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P.S. skip the cupro nickel, go with silicone brake fluid and don't drive when the temp is below 32 degrees F or 0 C. No rust and the wheel cylinders last longer. Bob, Troutdale, OR USA "Robert Webb" 31269... MORE
In Alans 72 photo album see LBG FRONT initial prime. The midget now looks worse than this as I've decided to remove all the paint and rust from inside the engine compartment. Did you know that under the battery tray is not painted with a top coat? It gives you a good idea of how we struggle for space in the UK, this photo is AFTER extending the garage to create more room. Alan "Alan" 31221... MORE
The A series engine will sound very similar to an MGB if it is fitted with a Long Centre Branch manifold (header). All Bs were factory fitted with this style of exhaust I believe. "G & J Swann-Price" 31224... MORE
FWIW, I'm running 165/70x13's on my '75 square arch. With the ride height stock I had to grind off the tuck under flange for clearance because of my 5.5 inch wheels. If I lower the car as planned I will probably have to rework the inner wheel well to clear. I don't think you could go much bigger without radical mods if using wheels as fat as mine. Rob C Webfoot Leisure.com rob@... 866-530-9801 toll free robbiesg@... 31216... MORE
Neil... Dan Stapleton (in his book) states 165/13 on the stock rims. Guess these are the 78 or 80 series of the day. Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 31219... MORE
OK, so it's not a Sprite or Midget. But it is part of our heritage. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2470511071&category=6126 A lovely "time warp" car. avagoodday Colin "Colin@SpriteParts" 31206... MORE
I don't think so, Tom. Considering what you paid, if it's in the decent mechanical shape claimed, I think you did OK for what you paid, personally. I owned a de-smogged '72 until a certain girl ran a Stop sign one night and her insurance co. put me into a new Fiat 1/9. Pull the head and shave it to bring the Comp. Ratio up to no more than 9.5-1, (mine was 10-1 but we had "manly" gas available at that time!:) and purchase a set of 1.75 HS4's suitably calibrated as in Stage 1 of the Special Tuning... MORE
On the 68, I had been having some trouble with the brakes. I had a new master, rebuilt the rear slaves, new hoses on the front, yet recently, I was losing a trace amount of fluid. Every week, I had to add a small amount of fluid to the master. I also had to pump the brakes to get them to grab well. Only once, but still. It finally occurred to me, DUH, that the E brake lever was coming up alot more than it needed to. So I spent some time cleaning the rear drums and shoes. Then... MORE
Hi all, I picked up a 1275 (73 Midget) engine for my Morris Minor project car. Since it arrived in four boxes a few parts were missing (so I've discovered) One of these was the small triangular(ish) drive flange which connects the camshaft to the oil pump. A new oil pump and flange were obtained (along with loads of other stuff for a complete rebuild). After assembling the oil pump, camshaft and the triangular camshaft retaining plate I find I have about 1/8" or so of endfloat where the spec is 4 to 7 thou! The retaining plate is... MORE
Your plans pretty much match up with what I am doing, Rick. I have the engine compartment pretty well taken care of as well as the front wheel wells. I used POR 15 on the compartment and the various metal shrouds and brackets. It is supposed to be very tough and it has a nice shine to it. Since my color is black the color match is not a concern. I still have some reconstruction to do around the rear wheel arches. The rocker panels are original and are rock solid. This is because since the time I bought... MORE
I was considering dipping my Sprite until I asked about it at the local Healey club meeting. The info that I was told was that it does a good job of cleaning up the crud but some of the guys had trouble with the dipping solution coming out at the seams later and messing up the paint job. I'm planning to continue with my very slow sand blasting with my home air compressor. Nelson 62 Mk 2 "Nelson Wittstock" 31112... MORE
Chris Mine only has one horn - it was standard OE for one to be fitted, I think two was an option on your car. If you want to know if it's a high or low note you'll have to look at it physically - it should have an H or L stamped on the body. I'll take a look at mine when I can find it and let you know. Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 31093... MORE
Welcome to the list Paul. How long is it going to take? How long is a piece of string? They (being they, I mean people who have been down this path before) reckon that a ground up nut and bolt rebuild of any classic car will take around about 2,000 manhours of work. I'll save you the calculation of that into real terms - its about 5 years of part time (by part time I mean every weekend and evening) work. If you don't work on it every evening and weekend - add on the time accordingly - this... MORE
