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Ian, (AKA Mandy!) If you have looked at my photos you will see that the rear wheel arches were in a pretty poor state. They had been repaired with Polyfilla and newspaper! I cut out old rusted metal one section at a time, and replaced with steel panels that I cut, bent shaped and welded into position piece by piece. This included most of the inner wheel arch, the heel board, cills, spring mounts, floors etc. Most of these panels I fabricated as I was on a "we tight" strategy. I did buy a repair panel for the lower... MORE
G'day Guy Many cars in the BMC range had a common bolt pattern for the front brake backing plates. Not too surprising when you think they could have been drawn up by the same designer or draftsman. Larger cars had (wait for it) larger brakes. Disc brakes were quite rare and, in the 1950's and early 1960's, only used on expensive up-market cars, such as Jaguar. The Austin A40 Farina had 8" drum brakes, deemed necessary to slow down it's heavier sedan body shell. The Morris Major (also badge engineered as Austin Lancer, Wolseley 1500, Riley 1500) had 1500cc... MORE
Gang, here are a couple of links to pictures of my Midget 1500 taken right after I traded that Lotus Europa project for it last spring. The lotus can just be seen in background. http://www.stoolhead.com/76midget/lfquarter.jpg http://www.stoolhead.com/76midget/rrquarter.jpg regards, rick "Rick Lindsay" 33630... MORE
Gang, here are a couple of links to pictures of my Midget 1500 taken right after I traded that Lotus Europa project for it last spring. The lotus can just be seen in background. http://www.stoolhead.com/76midget/lfquarter.jpg http://www.stoolhead.com/76midget/rrquarter.jpg regards, rick "Rick Lindsay" 33629... MORE
The A-arms are interchangeable, but the later ones are reinforced and are stronger. Get one from a car which was originally equipped with an anti-roll bar. Some of the vendors sell rebuilts for $75 or so. "joe blxfstz" 33531... MORE
Hi As I was investigating a "clunk" on my '79 Midget I found the lower wishbone assembly fractured at the lower fulcrum pin. So ok, I go to the garage to get one to replace it with and out of 3 sets of front suspension none of them has the holes for the sway bar.. I guess all my stuff is pretty early...My question besides the absence of the holes for the bar are there any other differences? I thought they will all interchange with each other. Is it possible to drill the holes into an earlier set? It... MORE
Thank you Bob Still not sure what to look for. I have been visiting the main Marine Supply Stores'sites, but have not seen anything that can be used for this purpose. Anyway, the problem is solved now. I used an ordinary grease pump, filled some oil into it, pumped a few stroke in order to get out the remaining grease, and voila, I managed to get the necessary amount of EP 90 oil into the steering rack. Jan Erik "jmaalen" 33524... MORE
Correcto, James C.! The earlier Austin(?) racks used oil, the later (Spitfire?) racks used grease. I am not knowing when the changeover occurred but I am sure we will hear from more learned folk! :) You can use grease in the earlier racks, however, in cold weather, the steering will become more difficult in tight quarters. Skipping the "zerk" entirely, it is possible to reasonably fill each boot by undoing one of the clamps to the gaitor(s) and squirting in oil with an oil gun. Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 33518... MORE
Hello Spridget Gurus How do I get gear oil into the grease nipple in the steering rack of my MKIII? I have seen from previous postings that one should use an oil gun. What is this, and where can I get one? Thanks in advance... Regards Jan Erik "jmaalen" 33510... MORE
Cap;, Thats what I had in mind when looking. I may just find a 3.7 rear end and call it a day. If I want to go long distances I don't think a Midget is the ticket. Rob C-75 Midget it carb rebuild land, again. Jeez I suck as a mechanic. Webfoot Leisure.com rob@... 866-530-9801 toll free " robbiesg@... " 33494... MORE
G'day Vince Were does this yellow/brown wire start and finish. That would help determine what it is for. But I think Chris might be correct - it's the oil filter warning light. Inside the oil filter housing is a spring-loaded ball bearing. When the filter gets blocked (cos you haven't changed it for 17 years) the pressure causes the ball bearing to move against the spring thus opening a by-pass passage for the oil. On the outside of the filter housing is a spade terminal. Power runs from the ignition circuit, through the light bulb behind the red light... MORE
I have booked the Dyno sesson for later this month and the guy asked if i could get hold of some new springs for dissy weights. Do anybody know where i can get springs for a Lucas 43D dissy. Thanks! Jens "jensmaudal" 33324... MORE
Aha! now I see the reason for the subject line! At least you won't have to worry about your feet getting cold! Seriously though, does it really need to go in so far back? If the pulley sits almost up to the steering rack like the original one, you should have a load more space to play with. Regards David "David Jacobs" 33307... MORE
David - No, the engine isn't in the correct/final placement just yet, just got excited and had to show somebody. I was thinking I was going to have to cut a radiused notch in top of the crossmember, but playing around last night I have it a little closer to finalized, I raised the motor about 1" and brought it forward (about 5-1/2") so the pulley is about 1/2" back from the steering rack. I plan to modify the oil pan to a flattened roadracing type, so the pan can be tucked up into the chassis. Hope to do... MORE
