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MG Midget and Sprite General - Introduction before disaster!

Hi everyone!

I've just bought my first midget so I thought I'd say hi and introduce myself before something goes horribly wrong in the restoration process.

I'm Dave, and the car is a 1978 midget called Polly in damask red, faded to mottled orange with a nice rusty trim. It runs ok, but is very tatty and the gear box needs work (5 speed conversion?). About half the lights work, the interior is a mess, but the engine is in fantastic condition. My plan is to strip it down to the chassis to weld and paint, sort the gear box and then put it all back together to do a rolling restoration on the rest. It would be nice to have something driveable by the summer. Feel free to tell me if that's a terrible idea. It probably is as I've no idea what I'm doing.

Dave
D Ambrose

welcome Dave,

You will get loads of advice here no question is too small to answer. Good luck with your restoration. One bit of advice do an estimate and double it.

Mike
M J Pearson

Good one mate, difficult task to undertake but sounds like a plan. Will look forward to hearing how well things will be going and happy as I am sure others will be to give advice as required.
Bob Turbo Midget England

Hi Dave, welcome, good advice from here from others better than me

post up when you're ready for a g/box conversion

good luck with your project

my standard advice, I think it's good advice:-

My advice to new/potential owners -

buy a owners Handbook as it tells you so much you need to know as to own, drive, service and maintain your car - http://www.mgocshop.co.uk/catalog/Online_Catalogue_Handbooks_5.html

always have the battery in good condition and all battery connections and leads clean, secure and protected, same for all electrical wiring and connections

As soon as possible do a full and proper 36,000 miles service only miss out items that you have 100% proof have already been done very recently, including;
g/box and back axle oils
brake and clutch fluids
coolant
dissy cap, rotor arm and leads (buy good quality ones)
http://www.distributordoctor.com/rotor_arms.html
fan belt

Check the age of your tyres if they are 6 years old or more replace ASAP regardless of tread depth, this will improve, the braking, steering, ride, handling and possibly noise, of the car greatly

Use the car regularly - to get used to it, sort out any wrinkles and prevent others, and enjoy it

Every few weeks check your horn and wipers work (no problem if you use the car regularly)

Follow regular checks, servicing and maintenance as per owners Handbook

Drive in all weathers, the Midget hood should be very watertight if fitted correctly and the heater is more than adequate, if working correctly, for the small cabin

Do not do any cosmetic or improvement work for at least 12 months of regular use, unless you need to replace parts or components, as you may need to use the money elsewhere on the car

Also very useful, you can get suppliers catalogues for free to get you started to see where things go but in my personal opinion they’re not as good paper copy like - http://www.mgocshop.co.uk/catalog/Online_Catalogue_Parts_Lists_3.html

Cheers, enjoy your car
Nigel Atkins

You NEED to be able to post pics for us to see your project as it progresses - And to offer advice on
Mick struggling with the wiring

Hi Dave,

Sounds like a similar situation to what I am in. Although my '76 will deffinatly not be ready for the summer! I hope you don't have too much welding to do!

All the best,
Malcolm

M Le Chevalier

Hi Dave

Looks like Polly has got herself a good new owner and all the best of luck with your work - word of warning - a "little bit of welding" always turns into a huge bit - and be prepared to have your wallet opened and emptied permanently!

Hope that you can make it - with or without her - to Midget 50 (www.midget50.com) as you'll get to meet loads of people and see hundreds of cars, which have had just about every modification possible made to them - and it will hopefully fill you with inspiration.

Another thing - there's many folks out there who will try and tell you what to do and what not to do - my general rule of thumb is: does their car work - and if not - what the heck gives them the right to tell me what to do!?!?!?!?!

Do put some sort of pic up - even if only in your profile thing - so we can see your pride and joy - and, when you get it sorted - drive it like you own the road - coz you do ;)

Good luck :)
rachmacb

Welcome Dave,
You will find this forum the dog's B------s, the lads and Lassies are great for info, always, well mostly with a touch of humour, they have helped me no end, I have to take some stick sometimes, but I pick out the best advice and take a chance.
I agree with Mike, whatever you think it will cost it will be lots more, but driving a Midget is worth it, and hey! you can't take your money with you!
well actually we don't know, no one has ever come back to tell us if we need money where ever we go, when the end comes!!!!
have fun, cheers Jack.
Jack New Forest

If at all possible, postpone the major projects until winter. The more you enjoy it now, the better your motivation to get it back on the road after the project(s). I think that more Spridgets die because the owner undertook too many projects, got in over their head, took so long that they forgot the joys of driving the car, finally passed it along to someone else or scrapped it. Sad. Along those lines, try not to get into too many projects at once. Keep them under control and keep an eye on the end of the project. When you start feeling overwhelmed, let us know and we will try to encourage you to keep the faith and/or give you a hand.
David "time for me to start a project or two..." Lieb
David Lieb

Oh... So everytime I open the garage door I shouldn't be thinking "why did I buy this car and how on earth am I going to get it moving again!" ha ha.

