Midget Restoration

I have officially started the restoration of my 68 MG Midget that I purchased in October of 07 and already feel like this is going to be a long tedious, and rust filled road. I figured i'd post some pics of the car that I took showing the progress made over the last month. This is my first attempt at restoring a car so please feel free to chime in with any experience or tips you may have. Thanks for looking!

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Bbsm7dq1asXRA&notag=1

All I get is a sign-in page. :?: -Louis-

Sorry I edited the link. Should work now.

Spridgets and Spitfires make great first projects. Pick up the shop manual and don't be afraid to tear into anything that needs to be fixed. Ask questions in this forum and you'll get experienced advice. Consider it a total automotive learning experience and enjoy every minute. Your next one can be a TR3, and then the E-Type will surely follow.

Much better! :nice: Looks great! Keep up the good work!

Actually, looks pretty solid for one of those. :grin: Don't be obsessed with making it perfect. That saps a lot of fun out of ownership. Just strive to make it presentable. I've had way more fun with my five footer cars than the restored-for-trophies ones.

"Don't be obsessed with making it perfect. That saps a lot of fun out of ownership."

That is 100% true!

I've had hundreds of hours of racing fun in my not-so-perfect race-Spridget and my street MGB is a five-footer at best.

Have fun and keep up the good work!

dThanks guys, I actually have a question since I have this great new venue. I am in the process of stripping the engine of all its parts and I cant seem to get the camshaft to turn. I removed the oil pan and looked up in there and everything looks fine not that i'm an expert but it won't budge. What does this mean? Should it spin freely when I turn the pulley in the bottom front of the engine? I also removed the plugs and squirted some oil down there but still nothing.

Crankshaft, you mean? If the plugs are out (so compression doesn't build up) yeah, it should spin pretty freely when you turn the pulley. If it doesn't, that's bad-- most likely the cylinders are stuck in the bores.

Even with the plugs in, it will turn, although it's harder, as you have to overcome a lot more resistance.

Yeah, I meant the crankshaft sorry. I think that's the problem. When I purchased the car the engine was out of it and I cranked it over by hand with the plugs in. It sat since then about 3 mos. and now I cant turn it. the oil hasn't helped. Any idea how I can fix this?:?:

Your project looks rather solid for an MG. If you need to see some pics of how they go together, I have pics of just about anything that can be repaired on one of these things. (The Bugeye Is almost identical except for the shape of the outer skin)

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2203663

Keep us updated. We like to share the pain!

Pete

Thanks Pete, I was also pleasantly surprised at the condition once I started sanding,stripping etc. especially the inner fender walls after the nightmarish stories I heard about the typical rust accumulation there I expected the worst. Now if I can just get the engine to turn over i'll be in business.

So far i've tried: 1)Taking off the head and oil pan and visually inspecting for any signs of damage.

2)Putting some mystery oil down into the cylinders in hopes to free something up.

3) gently persuading the the piton arms with a rubber mallet.

No luck so i'm biting the bullet and taking it to a local MG shop to get assessed. I'll let you guys know how it turns out. Thanks for all the advise!

yikes, a stuck engine that doesn't respond to oil/etc can be a pain...too much force and you damage the pistons...not enough and it doesn't move. Can you get a breaker bar on the crank pulley or flywheel?

Guys in the antique tractor and old engine world run into this problem frequently. They have various techniques they use to free things up that have been stuck for decades. May want to troll some of their message boards and see what is working for them.

Weird thing on this case is that it froze so tight in just 3 months.

I thought it was strange that it froze in such a short period of time as well. Lesson learned is to put oil down the cylinder's before you store an engine. I dropped it off to a guy who has 35 years of british motor experience yesterday and he said it looked typical and doesn't think it will be a problem. At $85.00 an hour I hope it doesn't take too long. Welcome to the world of old cars I guess! Nice car = Empty wallet!:whatthe:

I bought and removed an A-series engine from a car that was parked in DE for probably 30 years. It wasn't stuck, which surprised the heck out of me. I guess you never know.

So I got a call from the MG guru that I took my engine to last week and bad news. He told me that it looks as if the entire engine severely overheated at one point. I must not have turned the crankshaft and just spun the fan (ie waterpump) when I purchased the car. So long story short he said the entire engine was totally junk unless I wanted to have it all machined, new pistons balanced crankshaft and ground cam. He estimated this would cost me four to five thousand. Not a position i'm in at this time. I'm not really sure what to do at this point the guy I bought this car from is a cop and he totally ripped me off. The mechanic said he had to bang the pistons out with a wooden block and sledge hammer, definitely not from sitting too long. If anyone has any leads on where I can get this done for cheaper or get a new/used engine I would really appreciate it. I've already spent 2 grand in parts for a car that I now don't have a motor for. :evil:

They made the A series motors for decadesin various sizes & cars. From 850s in old Morris Minors to 1340 in late (not New but late old style Minis. Join your local MG club, find out who's been bfutzing with these things forever & who's got a buildable spare lying under a bench somewhere. Ask your Brit car mechanic if he knows someone who might have one to sell. Check the free classified here. Go to www.mgbexperience.com check them out, put in a WTB ad. Go to the NAMGBAR website & check their classifieds.

Keep a watch on e-bay, check out namgar, watch craigslist and punch in mg engine on google daily and pick up a used engine. They are out there and it will not take long to find. You might even post on ebay want-it-now or craigslist.

I just sold an MG 1800 engine on ebay for $195. and it was a good engine.

Sit tight and plug ahead on the restoration and don't worry about the engine, they are out there.

Good luck

Try ~HERE~ for a free engine. Hurry!

Hey , Thats awesome, Thanks Aeronca! I just signed up for that forum so that I can e mail the guy that is selling/giving the engine away. I dont have permission to IM until the administrator approves me. If you are a memeber could you send him my email address? Rgr_hooper@yahoo.com If you can't get to it no big deal. I'll email him as soon as i'm approved. I don't want to get my hopes up just yet I hope this works out though! :grin:

I would not sweat the engine too much. It should be one of the last things to do on a restoration. Get the body and interior done and keep an eye open for the engine.

There are lots of good used engines around for the Midget.

Toyota swap maybe? Suzuki Swift engine?

Pete