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What are you going to use in the box sections etc to help keep the moth at bay? I have got some Finnegan's that I am considering using although there may be better products on the market now. There is nothing quite like the smell of new paint and rust preventative treatment. It's almost like having a new car all over. "Roger Stinson" 27520... MORE
Roger Well as I don't have the correct breathing equipment for two-pack, yeah it got to be cellulose! And yes, I also remember the person saying about lots of thin coats, but he was doing a motorcycle - somewhat smaller than a car! and I don't intend to spend the rest of my life rubbing down a Midget and spraying it! And you're right, its not the best weather for spraying top coats, and yes I've already had some 'blooming' but I have no choice, I have to get it done, I simply cannot afford to wait until the... MORE
It depends on the materials you are using. Cellulose, I presume. Lots of thin coats are preferable to one or two thick ones. A little while ago, one of the other listers described how their father sprayed many coats, and then ended up with a very light coat of well thinned paint. (Alan East-Jones?) I have to say that this matches my experience. I personally would not like to be putting a final coat on at this time of year unless you have some degree of control of the temperature and humididity. (Humidity cases bloom) Having said all that... MORE
Hi all- Well, I'm now running the main harness. REALLY need help with layout. Car is 1973 US model. I have good diagram. What is need to see is how the factory physically laid out the harness in the engine compartment. Wish I would have taken pictures...... Anyway, any ya'll that have pictures that would help, I would be forever in your debt. Thanks. Paul "dfwip" 27512... MORE
Chris Dartford tunnel isn't the best of places at ANY time ! If you want to swing by NW Surrey on your way I'd be happy to look at it with you, but realise that this would take you rather a long way out of your way. The bonus for you would be that you could see my Midget in a serious pile of bits, but hopefully with a nice shiny dark blue coat of paint on it! Working on that today, rub rub rub rub... Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 27478... MORE
Chris Dartford tunnel isn't the best of places at ANY time ! If you want to swing by NW Surrey on your way I'd be happy to look at it with you, but realise that this would take you rather a long way out of your way. The bonus for you would be that you could see my Midget in a serious pile of bits, but hopefully with a nice shiny dark blue coat of paint on it! Working on that today, rub rub rub rub... Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 27481... MORE
While contemplating various 5 speed conversions, engine mods etc etc I had fall into my lap today a complete 87 Toyota Corolla GTS, that's the 1600cc twin cam and 5 speed RWD car . I did find one web site http://www.team.net/www/mg/tech/midget/engswapa.html that describes the transplant of a 4T motor, which is very similar but not of a 4A swap .. Anyone with any first hand experience and or URLs of this swap . ? Oh and for the purists out there, if a 5 speed Japanese transmission is an acceptable improvement how can the whole doggoned drive line not... MORE
Chris That 'vision in green' looks far too nice for you, I thought you were looking for one that needed a little work? ;) Seriously though it looks good, nice straight body, nice bright shiny paintwork, sills painted the correct colour black this time, wire wheels look in good condition, useful extras - boot rack and roll over bar and most importantly it looks like it been cared for and looked after. I'd question the total mileage of 14,000 miles, or is that the mileage on the new unleaded reconditioned engine? The seller is also throwing in a new... MORE
Chris Was it this car? http://tinyurl.com/ykf5 If so, it does look ok, although I can't understand why they didn't paint the sills the right colour! I'd go see it if I were you and see if you can negotiate privately for it. Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 27428... MORE
Beautiful cars, these. And this one looks so nice (from the pictures). I can see why J Fishbein loves these cars. Nice color. Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 27434... MORE
Jim... Since you've gone with an Ignitor (PerTronix?) why not go with the same (PerTronix) wires. Assume (ass-u-me) you are using one of their coils as well? Otherwise, Accel, NGK, Magnecor, etc. are available at performance speed shops. Go with a metal conductor type like the original Lucas "Bumblebee" performance wire more or less, in 7 or 8mm depending upon whether you choose to use the stock Lucas resistor tips. If you really want to go crazy with wires and want something really wild and very well insulated (and "built")....go Nology Hot Wires. Vizard dynoed these and found they... MORE
Thanks to Pilot Rob, Duncan, and David C. for responses. To answer collectively, fuel is being fed to the carb. Last time running wasn't too long ago. I removed the brake MC for resleeving/rebuild at the time, and decided then to address the pedal box area corrosion. I have not yet tried, as Duncan suggested, to hold No1 wire close to the block (3/8") and check for a spark. Since I haven't mucked with anything near the plugs/dizzy/carb, suspect lack of juice to the plugs is not the issue. I'm going to swap out the coil to see if... MORE
Chris You've put your finger on it with the comment '...used everyday'. If its being used everyday, it means its out in all weather, including the =3D=0D dreaded rain and winter road salt. Water =3D Rust! Which is exactly why the owners of that car are beginning to see rust coming through. Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 27398... MORE
Ah, well.... Too bad we didn't know the "seam rust" referred to belonged to a car so recently restored...I would've guessed simple surface rust in a heartbeat. Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 27421... MORE
