Hello all -
Well, it's slowly approaching spring, and that means it's almost time
to free Harvey the '74 Midget from its Rent-A-Barn and go to work. This
should be a semi-productive season; I have a car I can drive every day if
Harvey is down for the count, and I actually have a few dollars ferreted away
for some work. Harvey is currently in (relative) need of two things: a body
restoration, and a motor. Actually, its current motor is fine, but I have
this spare block and spare head lying around, and I think I want to make it a
little more vigorous, while still retaining steetability and not going outer
limits on autox classification. Any recommendations on CR's, cams, pistons,
obscure mods, etc.?
Slightly less exciting (but really more necessary) is the body
restoration. The car has 20 years of little dings, and one very badly
straightened rear-ender, and some icky Bondo work that must be rectified.
There is no rust, other than unimportant surface stuff. I have a replacement
rear tub (tub? The part that goes around the trunklid, between the rear
fenders, whatever you care to call it) that is in GC, but the installation job
looks a little frightful, in particular the spot welding at the top:
OOO <--Bead to cover seam
I I
Edge I I*I I Top
of --> I I*I I <- of
tub I ^ I RH Fender
^
Spot Weld
I hope that made some sense, but I don't really see a good way to get in there
and spot weld in the new tub. Has anyone else tried this? Am I missing
something obvious?
I would like at the same time to change the car's color from the
(original, then badly matched on respray) maroon to BRG, which would
necessitate changing the interior color to tan. VB has a complete interior
kit that SOUNDS decent for $1000 - for that price it had better be, n'est pas?
- and I WILL be in the area of their HQ at some point in the summer, so I
could take a look, but does anyone have any good hints on affordable good
quality replacements?
Another matter is that I intend to autocross this car. Just locally,
and really just for fun. Does anyone have any good recommendations on wheels?
I have heard the Vega wheel suggestion, but I would really like Minilites or
faux-Minilites in a width appropriate to fit 60-series A008RS's. Speaking of
which, if I'm looking for 60-series tires, on 5-6 inch wheels, what size will
give me approximately proper diameter?
Any advice on these or any other Midget matters would be vastly appreciated.
Still wondering why I bought a VW Rabbit and THEN named my MG "Harvey,"
Michael T. Chaffee
mchaffee@sumter.cso.uiuc.edu
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