MG Midget - My First Classic
Discussion
Thanks! 
A little bit more progress to report.
I've trimmed, flared and fitted the two new metal brake pipes in the engine bay, which was still a heck of a lot of faffing, even though I thought they were nearly done.
I f
king hate brake pipes! 
I have also taken the front suspension springs, lower arms, anti roll bar and brake back plates to be blasted and powder coated.
They were a little beyond my capabilities at home with an electric drill & wire brush and a few coats of Smoothrite.
It could be up to a couple of weeks before I have those back, but when I do the front end should be built up again quite quickly.
I've got this week off work so I'm hoping to get a bit more done...
A little bit more progress to report.
I've trimmed, flared and fitted the two new metal brake pipes in the engine bay, which was still a heck of a lot of faffing, even though I thought they were nearly done.
I f
king hate brake pipes! I have also taken the front suspension springs, lower arms, anti roll bar and brake back plates to be blasted and powder coated.
They were a little beyond my capabilities at home with an electric drill & wire brush and a few coats of Smoothrite.
It could be up to a couple of weeks before I have those back, but when I do the front end should be built up again quite quickly.
I've got this week off work so I'm hoping to get a bit more done...
Thanks!
I had a few other little setbacks and minor challenges, such as this brake pipe which took a good hour to get shaped correctly, and I went and cut it about an inch too short!
Despite that I got quite a lot put back on the car today.
To save you looking back that is pedals, pedal box and master cylinders, fuse box, heater valve, clutch hose and the two other metal brake pipes.
TheLordJohn said:
I can't be the only one who's done a perfect flare then noticed there's no union on the pipe...? Lol.
I might have done that today! I had a few other little setbacks and minor challenges, such as this brake pipe which took a good hour to get shaped correctly, and I went and cut it about an inch too short!
Despite that I got quite a lot put back on the car today.
To save you looking back that is pedals, pedal box and master cylinders, fuse box, heater valve, clutch hose and the two other metal brake pipes.
Edited by Martin350 on Wednesday 12th April 20:21
Thanks!
I'm very pleased with them, and I used a cunning trick to mask the tricky piston and seals.
I tried tape but it was just too fiddly and my rubbish tape wasn't sticky enough, so I covered the pistons and seals with grease, painted them, then a few days later wiped the grease off with tissue paper and brake cleaner.
Hopefully they will last much longer before looking tatty than they would have.
New banjo bolts and sealing washers too.
Frustratingly slow progress lately, but I've just ordered another little batch of new parts, and that always cheers me up when they arrive!
Martin350 said:
I'm in a bit of a dilemma with the new brake calipers that I've bought for it
They look great, all brand new and that, but I know that it will only be a matter of months before that silver coating will start showing corrosion and begin to look tatty, but painting brand new calipers won't look as nice but will probably preserve a smarter look for longer...
I decided to paint them silver, sprayed with aerosol caliper paint.They look great, all brand new and that, but I know that it will only be a matter of months before that silver coating will start showing corrosion and begin to look tatty, but painting brand new calipers won't look as nice but will probably preserve a smarter look for longer...
I'm very pleased with them, and I used a cunning trick to mask the tricky piston and seals.
I tried tape but it was just too fiddly and my rubbish tape wasn't sticky enough, so I covered the pistons and seals with grease, painted them, then a few days later wiped the grease off with tissue paper and brake cleaner.
Hopefully they will last much longer before looking tatty than they would have.
New banjo bolts and sealing washers too.
Frustratingly slow progress lately, but I've just ordered another little batch of new parts, and that always cheers me up when they arrive!
Wise move to paint the calipers there... I have painted them on both my 'modern' cars ( Alfa 156 & BMW E36 318iS) just because I don't like rusty brake bits/hubs behind my alloys ! Some modern replacement discs now have a heat resistant coating on the non-contact surfaces ( Brembos do ) so they look better and stay that way.
