MAIN
Restoration
Previous Page | Next Page
I've only put about 500 miles on my Rivergate conversion. I initally had questions about the custom clutch. I thought the trowout bearing was a datsun part? Anyway... I was concerned about being able to replace the clutch should rivergate not be in existence when the time came. However, I talked to my local transmission shop, and they said it would be no problem to fabricate. I plan on putting some serious miles on the Midget this summer. Ask me again at the end of the year how it is going. Otherwise I am happy with the clutch performance.... MORE
Paul... I got my first before I joined the list and knew of Paul's kit. Got my second from Rivergate 'cause Bill Perry was building my curent engine anyway, and the one which I had initially gotten used (and put God knows how many more miles on) was good for full core credit on a new "rebuilt". I mean, I was setting up the car for essentially the balance of my life on the planet so I went all the way! :) You're gonna love it. :) Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 29434... MORE
David Hey, I don't make this stuff up, I just tell you what the books tell me, don't shoot the messenger! Passage from MG & Austin Healey Spridgets by Chris Harvey 'The changes that followed were more political than practical. Matt black paint reared its ugly head all over the cars in October 1969. Not only did they have the same price for the first time, but the Spridgets received identical recessed grills, black sills and sombre new windscreen frame. The standard wheels, also in matt black, looked a lot beter, however: they were cast rather than pressed. The... MORE
Rick They are available, but kinda pricey, not to mention seriously heavy. Best options are a) repair/clean/fix/renovate/recover/paint/sort out the old ones or b) look around for a good pair of second hand ones. Don't know of any fibreglass replicas. Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 29393... MORE
"Ed has kindly put up a page..." And a very nice page it is, too!!! Don't have to sign into Yahoos thanx to that link you provided Rick, Nigel. Oh, yea....paint came out just fine back there...and everywhere else, too. It's gonna be gorgeous! :) Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 29409... MORE
Nigel- Like you, I have tried very hard to maintain originality with my restoration. I went thru the same process you are with the sill color. I had my body shop spray the sills gloss, and from across the shop I can tell you it looked just plain goofy. We next went the other extreme and used a flat black, and it looked just plain awful. They finally tried a semi-gloss, and it turned out beautiful. If you want pictures, private message me and I will send them along. However, the truth is that pictures do not reveal the... MORE
I've seen them all shades of black including underseal. I've seen them with chrome and stainless trims. I've seen them rusty brown with holes. I've seen them with painted over rubberized paint. I've seen them with the same colour and finish as the rest of the car. Which although is not original looks far better, and classic IMHO. Mine will be the same colour as the bodywork. Not original maybe (who cares ?) but mine. Alan - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -... MORE
Guy I really don't know lol! My car was in such a mess paint wise when I got it - it wasn't worth polishing and the black sills looked like someone had put the black on with boot polish, now I come to think of it - I think thats what was holding them onto the car! Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 29346... MORE
Not sure about 1971, BUT Assuming the 1975 jubilee midget shown in Horlers book is correct, (given its mileage I cant see it having had paint) then the sills are gloss black by the time of the 1500 Stewart "Ford Prefect" 29341... MORE
Nigel, I am very afraid to post any pix you could see. The car is in three colors of paint plus the original Brookland green. (Seeing what looked best, ya know). I have lowered the front with 1275 springs but not the rear just yet. I'm running American Racing Mags 5.5 inches with 165 x 70 tires. I've cut off the front bumper supports and sold off the rubber bumpers. The interior is new and pretty well sorted out. McGee runs and drives well except for my often mentioned clutch problem. I will be pulling the engine this spring... MORE
Hello Nigel, I do not have one of these cars myself, but I looked at several in the showrooms, and several of my friends had them. They were definitely not gloss and not matt. They had a fair degree of what I would call sheen. That is, the light could be seen to reflect off them. They had a tendency to go more matt with time (which was why many people fitted the stainless steel covers) Make sure that there is a coat of non porous paint underneath though. :-) It is very difficult to describe something like this... MORE
OK, for those (several) who said they are/might be interested, or "grab them anyway", I will do just that and then get back in touch when I know what Mr Rust the scrapman, charges me for them. I'll let you know and then you can decide if you are still interested. I will get carbs, linkeage and manifold. Exhaust manifold as well?? I am in the UK, Lake District Guy "Guy Weller" 29333... MORE
LOL Trevor Thanks for your input. Well matt in my mind has no 'sheen' to it at all, it's just kinda matt! When I asked the paint factor to make me up a 'satin' black, I got a kind o =3D=0D f blank look! She then said, we don't do Satin black, but what I can do is pu =3D=0D t some matte into some gloss and make it Satin that way - so I said fine do t =3D=0D hat. So yes, you will get different sheens of Satin I guess, depending on how mu =3D=0D ch matte... MORE
