I bought my first and only Midget in 1980. It was a 1970, maroon paint
over BLG. And it was a basket case. I got it running and after many
near-disasters got it to daily driver status.
Example of a disaster: It came with four wire wheels, no spare. Octagon
knock-offs on one side, wings on the other. One of the wheels wasn't from
a midget and was too shallow for the hub, so I fashioned a spacer out of
steel rod and put it in the knock-off. That worked well, but it wasn't
fool proof. One night, about 2 am, it decided to come off and send the
wheel careening into someone's front yard. I had a jack, but not enough
clearance to use it, so I liberated a piece of split rail fence and
levered it up enough to get the jack underneath.
On the other hand, it only stranded me once, when the clutch wore out.
Only time I had to have it towed. Everything else I fixed on the road or
"coped" with.
I took it apart twice, for rust repairs and big maintenance, but I had in
the meantime acquired a '67 MG 1100 sedan that was eating up all my time,
money, and patience. In 1988, knowing that I would be relocating from
Maine to California, I tried once more to get as much work done on both
cars as possible so as to drive them West. Suffice to say that I still
had a body shell and a tub, unencumbered by any additional automotive
parts whatever, 36 hours before my hour of departure (midnight, 1 July,
1988). I had lost all grip on reality. My patient but realistic wife
somehow pried my mind loose and convinced me that I should find storage
facilities for the cars and my tools, at once. Which I did.
After five years, though, I stopped paying the rent on the space and gave
up the ghost. Which after all was sensible, since I could find a
rust-free and unbent Midget with four correct wheels and a spare for less
than I payed out in storage rent over the five year period.
(Here's where I confess to unorthodox behavior: I bought a '76 VW bus,
rebuilt the strange motor, and camperized it. Guess I'm not a purist.)
Anyway, on Monday a Midget cut me off in traffic. It was the first Midget
I have seen on San Diego freeways. Looked great. So I search altavista
for a list and here I am.
Mark Hineline
1976 owner-camperized Volkswagen transporter named Peregrine
1982 Volvo 245 GL
1986 Saab 900S
(This space available for a Midget)
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