I would have renewed those front suspension bits personally, especially as they need greasing regularly (?) but that's just IMHO.
Following your rebuild with interest.
After my Harvest Gold MGBG, indeed several years after, I became the proud owner of a 1970 Elan S4 DHC that belonged to my uncle; he had restored it with a new chassis etc, and I had it for 12 years or so, drove it all over, including a European trip to Switzerland.
I spent so much time over the years working on the car, just to keep it in superb condition : it was as good underneath as above as all the suspension was Hammerited ( in gold !)
I also had the twincam head converted to unleaded spec and 'sadly' (!) had to install bigger valves as there were no standard ones available at the time...So it was, in effect, a Sprint in all but name, and because it had the Strombergs on it, which were so smooth compared to the ubiquitous Webers/Dellortos, it was very quick from 0-70.
So as far as your Midget is concerned, I would be so tempted to tweak it, and waken it up a bit !!
But then as you say, you can drive it as standard first and then tune it up !
I would have renewed those front suspension bits personally, especially as they need greasing regularly (?) but that's just IMHO.
Following your rebuild with interest.
After my Harvest Gold MGBG, indeed several years after, I became the proud owner of a 1970 Elan S4 DHC that belonged to my uncle; he had restored it with a new chassis etc, and I had it for 12 years or so, drove it all over, including a European trip to Switzerland.
I spent so much time over the years working on the car, just to keep it in superb condition : it was as good underneath as above as all the suspension was Hammerited ( in gold !)
I also had the twincam head converted to unleaded spec and 'sadly' (!) had to install bigger valves as there were no standard ones available at the time...So it was, in effect, a Sprint in all but name, and because it had the Strombergs on it, which were so smooth compared to the ubiquitous Webers/Dellortos, it was very quick from 0-70.
So as far as your Midget is concerned, I would be so tempted to tweak it, and waken it up a bit !!
But then as you say, you can drive it as standard first and then tune it up !
Thank you!
But, this is far from what I would call a restoration, it will be far from concours when finished, and it isn't a cost no object project so I have to draw the line at certain things which I deem not necessary to replace if they are in good working order.
Costs can spiral, even on a cheap car like this, very quickly indeed if you're not a little bit careful. In fact they already have a bit!
I agree, it would have been nice to replace it all, though.
I like the Elan story, I love those cars, but way out of my price range now.
Don't be too fooled by the photos, they are flattering, it's clearly not to anyone's eyes a bodyshop finish under the bonnet, but I've tried quite hard.
I suppose it doesn't help that I know where all the mistakes are!
It's hard to say when I'll have it on the road as I've got quite a lot going on in general life at the moment (nothing bad, just lots of stuff) so spare tinkering time is often brief and sporadic.
When I started back in July I thought it would be up and running in a few weeks.
Then as I delved deeper and got a bit carried away I was thinking late this summer. That could still be a feasible goal but probably with the whole refresh not complete.
And by that I mean paint, interior, wheels, hood and bumpers not having been worked on, but the car mechanically sorted.
I have actually been keeping a rough time log of the work I've done on the car, as well as the time looking up and ordering parts, going to buy parts etc. and so far it's around 190 hours.
I recently read that a nut and bolt restoration an a classic Aston Martin or Jag E-Type can take up to 2,000 hours!
Paul S4 said:
I would have renewed those front suspension bits personally, especially as they need greasing regularly (?) but that's just IMHO.
!
I did consider it.!
But, this is far from what I would call a restoration, it will be far from concours when finished, and it isn't a cost no object project so I have to draw the line at certain things which I deem not necessary to replace if they are in good working order.
Costs can spiral, even on a cheap car like this, very quickly indeed if you're not a little bit careful. In fact they already have a bit!
I agree, it would have been nice to replace it all, though.
I like the Elan story, I love those cars, but way out of my price range now.
Chester draws said:
Another first time reader here.
Great job showing what can be done with minimal experience, space and time.
