I'm thinking about taking a look at one that's just come up for sale. I've never experienced LBC ownership. How are these cars? I wouldn't be planning anything but basic maintenance and using it for putting around the countryside.
It's a '75 and the photos show it to be in quite good condition.
Thanks, Paul
My understanding is that the chrome bumper sheet metal hides behind the rubber bumpers, so it's "easy" to convert them to look like an earlier car.
That's great to know, thanks! I was able to do that conversion with the '77 Alfa Spider I had.
You might want to do some googling on the triumph engine those cars had, 74 onwards.
Big guy? I couldn't get into a Midget.
re: removing rubber bumpers for the clean look.
Not exactly. Big holes, and lots of additional structure behind the panels.
Later midgets also got the Spitfire 1500, widely considered to be inferior to the earlier BMC engines, but really, that's due to all the emission crap. I say if you like it, go for it. Fiberglass front ends are available.
I had a '72 Midget as my first car back in 1977. It was fun for a 16 year old and all that and you'll get the full old British car ownership experience with that one for sure. They are tiny. I'd look at B's
been working on a bugeye with a 73 1275 BMC A series. So I cant really comment to the 1500.
rest of the car is really simple. Lever shocks, rack and pinion, etc.
For racing, front hubs and rear bearings are suspect and could break.
parts supply... only chumps buy directly from moss. find a good reseller and save over 10%
A few things you want to find specific sources for, like shock rebuilds and kingpin rebuilds.
its pretty much all out there and available, but part quality can be suspect. Many parts repoped in china with BAD quality, but no other real games in town at times, so a bit of buyer beware and a bit of make it work.
tires suck to source. choices are pretty much 300+ treadwear or toyo R888, no real 200tw options. (I think if one company did it, they might sell enough to justify. would be nice) 13's just arent made as much.
search out oil with ZDDP or get an additive.
Its a 4 wheel motorcycle, you crash, its gonna HURT
I'm 5'9", so I can usually fit in anything. I just sold my 308GTB and for the first time in 20 years I'm without a "fun" car. Prior to the Ferrari I had an Alfa Spider, so I'm done with Italian for a bit. Finding good/used/cheap Miatas around here (Ottawa) is a challenge. That's why I'm thinking LBC.
I had a '72 and as stated above, they are tiny. They make a Miata feel big, so you need to test fit for sure. Not sure about the later cars as mine had the 1275, but it was on par with my other MGs in terms of maintenance.
I was pretty much raised on little British cars. Back in the day, MG fans lamented the change to the Triumph engine, accompanied by the rubber bumpers, viewing it as a desperate corporate effort to save a 50s design that was already on life support. But looking back on it four decades later, they are all really fun and simple little cars with a lot of character. It seems like the distinction between chrome-bumper and rubber-bumper cars is fading away, along with the number of surviving examples. If you fit in a Midget, it is a lot of fun even when just tooling around the neighborhood. You can drive it hard without anyone noticing. A Midget may look similar to an MGB, but it is much smaller, lighter and more nimble, probably the most toy-like car you could find with roll-up windows.
I say do it! 
I had a rubber bumper Midget and they are awesome little cars (but I have a weakness for small rwd cars). Buy it, backdate it and have fun
Ha Ha! The memories are coming back. I used to do this thing where I Zigged then Zagged as hard as could. It would snap your neck. They ARE fun and can turn on a dime.
This thread title has so much potential...
Street legal go karts when the front suspension is in good order. I have owned two of them ( My first ever car was a Midget) and have good memories.
That said, the front end is often worn and going over the whole system hub to hub is not cheap. Shocks and kingpins will make a $1000 bill go away. The rear will be about the same if you do everything.
The only justifiable concern with the engine is the thrust bearings have a reputation for going away. You can get an idea if this is an issue by looking at the balancer while someone steps on the clutch pedal. If it moves, it is not good.
Spare parts are plentiful but of variable quality. MOSS even tells you in the sales literature that the regulator for the bugeyes will malfunction from new; up to you to figure it out. They were not kidding.
If you are comfortable with minor tin work, the bumpers can go away with nice results.
