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MG Midget and Sprite General Paying for the midget! BBS discussion at British-Cars.org
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MG Midget and Sprite General - Paying for the midget!
| I seem completely and utterly obsessed by MG's and as such I will admit as a young professionally with a huge mortgage to pay and garage rental on top I do struggle to financially afford my midgets yet I am undertaking a second restoration! I have even started a small design and printing business to pay for my hobby / obsession. How does everyone else get on with the financial implications of owning a midget? |
| C Carter |
| I don't go out, don't have children, don't spend money on anything other than cars and don't tell my girlfriend how much I spend on the thing! :-) Working in oil and gas helps too! ;-) I don't like to think what I could have bought with the money I have spent on the Midget. Cheers, Malcolm |
| Malcolm Le Chevalier |
| Well I dont have kids so that helps and I learnt a long time ago not tell the girlfriend how much things were! But starting another full 1500 restoration I really need to pull my finger out to make some more cash because it is in need of a lot of work! |
| C Carter |
| Chris - if you need a floorpan or rear bulkhead i have them! ;-) |
| Mick struggling with the wiring |
| LOL I pretend it's all free - hide all my bills, or, even better, destroy them!, and starve most of the week to buy some part that I so need like coz it's soooooo important .....!!! Wanna buy a seriously rare race spec 1500 Peter Burgess head so I can afford to have another one done - it'd look REALLY great on your resto project :) |
| rachmacb |
| "don't go out, don't have children, don't spend money on anything other than cars and don't tell my girlfriend how much I spend on the thing!" This is how it works. There is a limit though, apparently it's 3 cars round these parts... |
| Rob Armstrong |
| lol I reached my limit with the 2 Mg's and my daily run around :( I do need a passenger floorpan and passenger side bulkhead repair as well as millions more panels for the passenger side! I do like the sound of a new cylinder head lol again you see I start a thread about the cost of a midget and you lot are selling me parts lol. My mid welder has decided it doesnt want to play as the wire keeps getting stuck in the gun so think it needs a new liner although the stupid little grub screw in the brass block is all burred so cant get the swan neck off! |
| C Carter |
| C Carter, What size wire and tip are you using on the MIG. I found that using 0.6mm wire and tips the wire would stick but using a 0.8mm tip it was much improved and I have heard of others that have found the same thing. |
| David Billington |
| I will have to check tonight I think the tip was 0.8mm but unsure on the wire now? Problem is it has pulled out the swan neck liner so need to put a new one in but only way to do that is to undo the swan neck but I can get the stupid grub screw off! Any ideas would be appreciated. |
| C Carter |
| LOL - that's coz we are all really in the same boat - and my MG count is 3 running/in repair and 1 broken parts car - plus one wonderful little Midget that I was loaned for the year - not to mention that lovely MGA I have my eyes on, if not my wallet open for ....! Then, of course, there's all the other associated things that one needs for them ....... hello Max :)! Hmmmm - wonder where in Cambridgeshire the lottery winners lives ................... |
| rachmacb |
| Speaking to Matt last night, it seems that as far as his wife is aware, anything that he has ever bought for his Midget has cost no more that £50. |
| Gary & Gaps |
| funny this welding issue came up, I have been having problems with my MIG recently too. It will start welding like crap, all spattery and stop/starty. If I take off the shroud and tip and clean it up it then works fine again for 5 mins then gets worse. I think its the wire feed sticking coming out the gun but I'm not sure... Bought some new tips and shroud, any other ideas? Malcolm |
| Malcolm Le Chevalier |
| Ahh the midget and GT are cheap and can be paid for if you do not have a modern car. It is the pre-war that has me scratching my head how to pay for it.... |
| Onno Könemann |
| Gary, Its true, true, true! The more I say it the more I believe it myself! |
| Matt1275Bucks |
| Malcolm, Probably better to start a new thread than divert this one to a MIG problem seminar. |
| David Billington |
| aye, probably, was just too lazy to click the 'new thread button'... done now! Apologies for hi-jacking, in my defence, I didn't start it :-) Malcolm |
| Malcolm Le Chevalier |
| I have a little box in a drawer in which I put some cash every now and then. And I don't mean loose change.... ;) |
| Alex G Matla |
| How did I pay for my MG experience? 1) sold another car to free up some cash, to get started on the restoration (about $5k) 2) spent every spare $ and holiday bonus money on it for the next two years, to complete the restoration 3) drove it like that for 15+ years while freeing up those kind of funds to move on to other projects I am not scared to know how much has been spent. So, after step 2), I added up all of the receipts and discovered that the amount spent was roughly equal to a brand new Miata (MX5), which seems about right, for a fully restored classic car. Boring people buy a new sports car and pay it off over time. Classic car people buy a scrap car and restore it, paying for that along the way, and when done, hopefully, get to drive and enjoy it then, too. Norm "cars aren't cheap, unless you compare them to the alternative" Kerr |
| Norm Kerr |
