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Thanks for all the help. Now I have a weekend project. I'm impressed with how quickly help was there and I didn't even have to call 911. I ordered a manual from Haynes but it won't be here in time for this weekend so any further help and/or advise would certainly not fall on deaf ears. Once again, thanks. "Rick & Deb" 23725... 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
Cap'n Yeah it's the grinder that get's her too. But how do you work on a metal car without making noise? I've looked up the necessary information on the local Council website and the best I can find is - It is important to understand that this means a nuisance in law, usually referred to as a "statutory nuisance", and not merely an inconvenience It's so grey its unbeleivable, what constitutes a 'statutory nuisance' ? Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 23698... MORE
If you do not have any repair manuals yet, you might start watching e-bay for some deals. You may not be planning on doing any major work, but they can certainly help with little annoyances. Do not be afraid to ask a question here. Many people will assume you know how to do things, but will certainly give more detail if you ask. We all want to keep as many spridgets on the road as possible. "Trevor Jessie" 23703... MORE
Heh, heh!!! That's exactly what I said...Never Again and I ain't never done it again to this day!! It IS a helluvalot of work! This would not be the case for someone like our Frank Clarici or maybe Chuck Christ. Frank is a perfect example. The guy got his first Sprite from his Dad when he was a kid and has basically been working on them ever since. He's in his forties today. Hell, he's got 25 years of hands on experience with cars...specifically with spridgets. BUT..... he's also a builder. I know guys in town who are builders.... MORE
I opened a sticking tach and found the trouble to be a warped plastic bobbin that was used to form the wire coil on the end of the indicator pointer. The bobbin walls are very thin as it is mounted on the moving needle, heat and age deteriorate and warp it to a point that it strikes adjacent surfaces causing the indicator needle to stick. I was able to gently pry off the warped and brittle side walls of the bobbin which allowed free motion again. Would not recommend trying this to anyone unless they are very comfortable working... MORE
LOL!! See what happens when you "progress", Nigel! :) Just bear in mind that the better you do the job now, the longer it will be that you'll be able to enjoy the machine before having to do this, again. Furthermore... do it well enough, and maybe next time around will be much easier, more simply just "re-preparing" the surface for respray rather than a "down to the metal job".....this is tedious and time consuming but man, the feeling when you finally get it done is one of such deep satisfaction....a lotta sweat but you "know" it's "right". Cap'n.... MORE
Easiest way I found was to centre punch the break bolt, drill the end with a suitable size drill and use a stud removal tool. It is rather like a threading tap, except that it has a VERY course and shallow left hand helix running down it which causes it to pull into and tighten into the drilled hole, where it lock and then carry on unscrewing until the bolt is out. It only took me about 7minutes to remove all the screws. R. "Roger Stinson" 23607... 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
Yep...a LOT of time, Nigel. 'Course it could be worse...you could be doing a Caddy or Continental!! :) I took my '64 "B" down to bare metal and sprayed it with "poly"...fortunately, it needed little actual bodywork. But still, the job was being done outside so weather was a factor. I forget exactly how long it took me but it was certainly the better part of a year. The end results were worth it. Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 23603... MORE
After stripping off the front end outer metal work and cleaning the engine compartment I discovered there is a crack in the transmission bell housing. The tab like area at the top of the clutch bell housing where the top two bolts are located has a horizontal crack below them.. It does not appear to be a major structural problem once the transmission bell housing is bolted on as all other areas and bolts are sound. It looks like an easy in place weld job. Is it possible to weld the aluminum housing material? Some PO strangeness as usual... 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
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
I've been wrong before, but bondo should adhere to metal, not primer. "yuchol.kim2" 23579... 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
Does anyone have the measurements between the 6 points on the shocks on a 1975 midget. I live in a very small town and the body shops here don't have any type of information on mg's. My midget has more problems than I first thought. I replaced the negative camber bushings in the lower a-arms with a new set of stock ones, checked the distance between the lower a-arms after buying a shop manual from Moss, checked the spindle, and removed and checked the shock mounts to see if they had been played with and still have too much... MORE
Does anyone have the measurements between the 6 points on the shocks on a 1975 midget. I live in a very small town and the body shops here don't have any type of information on mg's. My midget has more problems than I first thought. I replaced the negative camber bushings in the lower a-arms with a new set of stock ones, checked the distance between the lower a-arms after buying a shop manual from Moss, checked the spindle, and removed and checked the shock mounts to see if they had been played with and still have too much... MORE
Absolutely. Did I say I can take Paypal? Put it on a plastic card and forget about it! YK "yucholian" 23476... MORE
Jack, Things to check: Headlight(s) are they grounded High/Low beam switch not letting current through Bad light master switch, ie, headlight position not working but running/parking lights okay Bad/coroded bullet connector(s) in the headlight wiring Biff Jones '59 Bugeye 'Kermit' '61 Sprite 'Ole Gray' in "The Healey Book" '71 Midget 'Freebie' under restoration http://sprites2.homestead.com/ "Biff Jones" 23411... MORE
I've completed converting my Bugeye over to negative ground, but I am having a problem converting the tachometer from positive ground to negative. The only tach conversion instructions I have been able to find on the internet or books are for a different type (earlier positive ground tachs?) and the configuration & colored wires do not match. I need advise from Listers who have done a similar tach conversion in past. First ... tach is not original Bugeye. My tach is from a later Mark 2 Sprite (HAN7), specifically a Smiths RVI2401/00 Positive Earth. The white wires wrap around... MORE
just purchased a 68 midget. the water/oil gauge does not work and want to repair or replace it. In doing so, I wanted to remove the dash to give me easier access to the faulty gauge but cant find how the top of the dash is attached to the car. service manuals talk about four screws along the top of the dash but haven't found them. any suggestions on how to approach this? "MARK " 23355... MORE
mid page at http://www.teglerizer.com/midgetstuff/interior2.htm you can see the line of holes where the dash bolts to the sheet metal. (pictures of dashboard not installed mid page) You should be able to 'approximate' where to start looking for the bolts by comparing stuff lower down. also...at the bottom of the dash, you have a few 'straps' that are the lower mounts for the dash. Remove the screws on those mounts and you can 'bend' the dash out about 2" to more easily access the rear of the gauges. Paul Tegler ptegler@... www.teglerizer.com "ptegler@cablespeed" 23364... MORE
THAT task.... (removing the dash) was one of the few times I was willing to fork out $$ for a 'specialized' tool to get them out. The 4 nuts are right at the very top edge of the dash. They are REALLY a pain to remove or even get a conventional wrench or socket onto. The tool I bought was a socket wrench... but with a twist. The end of the socket wrench you hold onto... has a small 'butterlfy' handle on it. When you hold the wrench in place and rotate the little handle, it'll turns the socket.... MORE
"Anyone ever fitted electric fan to a Mk.3 Midget..... Affirmative, M&M....guilty. Front mounted along with use of 5 bladed trop plastic fan for summer, heavy NYC Metro area traffic...good results. A few questions....is the tendency to run warm occurring "at speed" or crawling along as in traffic! Are you using a theromstadt? If so, summer one? You running a 50/50 antifreeze/water mix? If not, what's the current "ratio" of the mix? At around what ambient temperature does the tendency to run warm under the "circumstance" become apparent? Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 23354... MORE
