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MG Midget and Sprite General - A big thank you & final decision time

Went to see another midget today.

A big thanks to Rob Laird who generously gave his time and experience to help me with what may likely be my first Midget. I was late, which was an improvement on my previous form of "broken down".

A question before I part with any hard earned.

What would be the general consensus here of the value of the following car:

*1979 1500 with tax & MoT
*Mechanically sound
*Welding sound
*Structurally sound in the important parts
*D/S door and bonnet will need replacing within 3/4 years due to corrosion.
*Hard top (in poor condition), new soft top, and a couple of spare parts included.
*Performance not the best, but adequate. Breaking hard pulled a little, although road camber didn't help.

and....

*Rear wing m join on the top small surface rust which Rob pointed out will be a problem in the future.

Buyers guide I've seen elsewhere lists poor condition as 650, average 1750, which sounds about right to me.
LE 1500

1250-1450 ?? but I may be way out...
David Smith

personly id pay £1000-£1200 going on your description.however cant really say with out photos. what mileage has it done as that will make a diffrence to price( poor performance screams engine rebuild needed to me), the door and bonnet replacement in them selfs ant really a problem as you can pick them up on ebay for less the a £100 but you need to allow the respray into the price which ant cheap. the rear wing join is a worry but not so much if you allowing for a respray anyway. it sounds like a good get in and drive starting point though. the fact someones payed to have a new soft top fitted and not just bodged the old one says to me the car was loved and not just driven.and the fact it comes with spares says who ever last owned it knew how to work a spanner, both good points to me. maybe im wrong though.
roy judd

to add to what Toby (LE1500) description

this is a 'Joan Collins' (looks good from 6 ft away) car.
MOT 'till October from a local reputable garage, from 6ft it was shiny and straight. Some bubbling in the door skin and door frame (driver's side), paint mismatch and filler in the bonnet front, wing tops, A post lowers, Drivers door, and rear wing top seams. low micro blisters on the bonnet. The rest of the car was very good (even close up). A few patches in the floors, inner cills, rear bulkhead (spring hangers),(welding could have been neater but was ok) New outer cills and pass door.

Mechanically seemed very good, clean (but dusty) engine & bay, no clonks or rattles, quiet g/box and axle. The engine was an easy starter with very clean exhaust minimal oil smoke on cold revving. It was a little lack lustre on the road(though the only other 1500's I've driven were tuned)...so maybe std feels like that? If it is down on power it's maybe due to not being driven enough ie being a little coked up. I would definitely do a compression check then drive it for a few weeks before being sure about it's health simply because it is a quiet, oil leak and smoke free engine...which all points to it being OK. You could compare with other or see what it'll do as a top speed (using the sat nav) since this will give a better indication to ball park power output than whether it 'feels' a little low.

newish rebuild to front suspension (wishbones/kingpins) shocks were leak free and seemed to be working, Alloys (minilites)OK tyres, spot lights, seats OK with no splits, new hood, slightly scruffy carpets, recent master cylinder.

Mechanically it's above average....body wise probably average due to the rear wing issue.

I've no real feel for midget prices ('spesh at the lower end)and I don't believe the 'price guides'. But for the money seems better than the green one. Why not look at 'completed auctions' on eBay for an idea of what the bidding closes at....which is, as we all know, not what the cars really sell for.
HTH

Rob



robnrrugby

I'm not pouring cold water on your efforts but I really wonder why you're going through eBay when, for your budget, there are ones being advertised on the club sites and chances are, someone here will know the car and give you better feedback.
rachmacb

my tip don't do a compression test
just do a normal tune up
points, condenser, rotor,cap, leads and plugs
fresh oil and filter and check the carbs for tune and wear.

and drive it

if you do a compression test and find something wrong you are just going to worry about it
if it runs as smooth as said than you should be able to enjoy the summer.

after that you know what the car is like and what is needed and most importantly what you want from it!!!!!
Onno Könemann

If you're happy with your possible purchase, then go for it.
We bought our '78 Midget via ebay and as it was advertised as having an overheating problem, it turned out to have a blown headgasket. I travelled to the UK and spent seven hours changing head gasket, checking lights and brakes and doing a very short road test.
Imagine my surprise when after purchase, I opened the boot to find a box of spares and a box folder containing a full history of the car from her original purchase, warranties, mot's, spares purchases, service history, addresses of former owner's, all there and not even mentioned in the sale.
The next day I drove back to the Charente (although not above 55mph).
18 months down the road, we are still using the Midget, as she passed the CT(mot), much to our surprise and the only major spend has been a new soft top, as yes, it does rain here after all.
Yes, she's got tinworm, yes in the perfect world I'd like her to be in better condition, BUT and it's the biggest BUT you can say, she's put the biggest smile on our faces that's possible. Not only that, we've discovered that she's quite rare here, as the 1500 was never imported into France.
All of this for just £390............
I hope that you're as lucky as we've been with your car and as I said at the start.....GO FOR IT
Graham

Am seriously thinking of getting rid of mine if you want it and can be in your budget
rachmacb

I may have the perfect car for you sir.

'79 1500 Midget

Fresh body restoration, so NO rot anywhere, all receipts for panels available, fresh paint, years tax and test.

If you want more details please email me as i realise this is not a classifieds area.

Thanks
Pete
PeterJMoore

rach
what are you saying?!
whit what will you come to holland then?!
Onno Könemann

She'll be riding her favourite stallion Trigger
bill sdgpm

LOL - would probably keep up with them better on a stallion - but, not my black :(! Mind you, I was checking the SPEED LIMITS ... and, I can only get left behind illegally .......

Sometimes it would be nice to not have car parts in the kitchen - or - perhaps I'm getting a little sad because they are now all on her ...
rachmacb

WELL - have you decided then?
rachmacb

You wanted a picture of 'that area where they rot out a lot' under the rear arches. Here is a pic.
The bit is at the centre of the shot and is effectively where the rear floor section meets the curved bit of the inner arch. A long 'L' shaped piece.

rob thomas

This thread was discussed between 13/04/2010 and 21/04/2010

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