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Well, Mike... When you haven't owned the car from new, we have no idea what it went through before it came to you. PO may have kept the tank less than half full most of the time and condensation over time under such circumstances would have an opportunity to really go to work on the metal. Well...fingers crossed for you... Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 26130... MORE
The original one was plastic. Over the ten years my car was a daily driver water seeped under it and the colors faded a bit and I purchased a new replacement which is also plastic and will be installed when I reach that point in my current restoration, Tim. Actually I bought the replacement 30 years ago when I started my restoration. Since that summer my Sprite had been hibernating until I restarted working on it last summer. Nelson "Nelson Wittstock" 26110... MORE
If you are going to bond something with epoxy, and it suits aluminium exceptionally well, you must design the joint for it, use the correct epoxy, make the joint the correct thickness, cure it at the right temperature for the right time and use the correct surface preparation. Sounds silly but if you do that the joint might be 100 times stronger. We have used epoxy to secure closure plates in cast aluminium pressure vessels when the casting bursts before the plate blows off. But you could lift up the corner of the closure plate with a pen knife... MORE
Right, so make a template first - by measurement, using a scriber, the centre punch will almost 'fall' into the correct spot then. [It helps if you have a surface plate and scribing block, but it is not impossible without, just more difficult. :-) ] I would also use the template to try a practice piece first, that almost goes without saying in my book! It is amazing how accurately metal can be drilled and shaped by hand methods with a littel care. I too demand high standards from myself. [My Wife tells me that there is only one... MORE
Good Morning or afternoon, I have a perplexing problem and have come to the fountain of knowledge for help. I purchased a new ignition swithch for my 63 Sprite. The old one has three spades coming out of the back. the new one has 4. On the old one, 2 white wires are soldered together and are attached to the last spade on the right as you view it from behind the dash. The middle spade also has a single white wire on it and the last one has the brown and blue wire attached. What do I do... MORE
Terry Marking out the holes is the easy bit, getting the drill to drill dead centre of those marked holes is the hard bit! Especially if you're not using a centre punch. I'll tell you what I intend to do, and it does seem an awful lot of work just to put the sill letters on, but I'm anal about this kind of thing (comes from being a Graphic Designer *g*) and unless they're 'absolutely right' I'll never be happy. It's interesting actually if you look in Grahame Bristow's excellent book - 'Restoring Midgets and Sprites, an enthusiasts guide'... MORE
I have a generous gift voucher from friends at work as a leaving present. I told them I wanted to choose some tools. Despite being known as a "fixer" most thought it an odd sort of retirement gift to choose. I explained that a good set of spanners would get daily use, last me my remaing years and every time I picked one up it would remind me of their friendship, whilst a clock or picture or book would just gather dust. In my retirement speech I commented that my wife bought me the last full spanner set when... MORE
this sounds like mine - the old sills had the holes filled in, so I picked the filler out and made a card template from them, but after drilling my new sills, I realised they were probably filled in because they were in the wrong place! It doesn't look too bad when viewed from a normal standing height, but the first time the car was at eye level on a 4 post lift for the MOT, I was horrified! David "David Jacobs" 26056... MORE
Hmmm, could be several things. With these plastic filters, as I recall, the fuel flows into the centre of the filter element and outwards so you don't see when it's full of clag. T hat said, you can drive on long cruising stretches fine. IT could therefore be the fuel pump. This is (if it is as standard) mounte d under the 'rear seat' and has a crude (but effective electro-mechanical m echanism akin to a doorbell. IT contains a set of electrical points which detoriarate over time which can lead to the pump 'sticking'. Often a bang on... MORE
OK...went to Autozone and had this choice....Castrol "Manual Clutch Fluid" or Castrol DOT 4 ABS brake fluid. I didn't see anything LMT- GA. Is that the same as the manual clutch fluid? Don't worry. I didn't buy anything yet. "Virginia" 26001... MORE
Just a mild word of warning. Aluminium (more likely an alloy) can fatigue quickley if subjected to vibrations. (as can all metals, I know) Cast Alum alloy is fine but strip or sheet alum can be problematical, the last thing you want is your nice shiny spotlamp dragging under the car by its wires. Should be ok if made from at least 6mm stuff , but keep an eye on it , especiaally the mico cracks where you bend it. alan "alan.east-jones" 25999... MORE
Julien... Well, could be an old or weak fuel pump, lack of a heat shield between carbs and engine (it gets hot under there when not moving at speed) causing fuel to percolate or "vapour lock", or lack of a vented fuel cap (though the latter is usually a case of fuel starvation which shows up under load..as in climbing a long hill with the foot well down). So, number one, check for the heat shield (basically a metal plate upon which the throttle return springs are mounted in the stock set-up). If it's "there"....go to... ...number two; at... MORE
