For a page explaining the process of converting this car to tube shocks-Click Here
About My MG
For a page explaining the process of
converting this car to tube shocks-Click Here
The car is actually a '78 "Rubber
Bumper " Midget 1500. Various changes have given it a decidedly "older
car" appearance (the three wipers sort of give it away though).
History when I first bought it
I purchased this car through Caller I.D.
Doesn't make sense? An explanation......six years ago I called about a Saab for
sale in East Orange. The woman who answered said that her husband had sold it.
End of conversation....I hung up. Two hours later, I get a call. It's the Saab
seller. He wants to know if I'm interested in his "other" car. How did
he get my number? Caller I.D.! What was the car? This Midget. He was moving the
next day was willing to give it to me (I felt bad and gave him $200). In 1968, I
bought a BRG 1967 Sprite. After about ten years of street/race use I dismantled
it and stored it in my basement. I bought this Midget as a "parts
car" for the Sprite (intended to re-make as a racer). But this Midget was a better basis for racing, so I scrapped the Sprite and around 2000, this became a pure race car.
What it looked like in 1996
The car had been in a garage, unmoved for
almost fourteen years. Umpteen generations of mice had raised their families in
it. The tires weren't just flat.....they were stuck to the concrete floor. We
had to use an eight foot 2 X 4 to
pry it free. All brakes were rusted solid.....no wheels could turn. We had to
winch it onto our racecar trailer. A rod was sticking through the side of the
block. The right front fender was destroyed from a long ago accident. The right
front suspension was kinked from hopping a curb. The top had been slashed by
someone desperate for a British AM car radio. They apparently used a chain saw
to remove it. The former owner had lost the ignition key. He
"modified" the key switch with a hacksaw.
But.............no rust........ A solid
(cheap) car with lots of "potential".
What I did initially for use as a street car......Basics
Clean, clean, clean......wire brush, wire
brush, wire brush........wash, wash, wash.....vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. Power
washed the whole car. Then I could start......I picked up a disassembled 1500
Spitfire engine with a -.020 crank. Took the best from both engines (two of the
pistons are stamped "#4") and using new bearing, rings, gaskets, etc.
built one good standard engine. New wheel cylinders, linings, pads, brake lines.
A mail order (canvas!) top for $190. Flush trans (all syncro!) and rear...new
gear oil. Replace all rubber parts in suspension. Installed a spare set of
('67!) front shocks plus a spare Sprite A-frame and king-pin. New oil in rear
shocks worked wonders. Threw away all the carpets (Home Depot carpets for now).
The seats still looked kind of beat-up......eventually I installed a set of "low
backs". A friend gave me two matching '65 fenders (painted yellow but with
the cooler small clear parking lights). I bought the old style bumpers at a Moss
flea market years ago (I built custom brackets). Painted the nose with
dark green Rustoleum (with a little black mixed in) using a $25 spray gun.
Mods when it was initially used as a street car (~1997 to 2000)
Got rid of those awful rubber battering rams and installed nice old chrome
bumpers.
Ditched the radio console. Initially, I installed a semi-decrepit '67 Sprite grill
(didn't quite sit in
right due to bumper reinforcements), but later I built a wire mesh grill using
the Sprite outer frame. The clear front parking lights mentioned
previously. Lowered the car one inch front and rear, plus another inch due to
the 175/50 Sumitomo tires. A single manual choke HS-4 SU carb
(from a '66 Volvo)
replaced the truly dreadful Zenith. Cut the steering column three inches,
eliminating the steering lock.....the key is now in the
dash. Installed a
Mitsubishi alternator with a modified large diameter slow-turn pulley
(taken from the seized emissions air pump that I discarded). A large
diameter exhaust (using a $16 Chevy truck muffler). Mechanical points ignition (centrif.
advance only). Battery mounted in the
trunk. Roll bar.
What was it like as a street car?
Slow, truthfully......no real
"speed mods". The 1500 Triumph (even with the full syncro Marina/TR-7
trans) was still slower than my old 1275. Handling is great on smooth roads. Eventually converted to tube shocks, front and rear (much better). Fairly reliable with the usual
leaks and bumps. I drove it on the street year round.......drove it to Ocean City, Maryland around 1999 with no problems (other than a sore backside)......not a "garage
queen", it lived outside.
Other Toys
'41 Aeronca L-3 airplane, Honda Ascot 500
MC, Dodge Colt ITC racer (for sale), lightly modified Celica, two new Mazdas (Miata
and Protege), various machine
tools, model steam engines....
