DATELINE HOUSTON, TEXAS 12/8/94:
MG MIDGET READY FOR SECOND LIFE
The 1974 1275 cc MG Midget (the Bumblebee) is back on the road after being
abandoned and left for dead. Rebuilt suspension, brakes, engine,
transmission,
clutch and exhaust. Previous owner had restored interior, minor body work,
repainted (yellow).
The restored car is a real blast to drive and quite an attention getter.
Some mods were performed, which proved interesting:
The engine was rebored, Nikkens Brothers (local racing folks) did a port and
polish job on the head, the engine was balanced, used a hotter cam, and
installed an ANSA muffler. The resulting performance is really quite
amazing.
When rebuilding the trans, the gears were spray coated (polycoat) which in
addition to hardening them eliminated the normally noisy gearbox sounds.
If anyone is restoring a 1275 Midget, I will be glad to provide more detail
on any
of the above.
TO DO/REMAINING PROBLEMS:
1. Gas Petal: Rubber petal is broken, currently operating with just the
metal rod.
Can't seem to find a petal. Anybody have an idea on a replacement?
2. Emissions. Air rail, air pump, gulp valve, etc. missing. Have located
most of
the stuff and I do plan to hook it back up, even though I probably would not
have
to do it. Houston plans to begin "smog" inspections next year, but as of now
they
do not plan to do any visual checks except to see if a cat converter is
installed if
it was originally required.
3. Hot Hot Hot. To put this in perspective, realize that the high temp in
Houston
yesterday 12/8/94 was 82 degrees F. Last weekend we were putting up
Christmas lights in T-shirts and shorts and swatting mosquitoes. Hot and
humid
in December, you can imagine August. (Story goes that if you had a home in
Houston and one in Hell, in August you would rent out the place in Houston
and
vacation in Hell.) Anyway, how about some ideas on heat control for the
cockpit.
Is there any chance a tiny air conditioning system could be added? What is
the
smallest car anyone has seen with operating A/C? Everything here is air
conditioned, of course you know about the air conditioned baseball field
(Astrodome) but would you believe an air conditioned outdoor amphitheater?
We have it. Now we need an A/C Midget.
Joe
LawyerJoe@AOL.com
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