How far off having it on the road would you say you are? Weather's looking not far off being perfect for a Sunday afternoon run somewhere nice in it.
Thank you too! Great job showing what can be done with minimal experience, space and time.
How far off having it on the road would you say you are? Weather's looking not far off being perfect for a Sunday afternoon run somewhere nice in it.
Don't be too fooled by the photos, they are flattering, it's clearly not to anyone's eyes a bodyshop finish under the bonnet, but I've tried quite hard.
I suppose it doesn't help that I know where all the mistakes are!
It's hard to say when I'll have it on the road as I've got quite a lot going on in general life at the moment (nothing bad, just lots of stuff) so spare tinkering time is often brief and sporadic.
When I started back in July I thought it would be up and running in a few weeks.
Then as I delved deeper and got a bit carried away I was thinking late this summer. That could still be a feasible goal but probably with the whole refresh not complete.
And by that I mean paint, interior, wheels, hood and bumpers not having been worked on, but the car mechanically sorted.
I have actually been keeping a rough time log of the work I've done on the car, as well as the time looking up and ordering parts, going to buy parts etc. and so far it's around 190 hours.
I recently read that a nut and bolt restoration an a classic Aston Martin or Jag E-Type can take up to 2,000 hours!
Edited by Martin350 on Wednesday 26th April 00:50
Ta!
When I was talking to the previous owner it turned out he regularly visits family who live about twenty minutes drive away from me.
I am thinking of writing to him, letting him know what I've been doing, and offering for him to come and see it.
He looked genuinely sad when I took it away, but he did also have an MGB Roadster undergoing a full restoration at the time.
When I was talking to the previous owner it turned out he regularly visits family who live about twenty minutes drive away from me.
I am thinking of writing to him, letting him know what I've been doing, and offering for him to come and see it.
He looked genuinely sad when I took it away, but he did also have an MGB Roadster undergoing a full restoration at the time.
A little update, a few quite minor things to report.
With the help of a burly mate I backed the car out of the tiny garage on a trolley jack and a bread crate trolley with blocks of wood on instead of front wheels, turned it around, moved the engine and gearbox to the back of the garage, then pushed the car back in.
It sounds simple, but it took us about an hour and a half, it was a right faff, especially as the drive immediately slopes upwards straight out of the garage!
But I did also end up with a slightly tidier space to work in.
The suspension parts are taking longer at the powder coater place than expected, but when I do get them back I can start getting that lot back together, and there is more room at this end of the garage to work.
There's still some work to be done there, that bumper bracket will be cleaned up and some tidying up and undersealing inside that wheel arch, etc.
This evening I removed the left hand front wing, another reason that I turned the car around, as it was too tight for space previously.
The wing was removed as it gives me much easier access to a little bit of corrosion on the flitch panel that I need to sort out.
I'll grind / cut this back to good metal, replace, tidy up and repaint as necessary.
I'll also clean and treat the panels that aren't visible behind the front wing.
They are in remarkably good condition but I'll do some preventative maintenance anyway, before the wing goes back on.
I've decided that I'll also take the right hand wing off later as well so I can inspect the bodywork more thoroughly and repair / treat as required.
With the help of a burly mate I backed the car out of the tiny garage on a trolley jack and a bread crate trolley with blocks of wood on instead of front wheels, turned it around, moved the engine and gearbox to the back of the garage, then pushed the car back in.
It sounds simple, but it took us about an hour and a half, it was a right faff, especially as the drive immediately slopes upwards straight out of the garage!
But I did also end up with a slightly tidier space to work in.
The suspension parts are taking longer at the powder coater place than expected, but when I do get them back I can start getting that lot back together, and there is more room at this end of the garage to work.
There's still some work to be done there, that bumper bracket will be cleaned up and some tidying up and undersealing inside that wheel arch, etc.
This evening I removed the left hand front wing, another reason that I turned the car around, as it was too tight for space previously.
