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Michael... Recommend you visit Spridget "Tech" section: www.gerardsgarage.com and read section by Peter C. on lever shocks rebuilt the "Peter Way"! :) Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 23765... MORE
Thought I'd share this with you - lovely little MKI Midget that looks in excellent condition and has definitely been looked after. If my garage wasn't full up with my current restoration I'd be after this for sure! Nigel http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2425257694&category =29757 "amukdigiphoto" 23754... MORE
Michael I'd definately stick with the OE shock absorbers. Everyone I've heard of who've had the gas conversion done have not been that impressed with them. There is reaally nothing wrong with the OE shock absorbers when working correctly. I'd suggest either getting yours rebuilt if they need it or getting an exchange pair - there's not need to go to the expense of a a gas conversion. Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 23753... MORE
A follow up on the steering wheel lock clicking. The lock plunger knocking back and forth in the slot on the steering shaft formed sharp ridges on the top edges of the slot which when the steering shaft turned wore down the softer aluminum housing enough that the steel plunger was left slightly above the level of the surround housing and it was catching momentarily in the steering column slot as the steering shaft turned. I removed the steering column and rather than drill out the break off bolts took my Dremal tool and used a small thin cut... MORE
"FYI, in the days when I was quicker....." Was your BE stock? :) Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 23718... MORE
Jim Actually I think my long suffering neighbours are the ones implanting the 'never again' chant into me. I jokingly said to him one day, well when this one's finished I'm going to =3D=0D restore an x - he wasn't amused and the look on his face was worth a thousand words. Seriously though, I have, increasingly been having a lot of problems with m =3D=0D y neighbours over the amount of noise I've been making, mainly as a result of =3D=0D the angle grinder. Unfortunately the lady who lives there works part time and comes home at lunchtime... MORE
Jim I've always had a passion for Lotus's, but whether I'll realise a dream of =3D=0D actually owning one is another matter. If the Midget is a starter, then a L =3D=0D otus Elan must be the main course! The Elan is almost like a grown up Midget with better handling and more power - but somewhat more fragile. I think Lotus's have gained this reputation for being a lot of trouble main =3D=0D ly due to the fact that they are virtually road going racing cars and as such =3D=0D really do need a lot of pampering and... MORE
Toyman sounds correct, but you may get by with only topping off the fluid for now. Be aware however, that the fluid does not evaporate and you will in the perhaps near future need a master cylinder and/or slave cylinder at least rebuilt or replaced. Been there, doing that now. Robert Houston Transervicios S.A. de C.V. 915-592-2082 rbhouston@... 23699... MORE
Hi, David... No clue in Cecil's case but "never again" (excuse the pun) will I put any stock in his "MG doesn't mean anything" statement which, with all due respect, simply defies logic and common sense for the obvious. For sure, the company logo wasn't pulled out of a hat!! :):):) So, yeah.... "they didn't give proper credit to Cecil and he returned the favor when the opportunity presented itself" could very well be responsible for his "MG stands for nothing" statement. Maybe "they" did rip him off. Who knows? Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 23687... MORE
Although I say Cecil Kimber was only an employee, he was the one who, off his own initiative, started modifying Morris cars and selling them as MGs The first ones only involved bodywork modifications and some accurate engine tuning (not engine modifiactaion) The effect was so good that before long they were selling more of the "MG " varients than the standard models. Only later did they get into racing and were pretty amazingly sucessful. Reall swept the board in the 750cc classes in a way that no modern manufacturer ever manages to do. They simply wipoed out the... MORE
"Gold was never a factory colour. There was 1 Golden Jubilee Midget made in 1975 to celebrate 50 years of MG " and even that wasn't gold, it was green! "David Jacobs" 23661... MORE
Jim Gold was never a factory colour. There was 1 Golden Jubilee Midget made in 1975 to celebrate 50 years of MG =3D=0D (1925-1975) but only one of these were made. The factory colours for a 1979 Midget would have been: Black with Beige Interior Carmine Red with Black or Beige interior Inca Yellow with Black interior Vermillion with Black Interior Pageant Blue with Beige Interior Russet Brown with Beige Interior White with Black Interior "amukdigiphoto" 23651... MORE
Very rare bonnet built from 1961-1964 in Southern California one of only three known to be left, completely restored, all cracks fixed, new gel coat and painted red. This will fit all Sprites/Midgets (MKII+) with mods, or tilt forward replacement for bugeye. This bonnet was used for racing (have documents)and also comes with custom fabracated alum ducts for radiator and oil cooler. E-mail me for photos or check out my photos in the gallary. $1200.00 with documents including a signed letter from Sir Thomas Denner Contact: Mike Satterfield Email: michaelsatterfield@ hot mail.com Tel: 909-947-8099 Location: Ontario (Southern California) California... MORE