Some bits are interchangeable - tail lights are the same, mirrors are similar, but Midget ones need an extra angled plinth to sit at the correct angle due to the different curvature of the door panel compared to the 'B. Headlamp bezels again are slightly different, but you can generally make B ones fit. Without knowing the spec of your car (North American? UK?) I wouldn't like to comment on the air filter interchangeability. Wiper switch will probably be a two speed for the B and only a single speed for yours but again could be made to fit.... MORE
Coil should get warm, but not too hot to touch. If it is getting that hot it may be that as it heats up the insulation breaks down and the spark is failing. This would cause the misfire. Maybe you have 2 unrelated faults? Mixture and spark? Excuse me stating the obvious, but I always have to think hard about which way to screw the jet to richen or weaken the mixture. Lower the jet for richer isn't it - so its clock-wise as you look down at the carb. Guy "Guy Weller" 33255... MORE
Terry Since they improved the A1 Ferry Meadows has become a bit of a bugger to get to unless you know your way around Peterborough, you could at one time just turn off the A1 at Alwalton drive for a couple of miles and there you were. I think the easiest way, although maybe not the most direct would be as follows:- Travelling north on the A1 Take the slip road at junction 16 towards Yaxley, south of Peterborough At the roundabout at the top of the slip road take the third (or maybe fourth) exit marked Yaxley Follow... MORE
brought the frogeye back to life tonight. First time it has started in the last year or so, but for the last 4 years it has only really run once a year to move to a new resting place. However this time it was a bit reluctant to start, and I found no spark so ran a hot wire from the fuse box to the +ve terminal of the coil and it fired up easily then. Interestingly when attempting to rev the engine it really did not want to know, and coughed and spluttered instead, this got better when... MORE
For the purposes of discussion on subject engine with 1.25" carbs... There are two types of needles.... "fixed" (no jet interference) & (emissions/later cars) "biased" (spring loaded...runs against jet's inner core...) The fixed needle should experience no wear as long as the needle is correctly centered within the jet. Theoretically, they never contact and in this respect, should not wear. The "biased" needle/jet is a contact set-up and thus wears, requiring replacement from time to time. I forget which metal is softer and what wears first (or most, over time/use). The stock jet is always size .90 for the... MORE
Guys.... As most of us know, Peter C. does excellent lever shock rebuilds. Ron Soave of the spridget autox list is collecting names of people who would be interested in purchasing "variable", externally adjustable valves for lever shocks, which would enable owners to adjust the firmness of ride (both ways) to their individual needs or tastes. The valves would run approx. US$70 to $80 per valve, considering these would be of a limited production run. Hopefully, the would be producer (Peter C.) could lower costs through more orders for the initial run by making inquiries to all the other... MORE
Nige et al I used the same method for removing the 'frozen' piston in the brake calipers. Method clamp the the piston in the caliper half where the banjo fits. Wrap the caliper in a rag with some plced where the disc would be. Cut the rubber hose and apply airline. First mistake using workshop pressure at 6 bar (80psi) the resulting BANG brought all the technicians out of the test cells to see what the h*ll was going on (or off as the case may be). Use reducesd airline pressue for other calipers. The remaining piston can be... MORE
Ok so I've got to the point on my restoration where I wanted today to see if my '72 RWA would fire up. But no, Turns over superb but there just ain't no spark I have a new coil, leads, distributer cap and rota arm, new plugs, starter solonoid and so on Turning the engine over with a plug out place against the block gives no spark. Tracing it all the way back to the coil and just having the coil lead against the block still gives no spark Help please....... The wireing of the low tension is too... MORE
Anyone out there wanting a COMPLETELY rust free 79 Midget?? BTW, NO FINANCIAL INTEREST!! This is just too cheap to let go past without telling you guys. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2485001583 Ok, there is a bit of surface rust in the boot, between the spare the the rear panel, but the A pillars, rear wings, and front wings, are all in excellent shape. The floors are also nice and clean, the undercoating still all intact, not peeling anywhere that I noticed. As you all know, I don't normally seek out these cars, but....... I was out doing the yard sales today in... MORE
I think you forget on each spring there are 2 spring pans one under the spr ing on the wishbone one above it welded to the crossmember, the one they al tered is welded to the cross member, but yes if you change it the ride heig ht will change!, altering the lower wishbone would also work. Stewart "Ford Prefect" 33120... MORE
Stewart, Does that mean that by changing the spring pan, you might be able to adjust the ride height of the front end? This is the first time I have heard of this. Cheers, Bob in San Diego "Robert D. Gardner" 33118... MORE