Pete
The backdate conversion is popular enough for kits to be offered:
It requires a little welding and painting but looks like it's not horrible to do.
I'm interested how this turns out as I have the exact same idea. I thought there was some permanent difference in the front end geometry that made the later cars not as desirable though.
British Leyland went with the 1500 engine because the 1275 was pretty much at its limit in displacement. Too bad the 1275 couldn’t be punched out more, because it was a heck of an engine.
In reply to NermalSnert :
They are fun cars but the earlier cars are a lot more fun. They met the bumper rules by jacking the car up so it doesn’t have that lovely go-cart feel the earlier ones did.
Nor is the performance as brisk with the later inferior engine.
Having said that they are still a lot of fun.
Personally, if you plan on actually driving the car often, I'd leave the rubber bumpers. While they get little love from purists, they are at least more integrated into the body lines than Spitfire bumpers. And I happen to know from experience the Midget rubber bumpers are quite effective if used.
I had a '79 rubber bumper Midget. It was great fun. SLOW, but fun. I took off the front bumper and added some small running lights/turn signals (they are part of the bumper so you have to replace them with something). The rear bumper is harder to deal with. The rear sheet metal is not the same as the chrome bumper cars and there are huge notches the bumper fits into. It looked odd to me with the bumper off so I left it on. This was a long time ago and the OEM quality pieces were junk (alternator, starter, master cylinders, slave cylinders, fan clutch, etc). I suspect that quality has gone down since then so I would expect a fair amount of work to keep it on the road. Top speed flat out on level ground was about 75 mph but I had a ball with it. I'm 6'2" and had trouble getting in and out with top up but once I was in, I had plenty of room.
Thanks a lot guys, lots of great information.
It looks like the one I was interested in seeing has sold. But there’s lots of fish in the sea, the hunt continues!
A couple of things:
I seem to recall someone saying the rubber bumper cars are better aerodynamically.
As for 13" tires there are more choices than people think. If the car is going to be an occasionally driver than buy some R compound take offs from some vintage racers. When I was using radials I was giving them to a friend. You could also pick up some from someone like John Berget. Avon ACB9 bias ply come in 5x22-13 I've used them on the Datsun before I went to Hoosiers, the Avons have a tall side wall so they have more give. I think they are 80 tread wear.
OK being a Datsun guy I will mention there are a lot of Spridget guys using Datsun A-series engines. Before I go any further I must note that the Datsun A-series has absolutely nothing in common with the BMC A-series. Urban lore has it that the Datsun engine is a copy but the motor people are talking about was manufactured in the 50s not the 70s unit. The 5 speed used in Sprigets is a Nissan unit so my thought is why not just install the Nissan/Datsun engine along with the tranny.
The Datsun A-series is a 5 main bearing engine and doesn't have any siamesed ports. They make more power than the BMC unit (we're taking 5-10 so not huge) they will also rev higher in standard trim so freeway rpm is less of an issue. The usual source is an 80-81 210 (not to be confused with B210)
If I were in the market for a Midget I wouldn't hesitate to buy a rubber bumper car. I'd just drive it an enjoy it. Perhaps after a while I might convert to Datsun power as I have a couple extra motors and transmission but there is absolutely nothing wrong with the BMC unit.
My FIL has a 75 Midget that is mostly stock (even has a catalytic converter), and we ran it on the Retreat From Moscow Rally. We’re both around six feet tall, and fit well, if a little snugly. Fortunately, neither of us is too heavy. Width and limberness are the two critical things to concern yourself with. Have to be flexible to get in the car, especially if the top is up, and it’s narrow, so not much room to stretch your arms. I was impressed by the amount of cargo space in such a small car, I think we fit as much as you could put in a Miata, maybe more.
Mechanical parts are easy to come by, so you should have no problem keeping one running.
I had a 1980 Spitfire w/ the 1500 engine. Lots of options to increase hp. A weak point of the 1500 engine is above average wear of the thrust washers for the crank. A quick check is to pry on the bottom pulley and measure travel. Excessive wear can trash the crank.
I got chased off by an alcoholic Hungarian German car mechanic in a Spitfire one time. He was yelling "thlee main berrring crank" and throwing rocks :)
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