Midget 1500?

[JAMADOR]

Bought the Midget.
Picking it up to trailer home next weekend.
Tires were 10yrs old & didn't want to put faith in them for the 65 mile drive home on the freeway in the dark
Car seems to run well, brakes need some work & a few small leaks to resolve.

Will keep it at my dad's place while we get it roadworthy then bring it home. Gives me time to get a cover built where I'm going to park it.

[Miatav8,MstrASE,A&P,F]

I'm jealous.

Agree on the crank thrust bearing clutch press test or you can just push-pull on the crank. Must be a way to retain a loose thrust bearing without drilling to countersink brass screws in the face, then trying to line the holes in the main cap for subsequent thrust bearings. Need a pro machinist imho.

[JAMADOR]

Couple snaps in the seller's garage last night.
Obviously needs a full respray & a could body dents fixed.
Brakes need a bit of work. New MC & rear cylinders, but the pedal takes a fair bit of effort for good braking response.
Cat already deleted & my dad thinks m8ght have an upsized header on it, which is then downsized to the tiny straight pipe to the rear. Sounds pretty good IMO. Not sure about the smog/air pump, lots to learn.
And, the rubber bumpers gotta go.

[JAMADOR]

Still waiting on my membership on an MG forum to be approved.
Any of you MG pros know if a 175/60-13 will fit without interference on a stock Midget? First this, this toy needs tires. Looks like Kimbo offers the current 155/80-13 & 175/60-13 which are <1mph difference on the road. Need to c9nfirm the spare size & order 5 tires.

[Miatav8,MstrASE,A&P,F]

Stick with the 155-80-13. I think the original size is 145-80.

Sprite/Midget: The square-arch rear-fender cars have very restricted wheelwells. Even a 165-section tire is probably going to rub on the back under hard cornering. The round wheel-arch cars have much less of a problem, and 5.5” wheels can be fi tted with wide tires as long as the springs do not allow the tire to contact the fender lip. This led to many a Bugeye that looked like it got mated to a steamroller. Perhaps Austin moved to the square wheel arches specifically to prevent Americans from fitting Chevy Vega wheels with fat, wide-oval tires to their cars.

https://mossmotoring.com/tire-wheel-plus-sizing/

[JAMADOR]

Thanks, good to know. Now to verify the size of the spare & get 5 tires ordered.

[RichardSIA]

The spare would be a matching wheel so all the same size.

And I can supply you with an unmolested trunk lid if you like, I have several, cheap.

[JAMADOR]

If we decide we don't want the luggage rack, may take you up on that
Shipping will be the gotcha, I'm sure. Unless I can manage a local pickup. My mom lives between Vegas/St George, not sure how far that is from your area

[JAMADOR]

One of the disclosed issues was that there is a tear in the top.
The driver's side 1/4 window is separated from the top in the corner. Think this can be patched/mended, even short-term until we feel like shelling out $500 for a Robbins replacement?

[Miatav8,MstrASE,A&P,F]

Comes from not hand flexing the top at those window corners when putting it down; especially if it is cool weather. You could probably find a hard top for that kind of money. Here is an affordable soft top:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/185694833663?f ... %3A2047675

[JAMADOR]

Not a bad price, but that's for a B, not a Midget.
Can't tell if it has the retainer snaps or if those have to be installed.
The Robbins, I'd found on Moss Motors. Honestly, if I can repair that separation, it would work. Top would be down anytime the car's moving, would just need that in the event of rain while parked away from home.

[Miatav8,MstrASE,A&P,F]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/295527717332?f ... %3A2047675

[JAMADOR]

Couple hundred cheaper than the Robbins, and since it'll very rarely see anything but a sunny day, don't need a super premium lid.

[Miatav8,MstrASE,A&P,F]

My spitfire has a hard top, but I will also be fitting one of this suppliers soft tops.

[JAMADOR]

Glad for the endorsement