Discussion
I’ve been hankering over a MG midget for a while and looking at pictures online I like the look of the car pictured above.
Are those arch extensions an available part?
I’m after a daily drive, I’m handy with the spanner’s but ideally would rather maintain than re-build. Engine wise the originals seem very low on power. I’m not after a something sub 5 sec but I think a good 75-100bhp would help it motor along just right. Can original engines produce those figures without costing too much in relation to the value of the car? If so are the parts a straight forward swap or is it internal machining etc required?
Any help and ideas would be gratefully received
ginettajoe said:
Glosphil said:
75-100hp!!! Ha ha.
The original 1-litre was 43hp and the last 1.5 was between 60-65.
75 - 100bhp is not difficult to achieve from a 1275 A Series engine! Many of the current classic race cars, as in Minis, A35's, A 40's, Midgets etc are seeing 130bhp plus! The problem being, the first 10 to 20bhp increase is relatively easy to find, and not overly expensive, but the ££££'s soon start to mount up from thereon!! I personally would look at an MGB as an option, and more of a usable car!The original 1-litre was 43hp and the last 1.5 was between 60-65.
Those arches by the way, appear to be off a Mini!
cedrichn said:
Hi,
If you really look for "performance", I would advise you to buy a car which has had an engine rebuild recently, or has been upgraded already. Obviously, those cars and engine are not young anymore, and if you get a car with old or unknown condition,you can update as much as you want, it will not have a lot of effect if the compression are low, the head worn out, etc...
The Midget are not too expensive, so I think it is wise to take some time and look around: one in good (or i should say known) engine condition are not much more expensive than others. Ideally, you can look for one with "fast road head" and re-bored engine, usually around the 1330cc mark. This means the car need to be a 1275cc engine to start with, as indicated by others before, so starting from 1966 if I am not mistaken.
Second point would be rust: being old, they do rust... So if you want to make it a daily and not fight the rust from the beginning, then you need to look carefully everywhere... Low chance that the car will be exempt from it, but it should be minimum if the car was taking good care of/maintain to good condition.
To finish, I would advise you to buy one which has been driven a fair amount of miles on the last years: those cars behave much better when they are driven, than when they are "stored". If the car has been driven ~1 000 miles the last decade or so, it is highly probable you will spend a lot of time fixing this and that...
Aside from this, it is great fun And as you said, if your a bit handy, those cars are like a puzzle: not really difficult to work on And globally reliable and easy to fix...if you look after it
Thank you for the advice If you really look for "performance", I would advise you to buy a car which has had an engine rebuild recently, or has been upgraded already. Obviously, those cars and engine are not young anymore, and if you get a car with old or unknown condition,you can update as much as you want, it will not have a lot of effect if the compression are low, the head worn out, etc...
The Midget are not too expensive, so I think it is wise to take some time and look around: one in good (or i should say known) engine condition are not much more expensive than others. Ideally, you can look for one with "fast road head" and re-bored engine, usually around the 1330cc mark. This means the car need to be a 1275cc engine to start with, as indicated by others before, so starting from 1966 if I am not mistaken.
Second point would be rust: being old, they do rust... So if you want to make it a daily and not fight the rust from the beginning, then you need to look carefully everywhere... Low chance that the car will be exempt from it, but it should be minimum if the car was taking good care of/maintain to good condition.
To finish, I would advise you to buy one which has been driven a fair amount of miles on the last years: those cars behave much better when they are driven, than when they are "stored". If the car has been driven ~1 000 miles the last decade or so, it is highly probable you will spend a lot of time fixing this and that...
Aside from this, it is great fun
And as you said, if your a bit handy, those cars are like a puzzle: not really difficult to work on And globally reliable and easy to fix...if you look after it If I’m honest I really don’t want to be bogged down with a total body restoration. Worn out mechanicals I don’t have an issue with as they will need work to get the power up and make reliable. Chances of finding a good rust free ( within reason ) body with worn engine is virtually nil, as generally good body is a low mileage car. High mileage usually has a knackered body.