The wing was removed as it gives me much easier access to a little bit of corrosion on the flitch panel that I need to sort out.
I'll grind / cut this back to good metal, replace, tidy up and repaint as necessary.
I'll also clean and treat the panels that aren't visible behind the front wing.
They are in remarkably good condition but I'll do some preventative maintenance anyway, before the wing goes back on.
I've decided that I'll also take the right hand wing off later as well so I can inspect the bodywork more thoroughly and repair / treat as required.
I had a Harvest Yellow one in the late 70s in London. Was great fun.
Managed to get six people in it once to go to a party and broke the rear springs.
Parked in the dark bushes near HM's house at Sandringham and my then girlfriend and I were requested to step out of the car by the security services - unfortunately we were naked at the time.
Fitted a tow hitch to it and with a dingy behind reversed too far down a slipway and the car got partially launched. Fortunately there were few beefy guys who came to my rescue and no serious harm was done.
Repaired the gearbox in my Holloway flatshare bedroom supported on two wooden chairs and filled it with oil in the bedroom before putting the drain plug back in...
Driving down Piccadilly with a lovely red headed Welsh lady, I turned to her and said something like, "This is the life, a beautiful girl beside me, driving an open top car in the middle of London, a few quid in my pocket (first job out of Uni)", and not noticing the black cab that had stopped in front of me. She took the pee out of me mercilessly for ages.
Driving north on the A1 when the truck ahead of me dropped part of his exhaust system which with the roof down came through the screen at a rate of knots narrowly missing my head and covered me with glass.
And lastly driving to Norfolk with the roof down to meet my brother, my John Lennon style wire frame specs fell into two pieces. All I could find in the boot to "repair" them was a leather bootlace. So I fashioned something to tie the two bits together which meant that I had about a foot of leather bootlace hanging down either side of my nose. Very fashionable. I went into the pub and said to the barman, "Have you seen my brother?", To which he sarcastically replied - "Does he look just like you?" and rolled his eyes.
One snowy day I almost successfully negotiated some icy "S" curves in Essex and ended up selling it to another enthusiast.
Happy memories.
Managed to get six people in it once to go to a party and broke the rear springs.
Parked in the dark bushes near HM's house at Sandringham and my then girlfriend and I were requested to step out of the car by the security services - unfortunately we were naked at the time.
Fitted a tow hitch to it and with a dingy behind reversed too far down a slipway and the car got partially launched. Fortunately there were few beefy guys who came to my rescue and no serious harm was done.
Repaired the gearbox in my Holloway flatshare bedroom supported on two wooden chairs and filled it with oil in the bedroom before putting the drain plug back in...
Driving down Piccadilly with a lovely red headed Welsh lady, I turned to her and said something like, "This is the life, a beautiful girl beside me, driving an open top car in the middle of London, a few quid in my pocket (first job out of Uni)", and not noticing the black cab that had stopped in front of me. She took the pee out of me mercilessly for ages.
Driving north on the A1 when the truck ahead of me dropped part of his exhaust system which with the roof down came through the screen at a rate of knots narrowly missing my head and covered me with glass.
And lastly driving to Norfolk with the roof down to meet my brother, my John Lennon style wire frame specs fell into two pieces. All I could find in the boot to "repair" them was a leather bootlace. So I fashioned something to tie the two bits together which meant that I had about a foot of leather bootlace hanging down either side of my nose. Very fashionable. I went into the pub and said to the barman, "Have you seen my brother?", To which he sarcastically replied - "Does he look just like you?" and rolled his eyes.
One snowy day I almost successfully negotiated some icy "S" curves in Essex and ended up selling it to another enthusiast.
Happy memories.
I've got round to attacking the little (not quite so little as it turned out, unsurprisingly) patch of corrosion on the flitch panel.
I cut it out back to good metal, did a little c.a.d. (cardboard aided design) and replicated that in steel.
I put the holes in the repair panel so I can plug weld it to the panel below.
