Midget rubber bumper removal

[mickyveloce]

Advice please . I`ve just bought a 1979 Midget 1500 after wanting a small British open top for some time . The car is in good order but I`m exploring the possibility of removing the rubber bumpers to give a retro racing look and lowering the ride height a little . Once the bumpers come off , is there any metalwork which needs altering ( I appreciate that some type of grill will be needed ) .

Many thanks , MickyVeloce

[mgtony]

Saw this on ebay earlier, thought it might give you some ideas. Wings will need pieces welded in to insert the round indicators,not sure if a chrome bumper grill fits in as it would do on a MGB.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1980-MG-MIDGET-1500-RED_W0QQ...

[wildoliver]

I run a 1500 as my comp car.

2 options.

1) Convincing 1275 replica. You won't fool anyone really (shell is different, engine too) and it won't sell well (not 1275, not 1500) and worth less, looks ok but nothing special. 1275 springs (or comp springs) 1275 front wings (steel or F/glass) rear wings need a smooth radius instead of the flat face, chassis/bumper rails need removing at the front to fit grill, 1275 bumpers fit straight on. I have converted 1500 shells to 1275 before it's a lot of work but can be done (heritage shells in this case) not worth the hassle.

2) The sensible option: remove bumpers, 1275 grill fitted leaving front bumper mounts in place (using mounts to mount grill), variety of front light options, simplest is using the 1500 indicators in the aperture (they do fit), or a pair of 1275 front wings. I can convert mine between a gorgeous de-bumpered 1500 and a tidy bumpered car in about 10 mins max.

[neilr]

The other option, which is a bit more extreme is to fit a fibreglass front end (wings and bonnet all on one). Lots of time needed to spend to get it to fit properly and you need to remove bits from the front of the car in a permanant fashion.

I did this with mine, but its for hillclimbs/sprinting so i wanted to lose the weight as well. Not everyone likes the look of the front end as there are no gaps between the wings and bonnet (obviousley), doesn't bother me though. It is possible to minimise rattles etc, but not completely.

[wildoliver]

The other benefit of Fibreglass front is if designed to be easily removed it makes working on the engine much easier.

However (IMO) they look minging, I had one myself and wouldn't have a road car with one again. Also they save little or no weight over a pair of fibreglass wings/fibreglass bonnet skin/steel nosecone.

[lilmark_skin]

I`ve just bought a 1979 Midget 1500 after wanting a . The car is in good order but I`m exploring the possibility of removing the rubber bumpers and lowering the ride height a little . Once the bumpers come off , is there any metalwork which needs altering ( I appreciate that some type of grill will be needed

[wildoliver]

1275 grill.

1500 indicators split open and rear placed behind hole in wing, lens placed in front and clamp together with the screw.

That's the cheap option.

[thisisnotaspoon]

Thread resurrection!

Does anyone have a photo of a de bumpered 1500 with the original indicators in the wings? I can live with the bit under the lights at the back being flat but the front will bugg me if it doesn't look right. And i don't have the skills to convert the wings and they're too good to replace.

Its that or modify the bumpers by removing the steelwork and refitting the shells. Im more bothered about the weight than the look at the moment.

[dryden]

I dont know if this will help. This is my 1500 and my wings were good, so I pop riveted alloy plates with appropriate holes drilled for the Mini type flashers to the inside of the hole with the rivet heads on the outside, sanded them down a little and filled over. Had no problem until it got whacked in a car park, smashing the headlight, and it cracked the filler( hence unpainted filler on O/S)
Would not have happened if I had bumpers!

[thisisnotaspoon]

That doesn't look or sound too difficult actually. My only problem with it is my car seems to be some shade of green which definitely isn't what the paint said it is (supposed to be Brooklands green, is actually fairly close to halfords British racing green rattle can). So I'm trying to avoid having to respray anything for as long as possible! That and the almost inevitability of car park bumps with a car that's lower than most rear windows.

Trying to decide between removing them entirely, or taking the steelwork out leaving just enough for the mounts and the upper bar, and replacing the empty space with polystyrene foam which I've seen done successfully here http://www.electricmgmidget.com/index.php/test1/re...

[dryden]

Interesting site. .....Are you thinking about electrifying yours?

[thisisnotaspoon]

No, although the thought had crossed my mind if the engine ever failed beyond economic repair. There's a really good MGF somewhere that's had a similar conversion done.