On Dec 10, 2005, at 2:25 PM, David Lieb wrote:
> I will argue with that. Had the Midget come out a year earlier, I
> would tend to agree with you, but inasmuch as the car was radically
> re-designed by both Austin and MG and the result was simultaneously
> badged as both Sprite and Midget, added to the fact that they were
> all built in the MG factory
David,
It is not my intention to insult anyone.
However the MK I Midget (948) is a Bugeye Sprite with new fenders,
bonnet and trunk lid bolted or spot welded to the same tub as the
Bugeye and that never change up to 1970. Sorry but I do not consider
that a major re-design. Everything under that shell was designed by
Geoff Healey with mechanicals from Morris and perhaps some other BMC
parts. The drive train, dash, instuments, interior are all just the
same as the Bugeye. With all due respect to me that makes it a re-
badged Sprite.
As far as production is concerned the cars were build by BMC and the
choice of what was built in which factory was dominated by upper
management politics not by marque name. At that point in time the
new head of BMC was a man (who's name I can not think of at this
moment) that had been the top management in MG before it became part
of BMC and the man he replaced had been top management in Austin
prior to the merger. The new head of BMC wanted to be sure that his
MG plants stayed busy before he was concerned about the Austin
plants. This was the English auto industry of that time.
Also in the 50's and into the 60's there were factory recognized
clubs. To be a member of the MG club you had to own an MG. If you
did not own an MG you could not be a member of the MG club. In the
50's this was a very big international club, perhaps the biggest. By
the late 50's the price of a new MG had gone up. A lot of folks with
TD's and TF's that wanted a new car started buying Sprites resulting
in MG club membership going down. There was a very strong feeling in
the sports car community that BMC made the Midget to try curb the
declining club membership.
None of this alters the inherit fun and enjoyment of these cars
regardless of which badge is on the car.
Bob Kitterer
1960 Sprite (Mk IV in disguise)
1966 Sprite Mk III (Trevor, in boxes)
2000 Miata Special Edition
|