It was spot welded originally, but as I don't have a spot welder it is an accepted alternative.
The powder coating place finally got my front suspension parts done, and I got a few hours in this week putting one side back together.
For a supposedly very simple car the front suspension is actually slightly fiddly to assemble, nothing very difficult, just a little time consuming.
The road spring still needs to be fitted, and there are a couple of methods. I'm going with the 'long bolt' method, but I need to source some long bolts before I can do that.
I'll explain the long bolt method with photos when I get to do it.
I've got next week off work, and although it's mostly to deal with other commitments, I'm hoping to get a good chunk of work done on the MG.
My goal is to get the patches of bodywork on the flitch panel welded in and painted, the front suspension & brakes all back on and the car back on all four wheels, so I can turn it around again much easier and get the rear axle / suspension / brakes out and sorted.
I cut it out back to good metal, did a little c.a.d. (cardboard aided design) and replicated that in steel.
I put the holes in the repair panel so I can plug weld it to the panel below.
It was spot welded originally, but as I don't have a spot welder it is an accepted alternative.
The powder coating place finally got my front suspension parts done, and I got a few hours in this week putting one side back together.
For a supposedly very simple car the front suspension is actually slightly fiddly to assemble, nothing very difficult, just a little time consuming.
The road spring still needs to be fitted, and there are a couple of methods. I'm going with the 'long bolt' method, but I need to source some long bolts before I can do that.
I'll explain the long bolt method with photos when I get to do it.
I've got next week off work, and although it's mostly to deal with other commitments, I'm hoping to get a good chunk of work done on the MG.
My goal is to get the patches of bodywork on the flitch panel welded in and painted, the front suspension & brakes all back on and the car back on all four wheels, so I can turn it around again much easier and get the rear axle / suspension / brakes out and sorted.
Edited by Martin350 on Sunday 28th May 01:32
I've just realised it's been five months since I updated this!
I've got a few more bits done:
Dashboard built back up and fitted, as well as the facia panel below it.
The after market clock from the 1980s had never been wired in or even clamped in, so I made up a bracket and sorted the wiring;
The flitch panel repair was finished off and painted which allowed me to fit the new ignition coil, the screen washer bottle and the wiper motor, which is much easier with the wing off, so I can now refit that too;
I missed getting it on the road for the end of summer by a considerable margin, so lets try for next summer!
I've got a few more bits done:
Dashboard built back up and fitted, as well as the facia panel below it.
The after market clock from the 1980s had never been wired in or even clamped in, so I made up a bracket and sorted the wiring;
The flitch panel repair was finished off and painted which allowed me to fit the new ignition coil, the screen washer bottle and the wiper motor, which is much easier with the wing off, so I can now refit that too;
I missed getting it on the road for the end of summer by a considerable margin, so lets try for next summer!
Edited by Martin350 on Tuesday 31st October 20:30
That looks great, and not at all wreck like!
Good colour too.
Did you do the chrome bumper conversion, it looks ace!?
I had a rare three hour stint on it tonight, although quite a bit of that was rummaging through boxes finding parts and fixings that I'd stashed away many months ago, but got a few more things fitted in the engine bay.
Heater box, battery, fixing bracket and a seemingly necessary buffer between the battery and bulkhead so it doesn't crush the clutch hose, the coolant tank, starter solenoid (which I wished I'd fitted before the heater box!) and I unmasked the engine wiring loom.
Good colour too.
Did you do the chrome bumper conversion, it looks ace!?
I had a rare three hour stint on it tonight, although quite a bit of that was rummaging through boxes finding parts and fixings that I'd stashed away many months ago, but got a few more things fitted in the engine bay.
Heater box, battery, fixing bracket and a seemingly necessary buffer between the battery and bulkhead so it doesn't crush the clutch hose, the coolant tank, starter solenoid (which I wished I'd fitted before the heater box!) and I unmasked the engine wiring loom.
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