My yearly mileage at the moment doesn’t exceed 4000 miles and that’s split between 2 cars.
I just fancied something classic that was rust free with a bit of extra poke. My current modern car is now 20 years old, but can’t get an agreed value insurance even though it’s only just hit 30k miles and is in extremely good condition because I’ve looked after it. I get a bit miffed as insurance on classics is so cheap but something like I currently have is just a 20 year old car that is irreplaceable at market value and will be scrapped with a split bumper
. So whilst on lockdown I’ve been looking at potential daily classics. The midget seemed to show potential with the engine tuned, but now I need to add in the upgrades for axle, diff, gearbox, front brakes. Just for 90bhp! If I can find a car with all that done recently and a good body, I would imagine it would sell at a premium price which is then sitting in mgb v8 territory, and other slightly better/bigger classics also. I dunno
That car on the advert is lovely looks like there is hope after all.
Driving I won’t be using it between November and April. That’s how I’ve managed to keep a 20 year old fiesta virtually rust free. It also gives me time to maintain and repair or modify
Taking one for a test drive I will do that. Obviously after lockdown. Yorkshire is a bit of a journey from South Wales to pick up essentials. I’ll be having a look at the mg club site. I’m not on Facebook so those will have to fall from the net so to speak
looks like there is hope after all.Driving I won’t be using it between November and April. That’s how I’ve managed to keep a 20 year old fiesta virtually rust free. It also gives me time to maintain and repair or modify
Taking one for a test drive I will do that. Obviously after lockdown. Yorkshire is a bit of a journey from South Wales to pick up essentials
. I’ll be having a look at the mg club site. I’m not on Facebook so those will have to fall from the net so to speakLol at the kisses and waving 
I’ve noticed the round arch cars, between haphazard years. The 1275 engines seem to get a better write up to tune and rev. Chrome bumpers certainly look good when polished and in good condition but no bumpers also has that old school look also. Wheels and tyres I do like a bit of a rim. Not a lover of narrow wheels. I understand there isn’t much space in the arch but I’m sure a 175 would fit with the correct profile and wheel offset. A staggered wheel set would look fab on these little rwd cars
I’ve noticed the round arch cars, between haphazard years. The 1275 engines seem to get a better write up to tune and rev. Chrome bumpers certainly look good when polished and in good condition but no bumpers also has that old school look also. Wheels and tyres I do like a bit of a rim. Not a lover of narrow wheels. I understand there isn’t much space in the arch but I’m sure a 175 would fit with the correct profile and wheel offset. A staggered wheel set would look fab on these little rwd cars
300bhp/ton said:
What sort of budget do you have in mind?
I'm not sure you need to go full out modding everything. Drive it, see how you like it and go from there. Up the power and only upgrade the diffs and shafts if they become a problem.
Would you be considering any other vehicles? Obviously MGB, but maybe Spitfire or TR7 also.
The midget with its 1275 engine and roof down wizzing appeals to me. The mgb is also appealing but that came with a v8 in some models and I’ll just be thinking v8 rather than be happy with the 4 pot and I do have other big engined cars.I'm not sure you need to go full out modding everything. Drive it, see how you like it and go from there. Up the power and only upgrade the diffs and shafts if they become a problem.
Would you be considering any other vehicles? Obviously MGB, but maybe Spitfire or TR7 also.
The spitfire is good looking with the chrome bumpers but not keen on the rubber versions. The GT6 I like a lot. Downside it’s a fixed head. Probably gets rather warm in the summer. Possibly I could retro fit an air con system but the midget seems to tick all the boxes. The tr7 is much like a wedge TVR. Would rather own the wedge TVR. Another 70’s British Leyland car would probably get me divorced trying to keep it rust free!
Budget.....hmmm......not too much lol.
That advert in the mg club link is a good budget I’m happy with for a midget.