| As many of you poor buggers I too have a mortgage on the house en buisness, no kids only one midget and no wife or girlfriend. Its not the mortgage or kids or midget(s) thats draining you of funding ... its SWMBO. In my times of being hooked up and being free again I finaly realised why sometimes I cant spend on my car whatever I want and when not. Yep, youve guested it! Its not the mortgage or kids or midget(s) thats draining you of funding ... its SWMBO. It may come as a shock now for some of you but deep in your brain you already knew this didnt you? LOL!!! Now more seriously, im monogamous, well at least when it comes to cars. ;) One car to invest time and money in is as much as I can take. A second one would drain me and a third would finish me. And I can only drive one at the time anyway.(I keep telling myself) Although lately im being drawn to the darkside for a 1984/6 Jaguar XJ6... a car that if things go wrong can financialy bust me instantly. |
| Arie de Best |
| I've been fortunate, in that my Midget has (almost) always been driveable, and most of the work I've done on it over the last 16 years has been in the way of cosmetic an mechanical improvements - that, and fixing the occasional broken bit. Seen in that light, I've been able to afford most of what I needed for the repairs, since said repairs were usually spread out over a long period of time, and not needed all at once, a la resto. That said, NO WAY would I ever attempt to total what I've spent on the car. We tend to be pretty frugal - my wife more so than I - and seeing the total expense might be Frightening. -:G:- |
| Gryf Ketcherside |
| I think that your main problem so far is that you forget the main principle of life - share your hobbies - that way it doesn't matter what is spent on them, coz the "other half" will probably spend more :) |
| rachmacb |
| I have three, one running Midget which I drive (the green Frogeye Midget) and a MK2 Sprite (little red thing) which is very nice and original(ish) and I don't drive often enough and one broken miserable MK1 Midget parts car. I have 6 children, a wife, a home with mortgage and a big ugly Kia van that also needs things fixed on a regular basis. Most recently I sold a Tuba to fund some work on the green Midget and the purchase of a 12.5 x 24 foot Shelter Logic shed. The lunacy never ends, I've agreed to purchase a bare and rust free 1972 RWA tub from a guy in Southern California. It will go in the shed with the Sprite and then my 13 year old son and I will build up a car from it. This will be very educational for both of us. We will take our time and use what parts we already have and get as many parts on the cheap (or free) as possible. We will do all the work, not hiring any of it out. What will it cost? No doubt more than a running drivable 72 Midget we could buy locally. However there will be rewards. 
|
| Rick Bastedo |
| Arie it's ether you or the women you partner that create a problem only you know which, deep down in your brain :) My wife bought me my present Midget and has paid most of it's upkeep I've had a few reasonable cars previously because we have no children, don't smoke and have lived within our means, when we have money we don't mind spending it and when we haven't we tighten our belts (not physically though) we live in our one and only ever humble semi-detached one bedroom (two if selling) property and don't buy expensive look-at-me goods, clothes, make-up, jewellery, watches, computers, phones, don't have several expensive holidays each year ect. you've got it we're tramp like scruffy, smelly, old bu**ers |
| Nigel At |
| Somehow I've managed to keep my desires for more cars in check since I've gotten older. At one time in my youth I was "car poor" had so many that I couldn't afford to work on any of them and still would scrip and save to buy another one if it came along. Tbat's different now, I have the Midget and my MGA project and that's it. I do admit that I still will purchase a part for a future project if it comes along at a good price, but basically I'm sticking to what I have now for the time being. Spend most of my money these days on tools in preparation for my retirement spending more time in the shop with the cars. Rick, I do understand the value of that new shell. It will be worth every cent in the time you and your son Peter spend together on it. A fine young lad, glad I had the opportunity to meet you both at Midget 50. |
| B Young |
| Rach hit the nail on the head! Wouda always looks very angry when I suggest the GT will be sold for a modern car some day |
| Onno Könemann |
| "My wife bought me my present Midget and has paid most of it's upkeep" Nigel, your a "kept"man, how brilliant for you. Never thought of toyboy being a serious career but youve got me thinking now. LOL!!! Onno, sounds like your living on the edge with these remarks about Wouda's MG, better keep one eye open when you sleep. :) |
| Arie de Best |
| Onno, I am not surprised that Wouda would look angry at the prospect of a "modern". That is the way to expensive motoring. Even a fairly basic new car is going to loose 50% to 60% of its value in 3 years - more if you go for something a bit more expensive or a 4 x 4. So expect to loose maybe £8K to £12K in 3 years, up to £4,000 a year. Compare that to these grumbles about how much of a money pit a classic Spridget is! By comparison a well loved Spridget will have near- zero depreciation, decent fuel consumption, cheap insurance and possibly free road tax. Offset against that maybe a bit more maintenance cost but then allow what one could be spending on many alternative "hobbies". There can surely be no other more cost-effective motoring than in a Spridget! Guy |
| Guy |
| Completely right Guy But our laws prohibit more than 2 people traveling in a midget so that once might be a problem. Though a nice Z magnette..... |
| Onno Könemann |