Malcolm "makes the rustyest of rust buckets look good" Le Chevalier
M Le Chevalier

Thanks for the enthusiasm! And the fast responses! I'm thinking I'll get on with the gearbox conversion ASAP (maybe next week) using a kit (like the frontline one) might as well do it before I strip everything down so I can check if it working.

Here's what she looked like before I took stuff off:

D Ambrose

Welcome Dave. David's advice about not getting so involved with big things that you forget what it's like to drive is very wise.
I've had lots of great help from the people on here and I hope that in my turn I've helped others. Someone will always be willing and able to help with lots of things. I have looked on other forums for different makes of cars and this BBS is by far the freinliest and most helpful. I'm sometimes amazed at how far out of their way people on here will go to help others.
So. You came to the right place.
Bernie.
b higginson

What? Now I am being accused of being "wise"?!?!?
Oh wait, I re-read it.. he only accused the statement of being wise. I thought that years of effort had just gotten flushed down the drain ;-)

I think it is the nature of Spridgets to make us friendly and helpful. I am on a couple of other internet Spridget resources and the only people on them who tend to be exceptions also tend not to actually have any Spridgets. Some of you know the prime example.

Lovely car! Someone appears to have done a great job of de-bumpering the front and installing a grille. Now to get the wipers to park... Oops, I haven't dug that info out for Prop yet. Maybe I will remember tonight.
David "not that wise" Lieb
David Lieb

Nice looker. Hope to do a similar debumpering on mine. Is it a one piece front end? I can't seem to see any bonnet panel gaps...?

A-post looks a bit rusty tho! :-(

Malcolm
M Le Chevalier

>>> If at all possible, postpone the major projects until winter. <<<

Unless you, like me, have an unheated garage... :-)

Dave, welcome to the forum! Don't be a stranger,

-:G:-
Gryf Ketcherside

Prop wanted his "done" for the summer

That was back in 1981!!!

Welcome to the BBS and remember to keep us up-to-date with progress pics
PeterJMoore

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Malcolm,

Yep its a one piece fibreglass front end, the hinge is about to fall off. And the a post is relying on the structural paintwork at the moment.

Gryf,

I don't even have a garage, much less a heated one! I've got a shed with an artful extension made out of patio doors and shipping pallets. All the in the name of adventure.

D Ambrose

structural paintwork... i know the story! at the risk of exposing myself to much mockery and taunts of 'buy a new shell' this is what happened after i rubbed back the paintwork on my front left corner! :-) (similar situcation with sills, a post, floors, wings...) i have some new panels, doing some welding next week... hopefully...

Malcolm

M Le Chevalier

Malcolm,

You should have use the paint buffer on low speed. I guess you know that now.

Dave,

Welcome. Like David I would suggest doing the minimum to get it marginally roadworthy and then driving it some, but for an additional reason. That is, to assess it a bit so you know better what to do durning a tear down. I bought a dead but solid B roadster and as a result of not being able to test it out I have had to take some of the same parts off several times as new problems showed them selves. I bet I've had the radiator out three times.

Charley
C R Huff

If you decided to for the FL 5 speed conversion route I strongly suggest you buy from somewhere like Moss or MGOC to fet a proper warranty

If you're short, like me, then get a shortened box to get the gear lever near the original position

I personally wouldn't bother with the quickshift and (cheap made) lever as they're not really quick

I'm not sure if it's the same for 1500s but allow space for fanbelt replacement when fitting the box

Personally I'm with others and would suggest perhaps putting this on the back burner - 1500 already has synchro on first the earlier ones don't, you might find the existing g/box fine for what you want - plus you'll provably want to use the money elsewhere for the unexpected and things being slightly worse than they first looked

Not that it matters, I don't think that paint was Damask, my car is Damask

I'm not sure how far you've got but like others I'd suggest driving the car to iron out niggles and find repair priorities and to find out what a 1500 Midget is like

As long as the safety components are OK and you say the engine is good, sort out a bit of wiring and get used to it on the road

Even with a "totally restored" car the new owners usually end up completeing the work by using the car as regularly as possible to do a proper and prolonged shakedown and discover the bits that were missed or skimmed over - or is that just me with the "totally restored" cars I buy
Nigel Atkins

Apologies about colour, I've just taken a photo of my car for another thread and in the sunlight it does look close to yours, normally looks darker
Nigel Atkins

This thread was discussed between 18/03/2011 and 19/03/2011

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