Nigel... "Satin" is a finish, not a color. So she mixed flat (or matte?) black in with gloss black, the you've got (I think) either semi-gloss black or semi-flat black. Which means, that in accordance with my previous post on this subject, that you are probably "right in the ballpark" with respect to the original color/finish! Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 29327... MORE
Nigel, Finally got off my duff and recovered my password and ID for the list so I could check out pictures. Eventually I will probably embarrass myself by showing my handiwork and butchery on a poor defenseless RB Midge. Your paint looks very sweet. I caught up on your progress to date from earlier pix and you deserve all the backslapping you can get. Your car will look "Mahvelous" Way to go Rob C (working on carburetors) "robcoxworth" 29312... MORE
Ed Great car, but the problem is it has blue seats and the seat styles changed at different dates depending on colour (I expect they were used up at different rates) and my 65 rebuild project (55554) falls right in the middle of the changes and came to me with no seats and black trim although the heritage certificate says red trim. According to Horler if it originally had red trim it should have buckets, if it had black trim it should have the later style seats like yours. I prefer the buckets (they locate you better when cornering... MORE
The seatbacks and seat pans on my 61 Midget have some rust that I would like to repair by patching. The problem is I don't have a good seat to make a pattern. Does anyone have seats that are stripped thay can trace a pattern from or take digital photos and measurements from? Any help would be appreciated. Donovan Dvorak I've tried to send this a couple of times before but I haven't seen it on the digest so my apologies if you've received this already. Donovan and Dana Dvorak 29311... MORE
G'day Nigel Shame on you! Did I read you correctly? "I just cleaned them up with a wire brush in an angle grinder. The other silver things you can see are the shock absorber bodies that have been painted in silver hammerite" Now you and I know that they didn't come from the factory like this. Surely you aren't over-restoring the car? I almost said "modifying" but I know you wouldn't do that! avagoodday Colin "Colin@SpriteParts" 29291... MORE
Colin Well, I think the concensus is that their 'original' finish was indeed 'natural' but rebuilt ones were painted black all over. I was in two minds whether to leave them natural and spray a clear coat over them or to paint them silver. My main concern was to finish them in such a way as to protect them from the elements, so the paint won. I never set out to build a 'concours' car, that was never my intention - the car will be used and used regularly and enjoyed for what it is - so slavishly following... MORE
LOL Nigel, Yes paint looks good. Good finish if that is "straight from the gun" - you've learnt quickly. I was quite pleased with mine at that stage - anything would look better than the earlier states it was in. After the paint had hardened, about a month later I went over the whole thing with an electric polisher - made quite a difference. If you don't have an electric polisher there are reputed to be things that you can do to a cat which will render a similar effect. Guy "Guy Weller" 29257... MORE
^ o o ^ =0= ...(Oh, man..again with the cat) Look Nigel. I don't know who this Guy Weller is, OK. We do not need his input to get this paint job done! This man's advice should be ignored, totally and completely!!! This job CAN be done, completely "catless", really. Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 29270... MORE
Maplins have a web site (maplin.co.uk) and do mail order from it. The wire is quite thick for the panel lights and shoulds easily take the extra load. When I get to Maplin I will buy a holder and a halogen bulb, and try to modify the existing holder. In the past I have smashed up a bulb and mounted the new holder in the screw bit of the old bulb. Now the old bit screws into the original holder and the new bulb goes into the new holder. Got two problems, not a lot of light and bad... MORE
Cap'n Thanks for your input. Sadly it is not going to be up to concours standard - there are too many flaws in it for that - and I'm not willing to to spend the time sorting them out. It's the old 90/10 rule - I'll have to spend 90% more effort to get 10% improvement in what I've done! So I'll just have to live when them - for the moment anyway. Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 29234... MORE
During my restoration of my shell, I had to take this off to repair it, but on the 1500 there are 4 spot-weld holding it onto the inner wheelarch, the rest is bolted onto the radiator mountings and the front chassis members just like any other midget in that respect. Given these spot-weld are already undone is there anything to be gained by welding them back on or can I just drill 4 holes and put bolts in their place? and will this make putting in and taking the engine out any easier? Stewart "Ford Prefect" 29221... MORE
Cap'n It's coming on! I've been seriously hampered by the weather here lately, which hasn't been very conducive to spraying! We had snow here a week or so ago, since then its been milder but with that comes rain and wind; very windy here again today. But I've pushed on doing what I can, and the bodyshell with front panel assembly and both wings in position is now about 90% finished in gloss. I'm just doing the black sills now and finishing both doors. I had a friend come round midweek, who hadn't seen the car since it was... MORE