Rare car with Thomas Denner Bonnet. Togther $3500.00 Bonnet alone $1000.00 e-mail for photos, car is RHD, lots of new parts needs paint and wiring. "Michael" 23633... MORE
Cap'n Well you're lucky you didn't have any bodywork to do. The other problem I'm finding in stripping many of the components, is that the welding done very early on eg the door frame, I now consider to be not good enough. My welding, template making and cutting skills have come on such a long way from those early days that I'm having to redo some of the welding I felt at the time was ok, to a standard I'm happy with, this is just making a long chore even longer! Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 23620... MORE
Cap'n Well thanks for those kind words of encouragement! I can understand why 'bare metal resprays' cost so much in a pro shop, and why many people opt to merely flat down existing paint and paint over the top. By stripping back to bare metal, you do get the best result possible, but that comes at a price - and that is a lot more stages and a lot more investment in time; and this is just to get the bare metal back to a state that can be sprayed! There's still the spraying, flatting and filling stages to... MORE
Had to fight off some depression yesterday because my wrist joints were hurting so much buy the end of a day of cleaning the engine bay. . . the mind is willing but the old body is protesting and when I think of how much sanding I have to do on the bonnet . . . guess I will have to keep the pain pills handy and an ativan when the going gets really rough. Yours in pain, don Anyone ever noticed why the word paint contains the word pain? Nigel 71 Midget inching closer to its first coats... MORE
Guy Again, thanks for this post. I'll take a look in Halfords for some Jenolite. I do have some brushable seam sealer and intend to do all the seams, after the primer coats. I also have some Stoneguard to go on the underneath as well. I'm still working on cleaning the car ready for paint, seems like this stage is going to take forever. Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 23594... MORE
Nigel writes: "...seems like this stage is going to take forever". The prep stage does take forever, Nigel. You are not feeling any differently than anyone else who has gone through a thorough refinishing. It does get to be a day after day real drag. But, hang in there my friend......a good paint job is truly in the prep work in terms of long lasting quality results. Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 23597... MORE
Nigel, What I know from reading and listening to others: The bare metal can be sealed by applying expoxy primer. Polyester filler / bondo can be applied on top of the expoxy primer! Since filler doesn't seal the metal, moisture CAN get through and makes your shiny metal rust again (even before you started spraying the top-coats...). Area's that are not completely rust free can be primered with some rust-stabilising primer / paint (corroless / owatrol) or phosphoric accid (ospho) before applying the epoxy primer. Advantage of this working order / method is that wet-sanding the subsequent surfacer /... MORE
Nigel, I acid etched before I did anything else. In fact on mine I had sand blasted it myself and it was very, very bright shiny steel. I acid etched within an hour of the sandblasting, just after cleaning everything out with compressed air. Even if you cannot do this I would aim to clean it up as best you can and then put the primer on as soon as possible. Filler goes on later, but is porous and also absorbs moisture so keep it dry or cover the filler with a surface coat. It may be worth treating... MORE
Etch first, as it is a conditioner for the metal not the filler. Be sure to allow plenty of time for the etch to dry. This gives the primers and fillers a secure surface to adhere to The etch is a chemical reaction to stop corosion. It actually eats into the surface of the metal and becomes part of it. "OSPHO" is an excillant neutralizer for rusted areas that can't be otherwise cleaned. It converts the rust to a black oxide that takes body prep well. Hope this helps all ! "romulus43" 23577... MORE
Hi guys At last I've almost finished the paint stripping/underseal stripping. What a boring, tedious, monotonous job that was! By far the worst I've had to do so far and I'm so pleased its now almost finished. This does now bring into focus the filling/spraying aspect. All of the car has now been taken back to bare metal, and I intend to spray an acid etch primer coat on top of the bare metal, before the primer coats. Now, the question is, should I put filler on before the etch primer or afterwards? Second question is, there is still... MORE
After using some rubbing compound on the new 73 Midget I think I was mistaken on the original color . . . the lighter oxidized paint led me to believe it may be Aconite now that I have rubbed out a test area I think it's actually Black Tulip. Dark purple. A good photo of a Black Tulip car is an MG at: http://www.sportscarwarehouse.com/carofthemonth-october-02.htm Don "Don May" 23557... MORE
Dear Listers, I hope someone out there can point me in the right direction. Just finished ( to the point where it should run well) my '75 Midget. I have a recurring problem with stumbling and power loss during higher speed cruising, above 40 mph. The spluttering is usually accompanied by a 5 dg. or so rise in coolant temp. If I back off, the car will smooth out again and run OK if I don't push it. The magic number seems to be 50 mph. If I cruise lower than that I usually don't have problems. At 50... MORE
