MG Midget An owner's view

Small and cheeky, nippy and "twitchable " the MG Midget is truly a fun car. Even without power steering it is light on the steering as the engine's weight is well back. So with ! turns lock"to"lock it is very twitchable. At least that is my rose tinted view. I first met the Midget when a friend at work took me to marshal on a navigation rally. The car was well looked after and went like a rocket, compared to my mkl Cortina! The small boot held enough food for the night and even the heater worked. A snag was the hood, which had to be removed and stowed in the boot. ast!forward a couple of years and the Cortina needed replacement. A nice "ld #nglish $hite Midget was on sale for %&'& at the local dealership. I would love to say that I still have it, but no, ()M*+, had to go to make room for children. In retrospect the car is tiny, cramped and noisy. -ut it is still a fun car. (erhaps a *..!mile motorway trip is not it/s forte, but 0.. miles on A, and C roads will bring a smile to your face. -eing so low it is not affected by cross winds1 it hides behind the kerb! (ut the hood down and the windows up, turn up the heater 2in the early years an option!but not many were bought without3 and en4oy! #ven at moderate speeds the sensation is great1 the e5haust note a treat and the wind blowing your hair forward an e5perience. "ne up with the tonneau cover fitted is even cosier, even on a frosty day. The Midget traces its roots back to 0,&6 and the Austin!7ealey 8prite. This was a two!seater sports car bringing the name of 9onald 7ealey of :-ig 7ealey: fame to small cars. The sprite was a basic two!seater1 you got what you saw. It was nick named the : rogeye: or in the 8tates the :-ug #ye: because of the raised headlamps. These had been intended to be power operated but this idea was dropped due to its cost. In 0,;0 M< brought out the mkl Midget. This used the 8prite floor and mechanicals but clothed in a more conventional body. The engine was the good old unburstable :A: series of ,=6cc similar to that in the Morris Minor and Austin A* &.

The car went through various changes until its retirement in 0,', by which time it had a folding hood, 0&..cc engine 2from Triumph3 wind up windows, a half decent heater and )o!8tyle wheels. It had also been raised and rubber clad to meet >8 regulations for bumper and light heights and low speed impact resistance. It is generally accepted that the best Midget is a Chrome bumper, 0+'&cc round wheel arch mkl 00. -ut I say that they are all fun. If you are below &/ 0.:, can touch your thigh with your heel when sitting down and can drive with your arms well bent then try a Midget. The cockpit is small1 the doors are short 2hence the need to really bend your leg to enter and e5it3 and the steering wheel fi5ed. The boot is small but can take camping gear for two. Turn the spare )o!8tyle wheel upside down 2with padding between its centre and the boot floor3 to give more room. >se s?uishy bags for your gear, and use the corners of the boot for bits and pieces. There is even room under the seat for thin items. 2More room that you think1 my 8couts once put a hedgehog under there3. Would I get another? I did 20,'+ @ reg round wheel arch, chrome bumper, 0+'&cc3, but it now needs a ma4or rebuild, I must learn to lay bricks first! Problems that I encountered. -ottom swivel on the wishbones is a threaded pin, a devil to get out. I had to give up and give it to a garage. 9ampers are lever arm and easy to change. Twin 8> carburettors need to be kept in balance1 find an e5pert that you can trust and keep in with him 2or her3. #verything is small but fiddly, and it is very near to the ground. >se a fle5ie necked torch to inspect the battery1 it/s very close to the bonnet. )emember to keep the grease nipples well charged and don/t forget the steering rack, though oil might be specified for your car 2your grease gun can be used as an oil gun3. There are drain holes at the bottom of the doors to be kept clear and two at the bottom of the nose section. 9on/t leave the bonnet propped open with its stay or it will warp, as will the boot lid. Aeep the 4oint between the front wings and sills clear of rubbish. )ust. 7ey this is a 0,&.s design built in the 0,;.s and 0,'.s. The design includes sharp folds to promote stress corrosion and panel overlaps to catch salt spray underneath. Bou will probably have some chrome strips to promote bi metal corrosion too.

My first Midget came at three years old without rust, the slab side did make it prone to chips, keep on top of this, I suspect that decent mud flaps front and rear would help. My current Midget at +& years old came with rust. It failed its MoT with a weak boot floor near the spring hangers. That was some time after the seatbelt mountings pulled out of the sills! The sills are structural so make sure that they are properly done, including checking the door gaps in the process. @ook to the front mountings for the rear springs too. These are buried behind the seats. The rear of the boot has overlaps, as has the corners. These date back to the need to make a Midget out of a 8prite without new tooling. Triangles were added to the boot corners and a narrow e5tension added to the rear of the floor. I only found the latter on a visit to -M7 to see a shell built. (lenty of seam sealer is needed, inside and out. Cever put your car away wet. A well!ventilated carport is better. "nce dry, keep it that way. Consider a :Carcoon: or similar and a small air conditioning unit. -oth bonnet and boot lids have cavities to hold damp, prop them open in a well!ventilated environment. Cew panels come pre coated, black for loose panels, silver coloured for whole shells. These are electrophoretically coated to modern standards. -eware of wire wheels1 they are heavy, difficult to clean and need to be properly set up. )o8tyle 2by )ubery "wen3 are smart, easier to clean and can be repainted by the amateur. Masks are available to get the silverDmatt black areas correct. Contacts Mike Authers tel .0+*& 6*=;;= Midget specialist -rown and <ammons tel .0=;+ =,..=, (arts www.ukmgparts.com M< "wners Club 2M<"C3 tel .0,&= +*.,+6 (arts advice and activities. M< Car Club 2M<CC3 tel .0+*& &&&&&+ 8porting events and activities -ritish Motor 7eritage 2-M73 (anels and complete shells. httpEDDwww.bmh!ltd.comD 2"n line store www.motoringclassics.co.uk3 Bibliograph <uide to (urchase F 9IB )estoration of the M< Midget and Austin! 7ealey 8prite by @indsay (orter, pub 7aynes, I8-C . 6&=+, **; 0 "riginal 8prite F Midget by Terry 7orler, pub -ay Giew -ooks, I8-C 0 6'.,', =& 0 2brilliant for all the little changes over the life of the car3 (ractical Classics reprint, MidgetD8prite )estoration, pub -rooklands -ooks, I8-C . ,=6 +.' =6 & M< #nthusiast MagaHine for all things M<1 old, new and yet to be. "r try any key word in <oogle to bring up lots of information.