I have just finished putting together the beginnings of a little library of out-of-print LBC-related manuals and booklets from the 60's and beyond. Have a look at http://www.1978mgmidget.com/manuals_and_booklets.html and see if there is anything of any interest to you. Some of these books are courtesy of "Ian F" of Auckland, New Zealand, who scanned in the pages and emailed them to me. Ian tells me he has some more obscure documents - I suspect we will be adding to the page, and the collection, down the road... Steve 78 Midget Steven Michelsen 25947... MORE
Brad Yes I also noticed this 'material' which us 'out of US listers' would call =3D=0D 'Hessian' : ) There was a sheet on top of the rubber diaphragm, as well as some under it =3D=0D on my seats. I must admit, I'm still in two minds whether to replace the foam seat cushi =3D=0D on and foam back cushion as a set theyre a bit pricey - about 100 bucks. Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 25891... MORE
G'day all This talk about badges reminded me - I also have the wrong boot badge for my Austin Sprite. The grill badge is fine, in fact I have a few spares, but the large (5 inch?) plastic Austin Sprite badge is no longer there. If any of our readers in the UK come across one (or two - I wouldn't mind a spare) please keep me and my poor car in mind. thanks in advance, and avagoodday Colin "Colin@SpriteParts" 25879... MORE
David I agree 100% The 'webbing' type replacements look very poorly made, and I'm reluctant to even try them on my fresh bare metal resprayed seat frame. I think I'll return them and try and source some of the correct type 'bladder' diaphrams. Thanks for your input. Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 25856... MORE
My guess would be "Yes", Bob... With ALCOHOL/water injection. Stock HC 1275's run only 8.8-1 and the Turbo Metros ran higher. They also had forged pistons but the stock Spridget piston while cast, is a pretty strong item as they take low pressure supercharging (with appropriate 100RON gasoline) without a problem. This would be up to 7psi. Intercooling makes a big difference but alcohol/water really "brings back" the leaded 100+RON octanes of yesterday. This stuff injected in appropriate amounts really cools down the combustion process. The Turbo Metro head uses the larger 1.4 intake valves I think. For more... MORE
David Take a look at the bottom of page 66 of said book for this information. Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 25780... MORE
Tim Sprite MKII and Midget MKI steel wheels and wire wheels were all painted 'aluminium silver grey' according to Terry Horler's book. Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 25778... MORE
Brad Fornal wrote BTW, the metal shifter surround is supposed to be body color. It wasn't until HAN III and GAN II that they went to all of them being black. Now hold on there a minute Brad. You are right about the surround for the models up to Han2 Gan 1. BUT the Gan 3 models had the surround 'carpet coloured', at least they did on the old english white versions, and, according to the brochure I have, on the blue carpeted ones aswell. It was only when they started carpeting all body colour cars with black that... MORE
shopping for shoes in a Wal-Mart store in Texas. Douglas Hatchett of Brownwood was examining shoes on a rack when a rattlesnake concealed behind a shoebox bit him Monday. The snake fell to the floor, where Hatchett stomped it to death. Police, fire and emergency medical crews were called to the scene. The 31-year-old shopper and the dead snake were hustled to Brownwood Regional Medical Center. There, the snake was confirmed as a rattler, and Hatchett was treated and released. Wal-Mart officials say the matter's being investigated and they have no comment. Brownwood is about 120 miles southwest of... MORE
Tim, As others have already pointed out your rims should be silver in color. The 'Concours' guys say PPG Delstar Acrylic Enamel DAR 2593X H (Silver Poly) is 'the' correct color to use. Or if you are not interested in being absolutely 'correct' you can use Krylon metalic silver followed by a coat of Kyylon clear the next day. The difference between the two (Krylon vs. PPG) is minimal and would take an "expert" to tell the difference. Biff Jones '59 Bugeye 'Kermit' '61 Sprite 'Ole Gray' in "The Healey Book" '71 Midget 'Freebie' under restoration http://sprites2.homestead.com/ "Biff Jones"... MORE
Terry Horler's book says Aluminium (code AL1) for MKI Sprites, but it doesn't give any info for later cars. David "David Jacobs" 25716... MORE
Virginia, No. Just hook up the charger to the correct battery posts, i.e., positive charger clamp to the positive battery post (+) and the negative to the negative post (-). Biff Jones '59 Bugeye 'Kermit' '61 Sprite 'Ole Gray' in "The Healey Book" '71 Midget 'Freebie' under restoration http://sprites2.homestead.com/ "Biff Jones" 25663... MORE
mine used to stick in first (the lever used to go 'too far' and it wouldn't come back without a lot of force) and I tracked it down to a worn plunger in the first/second gear assembly. (see factory manual fig F5 item 1) I think the plunger is meant to hold the gear in position on the hub, while that particular gear is selected, but the end on mine was worn down so it no longer had a smooth radius which allowed everything to move too far and then made it difficult to disengage first. You'll need to... MORE
