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Hi everyone, I recently pick up a 71 Midget that some what a basket case for $100. Unfortunately it was an unfinished project from someone else. the rear section was choped off to make a truck bed. It also has a Fiat engine under the hood (I don't like this combo) I intend to fix the body up to original design and put in some japanese powertrain. and upgrade suspension to a full SLA both front and rear. I start with late model Toyota 4AGE that will be completely rebuild and blueprinted to the extend. I saw alot of... MORE
Paul... There is probably a formula for this but, I am "not knowing" in this respect. All else being equal... as the track and footprint widen, the wheelbase "effectively" decreases..... think go-kart. The car becomes shorter! All else being equal... as compared to the stock tire/wheel size, as the footprint becomes greater, the vehicle weight load upon the tire will effectively decrease....for this and other technical reasons...all else being equal you will feel this mostly on a wet or contaminated surfaci. All else being equal... the stock suspension was built with the stock tire/wheel combo in mind. As that... MORE
If you are certain you are getting enough travel out ot the slave cylinder to disengage your clutch, then the first thing that comes to mind is that your clutch disc is stuck to the flywheel. How long has it been since it was driven and working properly? Was the fluid loss the reason for the failure and was it from sitting to long? Three other posibilities: * First motion shaft is stuck in or has to much friction with the pilot bushing. * Clutch pressure plate spring/s have failed. * Throw out bearing has come off the fork.... MORE
I am having problems with clutch not disngaging on my 1275 midget. T save cylinder dumped allm of its fluid. I have replaced cylinder and it is wirking correctly however clutch is still not disengaging completely and I am unable to get any gearsw when engine is running. Have changed slave cylinder for smaller bore 1098cc one to get more throw on cluthch lever to no avail. Car is running a five speed sierra box with roller release bearing but this seems o.k. Any suggestions as to why clutch still won't disengage properly before Iresort to removing engine and... MORE
Drew, I haven't actually done this, but I have rebult a couple sets. I would suggest every other leaf, but you probably don't want ot remove more than between two and four leaves. It will probably take some experimentation, but obviously the lengths you remove will make a difference how many as well. Check with Larry Miller. I think he may have done thos before. If you get a difinitive answer, let me know. P.S. Still waiting to hear more about the white Bugeye. Gerard "gerardchateau" 25034... MORE
I've previously heard, on this list, that you can take a few leaves out of the rear 1/4 ellipt. springs to improve the ride. How many and which ones? Cheers! "Drew Griffith" 25019... MORE
Steve, I never had to remove the column, but I had to loosen it to be able to remove the cowl. As for the ignition switch, when you remove the switch itself from the key lock and tumbler assembly, see if the key rotates then. I had the ignition switch itself jam up twice on my 76. The original one and on the replacement that was only 2 weeks old. I took the old one apart and the contact tabs had just worn away, broke and jammed. The new one I just sent back. Haven't had any problems since.... MORE
"Tube or lever shox" I am inclined to agree with you, David C. My current BE came with a tube shock set-up and I don't think it pays to convert BACK! The only reason I became familiar with tube shock kits to begin with (PO'd LBC) was due to the fact I couldn't find a rebuilt that would last more than 6 months and they just wanted too much dough for new. With Worldwide/Peter C. in the picture, this is no longer the case, especially in view of the fact he can supply alternative valves as well. Cap'n. Bob... MORE
Colin... Hah!! It can't even produce one hp per cubic inch and in any case, would upset the fore/aft balance of the BE in terms of understeer. Of course, I could compensate to some extent with a heavier rear bar. And Peter C. could supply firmer valves for lever shocks as well. Or I could simply go with firmer KYB tubes. Then I'd have to fabricate a hitch to tow the fuel tank around..not too difficult. And I'd definitely have to give up the 3.7 for the original 4.22 for decent acceleration. Ya' know, this might be doable....I must... MORE
David, Check out his car on my web site. I don't know if you've seen it before, but it's in the Hot Rod Healey section, so your thoughts about stock shocks may not be valid. John's is the last in te series of pages (there are about 8) http://www.gerardsgarage.com/FS_Garage.htm use the "Unique Spridgets" link on the main page to find it. Gerard "gerardchateau" 24983... MORE
Drew, This spring I converted to a tube shock suspension and larger front disc brakes. I purchased the full shock kit with mounting components kit from Frontline Spridget. Lots of custom grinding and filing to get it to fit. Worth the effort, but not a bolt on as marketed. The kit included AVO adjustable shocks. (www.avouk.com). No part # was included on the invoice or the one page of lit from AVO. I can't tell from their web site what car they're intended for, since Spridget isn't a choice there. I believe that the eye bores at each end... MORE
After a little digging I was able to answer my own question=85 The Carrera shocks for the front Spridget tube shock conversion (the ones that incorporates the original shock as the upper link) is #3255- PLN and is $94 from Carrera themselves. At first I thought this shock was a little pricy till I found out that this shock has the correct eyelet mounts (5/8"), is re-buildable, is re-jettable, can be converted to coil-overs and has progressive damping from 275-475 lb/in=B2. All things considered=85 this shock is still a little pricy or me, so I'll go with the next... MORE
