A slightly (ahem) rusty Midget, is this a good forum for it?

[york33]

Evening all! Introductions first, been on PH TVR forums for a while and am just hunting for a good spot to talk Midgets! Any Midget people round here or is there a better forum out there?

At the minute I'm just planning my attack, having owned it at least 5 years, I've been planning (read as ignoring and leaving neglected) it for a long time! Where to start repairing/replacing the bodywork? I'm thinking the floor, followed by the sills, followed by inner rear wheel arches, then the rest of it which could loosely be called cosmetic

Of course it would be a damn sight easier to flog it on ebay, but that's just not cricket

cheers
Dave

[york33]

Hello Nigel, thankyou for the reply and the links, much appreciated, I shall take a look at that forum.

I'd just bought a random manual off Amazon for the Midget "MG Midget and Austin-Healey Sprite Restoration Manual (Haynes Resto Series)", something to read on the loo whilst pondering what I should be doing! Not sure if it's any good as yet.

Just uploaded a photo for your amusement

[york33]

I don't think there'll be enough pages in the book for all the holes, War and Peace might suit The more I prod the more I find......on the plus side, the front wings and bonnet are spot on (probably only been on the car a year or two when I got it), they've been safely squirelled away in the dry as I've seen they're pricey!

Chassis rails are mostly good, as is most of the front end, bar a few bits on the arches which need fettling. Floor is trash, an awful previous replacement, sills gone, some of the footwells, rear inner arches and lower outer, some of boot floor, rear valance, spring seats I think. Something looks odd to me with the doors and/or scuttle, where they meet looks funny as if a wrong part has been used?!

I like a challenge, I can weld well structurally, not sure how the thinner sheet metal will go, but hey ho, I've got an angle grinder and practice makes perfect

I see what you both mean about the other forum, just having a dig through the (extensive) archives as we speak. Photos are really welcome to find, helps visualise how things should look.

I'll keep an eye out for the other book, at the rate I'm progressing I still won't have started by its release date on 1st June.

[york33]

I meant to say, good guess on the date from that first photo! 1972 (just tax free), GAN5 square arch.

[york33]

Catalogues and manual now ordered! I've got the original parts manual for the TVR (Wedge) and it too is a really good reference with lots of exploded diagrams, if the Midget ones are anything like that it'll be welcome! Certainly for things like the rear arches, where a lot of the inner is missing and I've no idea what it should look like!

It's good to hear I'm not the only one with a TVR and a Midget! Never driven/ridden in a Midget yet, it's always been broken, but they've always looked like good fun. Jed - I too would now recommend the archives 'over there', there's a load of encouraging pictures of rusty bits getting fixed

I've said hello over there now too!