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MG Midget and Sprite General - Give me strength (or Previous Owners syndrome)

I know this place is full of previous owner stories, I guess it's to get some sort of 'closure' or at least confirmation that we are not going mad.

Tomorrow is the Midgets MOT, first for over a year. It starts, drives, brakes work, horn doesn't (spade connector jumped off of horn!) and the passenger side headlight only works on main beam.

Test the wiring .... fine, power at the light wiring plug. Whip out the sealed beam unit, and plug in a halogen I have lying around. It works! so I go to install it properly....

Firstly the 3 lugs on the light back do not line up with the locating depressions in the lamp bowl unless you turn the light 90 degrees??? How the heck ... oh I see, the previous ownder just clamped it in position vertical with no heed to the locating lugs. That explains why the retaining ring lugs are a bit bent. Okay soooo what do I do? Remove the headlight bowl, rotate it 90 degrees, reattach it to the wing, fit the halogen, everyones a winner!! ...

well not quite the chrome trim ring will now not clip into place top to bottom only side to side? Yes of course you can see on the bowl where Mr previous owner, bent flat the ring retaining lug bits and bent himself some new ones.

It's all sorted now but I am amazed at the lengths that someone would have gone to to fit something wrong.

I suppose I am also amazed that in 20 years of owning the car I have never had the need to touch the headlamps before !!!

Ah well, roll on tomorrow, when a bulb mysteriously packs up the minute I enter the test station...

Oh yes. I did install another halogen the other side too with no dramas.
G Hawkins

DON'T EVEN GO THERE AT THE MOMENT ...... I am staggered at the bodged jobs that people do on cars for what? The parts cost the same and to put them on incorrectly is just plain old dumb .....
rachmacb

Don't forget to check the alignment
Dave O'Neill 2

MOT place is friendly. He'll let me do the alignment when its tested. I guesstimated it for now.
G Hawkins

I feel your pain. My car has 16 previous careless owners and has so many bodged bodywork repairs. Welding repair panels over previous repair panels that have been welded over rust. Just why?!

Lazy morons really yank my crank!

Feel better now for ranting. :-)

Malcolm
M Le Chevalier

I could s-o-o have been PO of either of the cars highlighted here.....
Max max-at-midgetmax-dot-com

OOY 335R? If so I am coming to find you and confiscate your current car before you ruin another helpless midget! ha ha

Malcolm
M Le Chevalier

Lol Max - just at the moment I think that your old car would have been the easier one to do .....!!!
rachmacb

It's not my car's previous owners that worry me - it's the present one!!!

Chris
Chris H (1970 Midget 1275)

I'm with you, Chris, except that they both scare me. Stiff upper lip and all that!

Charley
C R Huff

Thank your lucky stars you're in the UK... You just want to see what some Aussies get up to....! They call it 'Bush engineering' but boy, can they bodge....!!!!!!

I think I'd better keep my head down now for a while... :-)

Mark.
M T Boldry

Well it passed the MOT fine, and just as I pulled back into the garage at home the horn switch/ring failed and the horn stuck on.... Luckily the column shroud was not fitted so could whip the wire off smartish.

Hopefully I can get more than 50 miles on it before its next MOT!
G Hawkins

I with Max god help the next owner of my car I will be called all the names under the sun! LOL

Fortunately I will be 6 feet under at that time and will not be bothered about anything but the damn worms getting into the box!
Robert (Bob) Midget Turbo

This thread was discussed between 25/03/2011 and 26/03/2011

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