Yes, I bought a new (1977) MG Midget tonight!!! (WOOHOO!!!) Well, to be
honest, I put down a deposit on it and will get it when I can collect some of
the commissions that I have coming (very soon)!
This car has a story. (When I'm finished with the car story, remind me to
tell you about my grandson!) I found the car on the MG Web site. Wrote to
the owner (a GPO) and he didn't seem in much of a hurry to sell it. He owns a
beautiful, fully restored MGB, and bought the Midget for his wife. They
decided to have babies instead and she lost interest. (We could hear the new
baby in the house! The next generation of LBC lovers!)
He bought the car about a year ago from a woman who didn't use it very much
for about 8 years. (We'll call her the DPO!) I saw a repair receipt dated
1988 and the mileage listed was 62,300. The car now has a little over 63,000.
Anyway, he turned the engine with a wrench before he bought it...and when he
got it home, he changed the oil, flushed the tank and replaced the gas,
changed all the hoses, belts, plugs, and ign. wires. The 1500cc engine runs
fine reading about 145lbs in each cyl. It needs some carb setting and the
timing set, vacuum hoses, valve cover gasket, etc., but basically the engine
is good.
He also removed the brake and clutch master cylinders, so I couldn't drive it!
They were leaking on the carpets and he wanted to minimize the damage that
brake fluid can do. I have no idea what the clutch and trans are like. Oh
well, not to worry! I brought the two MCs home so I can dismantle them to see
how badly pitted they are. I'll rebuild if not too bad. If the tranny is
bad, I have an excuse to paint the engine bay!
The car has had some body repair work, new stuff welded in (roll pans, quarter
panels) and a new, bright red paint job. (With a green engine bay! It was BRG
originally.) We still found some rust, but not enough to deter me! (Insert
some witty expletive here!) We will be replacing the floors and door sills and
fixing some small rust in the boot, but we don't have to rush into it. I want
to play for a year before we start the hard work!
All the gauges and lights are there, and he said all but the temp gauge works.
It has a Weber carb, a K&N air filter, and a solid roll bar. Some new parts
in the boot...new top (Anco, I think?) still in the box, Haynes manual, and a
replica owners manual.
I think it was a good buy for $1600. I got a pretty toy that I can have some
fun with, and save the street tires on my Expo. The tires are pretty well
shot on this car. They still hold air, but I wouldn't even try to drive for
any distance on them. They must have major flat spots. I want to clean up
the Rostyle wheels before mounting new tires, so the car will come home and go
up on stands.
Please only say kind things tonight. I'm still floating!!
Allen Hefner
'77 MG Midget
'92 Mitsubishi Expo LRV Sport
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