| I'm paying less in insurance on 3 cars (Kmidget, Rover P6 V8 ans the S2A landy) than g/f is on a '98 1.3 toyota starlet..... not counting the tax, which I pay none of and she does... Old stuff is cheap! but only if you fix it yourself.. |
| Rob Armstrong |
| Arie, I kept very well thank you but I'm no toy boy . . . I'm older I bet you thought I was lieing when I've previously said about my good looks and charm, having an athlectic body also suitable for Spridget ownership also helps :) |
| Nigel At |
| Arie, I kept very well thank you but I'm no toy boy . . . I'm older I bet you thought I was lieing when I've previously said about my good looks and charm, having an athlectic body also suitable for Spridget ownership also helps :) |
| Nigel At |
| Arie, I kept very well thank you but I'm no toy boy . . . I'm older I bet you thought I was lieing when I've previously said about my good looks and charm, having an athlectic body also suitable for Spridget ownership also helps :) |
| Nigel At |
| Well since you've said it three times I'm inclined to believe! |
| Rick Bastedo |
| oh the joys of web sites and computers or was it an echo |
| N Atkins |
| No wife, no kids, no girl friend, no life, i gave up playing golf about 2 years buy my clothes at dollar general, and go to the movies 3 times a year, food from aldies i purchase parts on sale and will even ask for a sale price... Prop |
| Prop |
| Saying something 3 times does make it a fact Prop |
| Prop |
| Ha ha, Onno,a Z-Magnette, THE sensible family saloon!. For some of us.... |
| Alex G Matla |
| Alex how is that volvo comming along..... |
| Onno Könemann |
| Primum non nocere. Now I'm no medic, but I too live by a central precept when it comes to my sprite. FIRST SPEND NO MONEY! Rob has it right. "Old stuff is cheap! but only if you fix it yourself.." I fix before I replace, and I make things work and last far longer than many would think sensible or possible. This began as necessity because I was dirt poor, when I bought my first vehicle, -- a bicycle. I continued in the same vein with a Lambretta Li150 (up rated to 175), then an Austin Metropolitan, and onwards through all my other old junk cars and bikes until I arrived at my Sprite. Necessity migrated to being just plain tight fisted and bloody minded, even when I had money to spare. And so even today, I first extend life, then I fix, then if I MUST replace, I get 2nd hand, and as a last resort I buy new, -- but only at a discount. And finally, if I can extract money by selling unwanted spares I no longer need, or even renting out the sprite, I do. I would say that owning a sprite for so long, instead of a stream of other expensive new cars, has actually made me richer than I otherwise would be, and in that sense, it has paid for itself, many times over. Amen. :) |
| Lawrence Slater |
| Lol Onno don't tease poor Alex about his volvo - he can't help being old :)! |
| rachmacb |
| Body is perfect! But it smokes, just like it's owner. On both counts.... Making the volvo stop smoking is easy, then I'll have to stop to. First fix the midget.... 
|
| Alex G Matla |
| wow looks even worse than the pics you showed before... |
| Onno Könemann |
| Alex - what on earth have you done to your poor car?????? |
| rachmacb |
| Well, somehow the bottom part of this bracket disappeared. A part broke off during dismantling, one piece was gone already, another was just clamped between the ring and bracket. And to keep on topic: Sourced some 2nd hand bolts and washers (don't know yet how much these will cost) and a piece of sheet metal approx 1 mm. (free) Tapped some argon gas over to my 2l bottle at work (free). I only have to use new rubbers.(price unknown still) |
| Alex G Matla |
| LOL oh yes - I forgot the other way to save money on doing up a midget - be an engineer with full access to tool rooms etc etc etc (but then again, I suppose I am getting my flywheel done on that basis, so I can't complain there ....... except it's not been finished ;)!) Somehow????? Hmmmmm! |
| rachmacb |
| Well, it's not rotten there, the metal is still sound, albeit a bit greasy. |
| Alex G Matla |
| Well if anyone would like to aid me in my restorations then if you have any design or print business I would be happy to do work at mates rates :) |
| C Carter |
| Parts are a lot cheaper in the UK but looking at some of the restoration projects you guys take on you certainly need plenty of cheap parts. :) |
| Greg H |
| My Midget project is progressing far more slowly than I'd like - mostly due to me being scared to do anything without having my hand held! It is financed by freelancing jobs on top of the day job, and depends very much on when my services are required, and on how much midnight working I can take on top of a demanding full time job! Might need to crack on with the project if my F fails its MOT this week. It just hit 178'000, and is beginning to be a bit difficult!! |
| Ally |
"and depends very much on when my services are required, and on how much midnight working I can take on top of a demanding full time job!" What a suprise, I thought rates for escort-girls where pretty good. LOL!!! Sally, are you kidding me, you cant say this on a 99%-bloke-car-bbs!! Dont you know by now how men think? (if you think im bad then know that the married ones are even worse) ;) |
| Arie de Best |
| Jeez - How did I not notice that golden opportunity for double entendre and filth! Usually do it deliberately, but on this occasion... totally innocent!! I'm ashamed of myself... |
| Ally |
| My wife loves the Midget nearly as much as I do. She's always understanding when I spend money, the other day I mentioned saving for a recon engine and she hardly turned a hair. Although, it's probably because she knows that I can't say anything when she goes on "retail therapy“. |
| P Ottewell |
This thread was discussed between 12/10/2011 and 30/10/2011
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