Drew.. "tube shocks" On my basically stock BE (except for 3/4 front bar and 175/70 on 13" 5.5 Westerns) I am running the Wheelrite conversion the car came with when acquired from PO but with Corvette-size KYB "GR2's" which are softer than the normal KYB's. I am sorry, but I do not have the model numbers handy. They are still a little too firm, but not by much. They are acceptable. A little softer wouldn't hurt, though, since the stock BE rear was oversprung to begin with. Though I normally do not exceed 70, I have once had the... MORE
So what is the preferred solution to tyres that rub on the flexible brake hoses on full lock? I have steel braided hoses so they are not getting damaged, but I don't like the idea of the "snatching and tugging" that must be taking place when this happens. I wondered if I could rig up a lightweigt spring (like a throttle spring) to pull the hose back clear of the tyre. Anyone had this problem and sorted it? Guy "Guy Weller" 24967... MORE
are you sure it's the frame it's rubbing? (i.e. is it visible rubbing there, or just audible?) It's not uncommon for a wheel to rub on a flexible brake hose on full lock - check this out, as they can rub through with obvious potential disastrous results! They shouldn't contact anything solid though - there is a lock-stop built into the king-pin which the stub axle contacts before anything else, unless you have ultra wide wheels! The other thing to note, once you've sorted the rubbing thing, is that if it turns more in one direction, both tie rods... MORE
Gerard, You are correct about how simple it all seemed when I started. I'm mainly concerned over two things=85 the lower eyelet (1/2") and the weight of the car the shocks were originally intended for. I'm not concerned much about the upper mounts because I can change them from a 5/8" eyelet to a 3/8" bayonet in a heartbeat. I have already downloaded the KYB catalog and considered EVERY shock listed in it, and as luck would have it, the best fit (for my application) shocks were made for a FWD Cadillac, 2WD Chevy, Ford or Dodge trucks or... MORE
Drew, When looking for replacement shocks for the rear of my Morris pickup, I thought finding a replacemnt for the Monroes that were on there would be a piece of cake. Turns out there a very few shocks made with an eyelet at bothe ends, which I an assuming is what you need. After much difficulty locally, I went through Summit racing, but again ran into the dual eyelet problem ith what the carried. I ended up getting some very good assistance taking directly to KYB and was able to get the correct length gas shocks for the pickup.... MORE
Can those of you who are running front tube shocks let me know which ones (manufacturer and part#) you're running? I'm looking for a set for my 62 Sprite (I already have the conversion hardware) and I'd like to get a feel for what other people are running. Anyone running the Carreras shocks from Winners Circle? KYBs? I'm also running the 400 lb competition springs with an alternate engine. My engine, spring and tire combo sets my front frame height at approx 6 inches off the ground and the distance between the shock mounts at 12 inches. I measured... MORE
You certainly have a problem there. Either something has become bent or collapsed through corrosion. Another thing to look at is the top trunnion bushes although I'm not sure if this would give rise to enough movement to allow rubbing. "Jeremy Cogman" 24943... MORE
..hey group,..my 62 has a tendency to rub its drivers side front wheel against the inner frame when i make tight turns..but not when i make a tight opposite turn..do you think its a tie rod that needs ajustment?..or.....? its odd,... it did not do it before but now recently it has started. thanks for your help in advance! samuel "modernlmi2000" 24940... MORE
I'm pushing it back and forth and my neighbors must think I 've gone mad. Was at the hardware store and noticed Bondo UV sun activated body filler for the first time and being a curious animal had to try it. "Apply in shade only, must be in sun to activate" a good test for the level of the sun's UV rays it is. It will stay soft in the shade for hours one beam of sun light hit it and it's on its way to stone in a few seconds . . . amazing stuff. I have the... MORE
The column does not need to be removed, but it needs to taken loose so that it can be extended and dropped down. Otherwise tou will not have the clearence for the back screws in the cowl, and probably not enough clearance for the cowl itself. It is not that big of a job once it is examined. I'm guessing about eight bolts total. "Trevor Jessie" 24921... MORE
I am faced with having to replace or repair the ignition switch on my '78 Midget. I intend to pull the assembly off the steering column and either bring it to a locksmith to replace the cylinder, or have Moss send me a new assembly for $159 (yuck). In any event, Haynes (p226) says that step 1 is removing the steering column entirely. Is this really necessary? I see that with the everything else in place, to remove just the cowling, it would have to be bent into a shape that it may not want to go into. Has... MORE
I go out to put my 78 Midget away for the night, and - the key won't turn! What the heck!! I find that the cylinder is a bit sticky, in that sometimes it stays in the "in" position even with the key out. I gave it a shot of silicone spray, no help. Basically I can't get the key to turn at all. This is out of the blue. I checked; the key is not being stopped from turning by the steering wheel being turned in one direction or another. My Midget has no "key unlock" button for... MORE
...might be on subject...but not 'specific' to the conversation.... I've been studying (extensively) the various emissions re-breather systems used on the various years and models of LBC's. Why? Trying to come up with a system that won't dump oil all over the back of the intake valves. Any of you that have ever pulled a head off an engine that has had a bit of blow-by due to worn rings, knows what I mean. The vapors (due to crankcase pressure) being discussed here, dump all that oil into the intake and end up burning onto, and crudding up the... MORE
