe is thicker and probably under less tension/movement than a petrol pipe and it doesn't 'melt' like some cheap petrol pipes do with modern fuel. Even so I'd rather see the rubber pipe and be... MORE
Don't forget there are a number of CD systems available that you can mount out of the way somewhere and they have a little transmitter that sends an RF signal on a unused FM radio frequency so you just set one or your FM buttons to select the CD music so you can have both with no modifications to your existing FM radio. Cheers, Bob in San Diego "Robert D. Gardner" 31434... MORE
Alan Hershaw....float level Bet you hit the nail on the head Alan, considering color of spark plugs under normal driving conditions. Too much fuel pressure can also be the gremlin. Webers (for the road) prefer about 1.5psi, but no more than 2.5psi even for highly tuned units. You MAY need a fuel pressure regulator? Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 31413... MORE
Terry I think it is a 3 into one tubular manifold you are thinking of, this is the usual tuning mod on a Spridget exhaust, and yes I have a spare one on my project car. The project is a 1098 however I believe the Manifolds are identical to the 1275. I am in Peterborough Cambridgeshire and would be happy to do a straight swap (assuming your cast manifold is in reasonable condition) since I am going for originality on the rebuild. Contact me off list but put Midget in the subject in upper case so I can spot... MORE
I am redoing my midget interior now, and am in the market for an appropriately sized, decent-sounding audio system. Not sure if the space allotted in the console is going to accomodate a CD, or if I have to settle for a standard AM/FM/Cassette. Has anyone been through this recently? Interested in hearing how other spridgeteers have their sound system arranged. All advice greatly appreciated. Please include brand, model number if you have it, and speaker info as well. Thanks! Pete 78 Midget Granville OH "Pete Skalski" 31388... MORE
Hi all As discussed in the previous thread my 1500 is totally standard bar the K&N filter, which was fitted and set up by the MGOC on their rolling road. However it has always been a bit hesitant, especially pulling away from cold. I also noticed it yesterday when it was fully warmed up and I was driving along at about 40.Ipressed the pedal down to accelerate and there was a definate hesitation, almost like turbo lag. Naturally I checked under the bonnet to see if some wag had fitted a turbo, but alas not! When I bought the... MORE
Because James mentioned the K & N deep rammed filters. I mentioned it to my insurace co as in the event of a major claim, I assume they would consider it an engine mod. The "Sprite" bit was just bragging :) "Gary Lazarus" 31372... MORE
if you fit a *four* branch exhaust, that would be a seriously modified 1275 motor! ;-) Regards David "David Jacobs" 31366... MORE
Hi Terry So what you are talking about fitting is basically a stage 1 tuning kit. My Mini has a stage 1 kit fitted, but it really hasn't made much difference to the insurance premium. About =A310 more per annum or something silly like that. If you do the conversion make sure that you get the right carb needles as well, otherwise it will run horribly rich. Ideally these things need to be set up on a rolling road.............. There are 2 types of K&N filters for the 1275 cars, either 2 separate pancake filters or the deep combined... MORE
Yep... You may have to do a little "fettling" to get fibreglass parts to correctly fit Ben. This is par for the course and should be pretty minimal if you buy from a quality supplier like Speedwell or Winner's Circle, both of whom have been doing these for years. Perfect Plastics is another long time supplier as well, though not sure what parts the presently stock. I myself am going over to a fibreglass bonnet for my Frog. Should about equalize weight distribution and considering limited torque/HP, every little bit of weight reduction counts. And of course in the... MORE
Hi Ben You are right in that fiberglass wings are cheap and that they don't rust, although I don't think that the weight reduction will make a noticeable performance increase. Other things to consider will be the reduced strength of the front end if the unthinkable happens, paint cracking and flaking off, possible earthing problems of the headlights and of course the FACT that they won't fit!!! Pattern steel wings are bad enough, but fitting fiberglass is just asking for trouble!!! James "James" 31353... MORE
Hi all, just thought id ask you all what u think of putting fiberglass wings on my 1500? Main reason would be they are cheap (relatively) and don't rust. are they any problem of putting fiberglass wings on a midget? Another plus i suppose is that they are lighter thus increasing BHP per ton. OR rather than wings would a whole front end be better? Just wondering probably never get around to it but i like to know all my options! Cheers Ben Ben Lawlor 31342... MORE
Yeah. It probably will handle good that way...:) I live in an area that has steep drive ways and I like my cars "looowww". The two things never mix so that's why Im going air ride. I haven't ran my Midget yet with the air ride suspension. Iv only had the car for about 8 months and 4 of those months its been in my shop being "tricked out". I do have air ride in the front of my 85 supercharged Toyota MR2 and Tokico 10 way adjustable shocks on all 4 corners and the car rides surprisingly very... MORE
Hey Roger Iv did as you suggest and it did help out a lot compared to the stock wheel that was in there but I was hoping to go one step further to make my life "really" a lot easier. Alan Gram "Alan Gram" 31461... MORE
James, A couple of points about the fact that lead was not introduced untl mid-30's (and then ommitted again during the war years. The lead does 2 things; 1. It "lubricates" the valve stems. This only became necessary as finer tollerances were introduced and engines ran at higher revs. Not critical for many of the earlier side-valve engines. 2. It reduces pre-ignition. Again much less of a problem on early low-compression engines. I have run an old 750 side valve engine on a mix of petrol and paraffin (kerosene) It was common practice during war year rationing in the... MORE
you're right about the possibilities for confusion creeping in with translation - here in the UK the standard grade of unleaded is called 'Premium' and is 95 RON, the higher grade is usually known as 'Super' and is either 97 or 98 RON. LRP (Lead Replacement Petrol) is about 97 RON but there is no national standard, so it could be anything. Regards David "David Jacobs" 31292... MORE