Edited by RobXjcoupe on Thursday 23 April 15:39
CATstrangler said:
175s should be okay if you're careful with the aspect ratio. But not on a standard 4 1/2" Rostyle. Better on 5" Minilites, which look great on a Midget.
Be careful about changing offsets too. There's not a lot of clearance for the TREs as it is.
Would 6jx13 wearing 175 50 r13 tyres fit on the rear on standard offsets without touching the inner wheel arch?Be careful about changing offsets too. There's not a lot of clearance for the TREs as it is.
Minilites look good but I also like the revolution 4 spoke. Maybe go to 14” wheels to clear a bigger front brake disc conversion?
CATstrangler said:
RobXjcoupe said:
"Would 6jx13 wearing 175 50 r13 tyres fit on the rear on standard offsets without touching the inner wheel arch?"
It would be very close, but it's possible to mod the wing clearance. Axle location is an issue too. There are mods with panhard rods or watts linkages to improve it. But a 6j would be too close to the TREs I think, depending on offset. Even a 5" Minilite needs very careful placement of balance weights to miss them.
"Minilites look good but I also like the revolution 4 spoke. Maybe go to 14” wheels to clear a bigger front brake disc conversion? "
I've heard of it being done but never seen it. On a 50 section it might work - just need to watch the rolling radius. It would be very close, but it's possible to mod the wing clearance. Axle location is an issue too. There are mods with panhard rods or watts linkages to improve it. But a 6j would be too close to the TREs I think, depending on offset. Even a 5" Minilite needs very careful placement of balance weights to miss them.
"Minilites look good but I also like the revolution 4 spoke. Maybe go to 14” wheels to clear a bigger front brake disc conversion? "
However the standard disc brakes are more than man enough unless you're racing. There's no servo so it needs a bit more boot than a modern but it's a very light car.
Too wide a wheel/tyre spoils the flicky steering though. All depends on what you want to do with it. A "B" would be more comfortable but much more money and won't handle like a Midget.
Flying Phil said:
I have 155 section tyres on 4 1/2" rims for my standard Sprite, but have gone up to 185 on 5 1/2" at the rear on my non standard Sprite....and even 205 on 6" wide when drag racing. As others have said getting 85 HP from a 1275 is quite easy but over 90 starts to get expensive. "K" series conversions may well be cheaper....
I’ve been told that 90bhp is the sweet spot for a road tuned engine. I’m very happy with that. I’m not one for putting a modern engine in a classic if tuning can be achieved. In my case I’ll be happy with a 90bhp engine based on the 1275 motor.The wheel and tyre sizes info is good to know. Thank you. Your 205 shod car, modified rear arches I assume? Do you have any pictures to see how it looks?
PigletGN said:
The best tyres out there for spridgets are
145HR13 Pirelli Cinturato CA67. That is the proper thing and will be the nicest thing to drove on.
155HR13 Michelin XAS if you feel you need something bigger
175/70VR13 Pirelli Cinturato CN36 if you have oversized wheels. It will handle better on the correct size 145. However if you insist on going bigger the CN36 is miles better for a classic car than anything else in the size 175/70-13 & 185/70-13 for that matter
The profile of the those 175 and 185 tyres you have suggested are far too big. A 15” wheel fitted with a 195 50 tyre will have a smaller overall diameter. 145HR13 Pirelli Cinturato CA67. That is the proper thing and will be the nicest thing to drove on.
155HR13 Michelin XAS if you feel you need something bigger
175/70VR13 Pirelli Cinturato CN36 if you have oversized wheels. It will handle better on the correct size 145. However if you insist on going bigger the CN36 is miles better for a classic car than anything else in the size 175/70-13 & 185/70-13 for that matter
I’m not saying your choice is not good but I do prefer to tinker and upgrade from original. Thank you for the suggestions though
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I’m 5’11” didn’t even consider my height as being too tall.The mods you have mentioned I’ve researched and as you say get the most from the a series.
The xjc is still under the restoration knife to look good again. A bit behind now due to the covid lockdown. The midget will probably be looked into next year now.
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