<I talked to Bill Perry at Rivergate Restorations today regarding the Datsun
210 5 speed conversion for the Midget. It sounds like a good idea to me.
Has anyone on the list done this mod and if so, what do you think about it?
Mark>
My Endurance Rally partner, Bill Hedrick, put one in his '71 Midget this past
Spring. Well worthwhile. Bill Perry was very helpful. We blew up the engine
on the Missouri Endurance Rally on day 2 of the rally - but counting the
drive from Chicago to St. Louis, it was the third straight day of running at
5K RPM to do 70MPH. We passed a pickup and the #3 exhaust valve let go. Bill
(Hedrick) installed the 5 speed when he put the rebuilt engine back in. His
shakedown run was to MG'97 in Buffalo and it ran great. I got to drive it
last month on the Around Lake Michigan Rally at Twist's. It was great.
Doesn't help much when you take a dirt road with a long sand stretch that you
get stuck in up to the hubs BUT once you get a tow truck in to winch you out
- it comes in handy to make up the 3 1/2 hours you lost by being able to do
80MPH only turning 4100 or so RPM. We got back with 10 minutes to spare. I
was very impressed and intend to put one in my '69 Midget project when I get
to it.
Watch MGB Driver for an article on Bill's conversion.
Kim Tonry
Editor - MGB Driver
Downers Grove, IL, USA
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