Chris You know, I had a funny feeling that it may have been the car you were talk =3D=0D ing about earlier, don't ask my why, I just 'felt it', and you should have said =3D=0D - it had been restored 8 years earlier!!!! *smack on the wrist* I can guarantee you this Chris, once you've owned a Midget (or Sprite) you =3D=0D won't ever want to sell it! These little cars have personality's of their o =3D=0D wn, and you very quickly become very attached to them. Having said that, a Rubber Bumper car may well be a... MORE
From: Pete Skalski [mailto: pskalski@... ] Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2003 7:41 PM To: midgetsprite@yahoogroups.com Subject: [midgetsprite] Re: 1500 - Low voltage troubleshooting - Help Thanks to Pilot Rob, Duncan, and David C. for responses. To answer collectively, fuel is being fed to the carb. Last time running wasn't too long ago. I removed the brake MC for resleeving/rebuild at the time, and decided then to address the pedal box area corrosion. I have not yet tried, as Duncan suggested, to hold No1 wire close to the block (3/8") and check for a spark. Since I haven't mucked with... MORE
Anyone have a resource for rebuilt carbs for an RX7? We gave the 85 to our daughter and son in law and he is having trouble finding one. All of the local suspects say they cannot rebuild one of his carbs. Robert Houston The Supreme Court ruled there cannot be a nativity scene in Washington,DC this Christmas. This isn't for any religious or constitutional reason, they simply have not been able to find three wise men or a virgin in the nation's capitol. There was no problem however finding enough asses to fill the stable rbhouston@... 27396... MORE
G'day Robert I have sold and/or fitted about 5 sets of MGB wheels to Sprites. Standard MGB is 14 x 5, and chrome ones are about 2/3 the price of Sprite/Midget chrome wheels. With low profile tyres, they have close to the same rolling radius as the original 13" wheel, but they fill out the mudguards much better. And they fit under the standard square wheel arch. No modification at all is required on the rear. On the front, you might need to relieve the brake caliper a little, as the wheel centre is a different shape and on... MORE
Chris I do understand. It's just that I'm trying to get you to avoid the pitfall I fell into! I wa =3D=0D s much the same as you, did lots of research, got itchy feet, looked at loads of cars, =3D=0D finally fell in love with one, nice colour, wire wheels, looked pretty good, had, h =3D=0D ad lots of work done to it by the previous owners (mechanical) took the plunge =3D=0D and bought it. It wasn't till later when I started looking deeper into the bodywork that I =3D=0D realised that whilst it wasnt a 'rust bucket'... MORE
Robert, I am far from an expert on MG Midget handling having about 1200 miles of wheel time to date. Some of that time the car didn't run too well. That said, I love the way the car handles. In my opinion it is somewhat firmer and "blockier" if that makes sense. The car always jerked around beartifully; lefts, rights long curves etc. It feels more solid somehow with the new underpinnings. I believe someone on the list in the past stated that tossablitiy of the car declines with a wheel/tire combo that is too large. If memory serves,... MORE
Robert, Can't resist contributing to this as I just switched to 5.5 inch wheels meself. My car is a SWA and the wheels fitted are Vega pattern American Racing wheels about 20 yrs. old (don't ask) but in fine shape. I am running pre-rubber bumper front springs and stock rears. I had to take the front wheel well up an inch and grind the rear arch "tuck in" flat to get them to fit with 175 tires. Like you, I read Big Daddy and drew Rat Finks. I am now facing installing some kind of flares front and rear... MORE
I can't help just jumping in here. I am also from the Rat Fink generation of hot rodders. We used to solve our wheel problems (read no money for Mags) in the old days by taking the steel wheels to a guy who would cut out the centers and reverse them to get a wider stance and weld them back in. When we wanted wide wheels, he would do the reverse center trick and then cut the rim around on a lathe and add a ring of steel, what ever width we wanted to go. 1 inch, 1.5 inch... MORE
8o) For one inch of split / rusty seam. Nigel writes "...you'll have to take the entire seam off, determine how much of the rear wing/rear body deck is rotten, cut out the rot and replace with new steel." This is precisely the way to turn a mildly rusty runner into a 5 year restoration project. (Yes this is the correct way but, come on , if this is the only problem it would be far better to derust, put a bit of filler on and touch up ( I mean the paintwork Chris) then ENJOY the car and... MORE
Chris You're most welcome to the help, thats what the list's here for. I'm also in Surrey as it happens. If you're looking for a usable Midget, rather than a 'concour's or 'rust heap' theres plenty to choose from, but the expression Caveat Emptor definitely applies to this group of cars, ie the middle ground. The first piece of advice I can give you is to look at the bodywork very carefully indeed, as this is the most expensive to fix by a long way. Tired mechanicals are easy enough to replace/recondition, bodywork can be a major expense -... MORE
Yep..you got it all, and you got it right. However....while I personally like running well vented, there is nothing wrong with the simple pre-'68 intake manifold mounted, diaphragm equipped PCV valve fed from the timing case cover. This is a good KISS (keep-it-simple- stupid) PCV system teamed with the filtered oil filler cap. There is virtually no maintenance to this system besides renewing the cap once a year and the rubber diaphragm when it becomes porous (the engine begins smoking out the exhaust and using oil like crazy when this occurs...so you'll know "when"!:). If you have decided to... MORE