One thing.. IIRC frogeyes never had wires from the factory.. although healeys did offer them as an aftermarket fitment. And no MG ever left Abingdon with chrome wires. Stewart "Ford Prefect" 31074... MORE
Hi Paul, First things first, get yourself a Heritage Certificate. It will give you the original spec., plus the colour & trim colours. Then you can decide if you want to keep the original colour or change it! Margaret South Lincolnshire (UK) "May you be in Heaven half an hour before the Devil knows you're dead" mmbrock88@... 31082... MORE
Not sure which horn model you're talking about, but the early Bugeye horns had either an H or an L inside the bell lip. Look closely under the pealing paint and bugs, you might see it. Pa "Paul Asgeirsson" 31077... MORE
Building on what Duncan said, the book by Horler will list the colors and have some good photos. One place you can see chips/buy paint from the Autocolor library (www.autocolorlibrary.com). Another practical source for me is "Restoring Sprites and Midgets - An enthusiasist guide" by Grahame Bristow. He doesn't list every nut and bolt, but he does show the break down of many systems. One more place to look at paint listings is: http://www.mgcars.org.uk/midgetspriteclub/sprite/spritepaint.html Good luck. I'm doing much the same thing with my '61 Bugeye. Jim "JTMCO" 31041... MORE
Paul, Welcome to the list. Another good site for color reference is http://teglerizer.com/mgcolors/index.html The page takes a while to load but has a good collection of cars in most of the original factory colors. Biff Jones '59 Bugeye 'Kermit' '61 AH Sprite 'Ole Gray' in the "Healey Book" '71 Midget 'Freebie" http://sprites2.homestead.com/ "Biff" 31048... MORE
Hello everyone, I am a recent buyer of a battered old 1974-1275 Midget and am intending to carry out a total nut & bolt restoration job. Having never tinkered or worked on cars in my life, I dont know how long this intention will last, but at the moment I,m keen as mustard and would like as much help as possible. Can anyone out there tell me where I can find a list of original colours ( for a new re-spray )and is there a book that lists every single nut & bolt etc.? Hope someone can be of... MORE
In the Uk a new cylinder costs about =A330 ($50) and there aren't that many different types so all are easy to get hold of. I also almost always get away with a =A310 rebuild kit unless it has seized as a result of having been standing for many years. Regards Chris Valentine Dunlop Motorsport Don - Why would you want to sleeve a master cylinder? never heard of such a practice, thats something your better of replacing the whole thing, the shipping in both directions will probably pay for the new cylinder? Later Rick Bender christopher_valentine@... 31007... MORE
It can be a reliable daily car if you look after it.. I ran a 1959 frogeye from 1998 to 2001 as my only car, clocking up in the r egion of 40K in that time. The car was not a prime example when I started and its still not a prime example. It had been modified, (1275, ribcase box , Disk front brakes, later diff, 3.9:1, Fiberglass bonnet,). Mainly to save the steel bonnet, and make it a truly usable car, which it was. In the 150 0 already has most of these parts. I did service it... MORE
I've got an unused standard Unipart head gasket here next to me (asbestos/steel) which is a light grey - might go darker in use? It came in a head gasket set, but I also prefer to use the so-called competition copper ones, so left this out. On a related but non-LBC matter, I just had to get some new bits for my Subaru including a head gasket - they're black but not hard at all as they're graphite on the outside. They're a hell of a price too - 40 GBP, and that's just for two cylinders! Regards David... MORE
Jim- I will keep you posted. I am "down" to about 200 lbs but am over 6' tall. Ingress and egress is not a problem, but the movement of my foot from gas to brake is difficult. It would be impossible if my feet were bigger than size 8! Your idea about "relaxing the webbing underneath is excellent. I will give it a try. I plan on adding to the metal clips so I can tighten them as needed in the future. Talked with a friend of mine who does a lot of restoration work. He explained the different... MORE
Bill, There are at least 2 different sets of ribcase internal that are not interchangeable, so you your plan may not work. In some ways, re-assembling a trans is more tricky than an engine. You can make minor errors in an A-series engine and it will be forgiving about running anyway. Miss a couple details in the gearbox and you'll be locked in gear (or worse) again. I'm not saying you can't do it, but it requires more finesse and attention to detail. I'd say you'd be better off finding a already good one or having Paul A rebuild... MORE
Chris, I have a couple. Let me know where you are located and exactly what you want. (running or one to rebuild) Gerard http://www.gerardsgarage.com/FS_Garage.htm "gerardchateau" 30940... MORE
