I don't know about you but I'm paranoid. I won't let anyone touch my car
unless they have demonstrated to me that they are an expert with it and
that they care about it. I know exactly one shop whom I trust with my
BMW, and precisely none that I trust with my Midget. So my primary
objection to a place like Midas is that if you go there with an MG, you're
probably confronting the mechanic with a car he's never worked on before;
do you really want your car to be the one where he learns you can't do
[insert standard repair practice that won't work on a Midget] to a Midget?
As to the exhaust in particular, when I bought the BMW it had a Midas
exhaust on it. The thing did not flow well at all. It didn't fit right,
either. And it weighed (I later learned) roughly half what the stock
system did. It didn't help matters that it was indifferently installed.
All these factors combined to give the system a mercifully short lifespan
of approximately one year (the DPO had had it fitted in order to sell the
car) and 30,000 miles. And the irony is that the mufflers plus labor plus
lifetime warrany (Hah!) actually cost MORE than buying an OE exhaust from
the dealer and installing it myself.
I have a Falcon stainless exhaust on my Midget and recommend it highly. I
think VB still sells them. It's a careful replica of the original factory
system, done in heavy-gauge stainless steel. It looks and sounds
precisely the same now as it did when I installed it four years ago. And
the whole thing cost $150 or some such ridiculously low amount.
(Ridiculously low, you question? Right now we're looking for a new
exhaust for a very special BMW in our stable, and the going rate for a
factory exhaust is about $1000-1500. Makes darn near anything seem cheap :)
Hope this helps -
Michael Chaffee
mchaffee@staff.uiuc.edu
[Note new address]
CCSO probably thinks I'm working right now. What do you suppose they think
I'm saying?
On Thu, 27 Jun 1996 pharris@eos.vf.mmc.com wrote:
> Hi all. I'm looking for advice. Everything I've heard concerning Midas or
> Minieke (sp?) and our LBCs has been all bad. Is this due to general
> dissatisfaction or problems specifically dealing with British cars.
> I ask because my father wants me to take my '77 midget to Midas. He's never
> had a problem with his Dodge, Chevy or MGB there...Just lucky maybe?
> Thanks!
>
> -Keith :-)
> '77 Midget
>
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