Mike, You should have tried my "green slime" rebuild for around $1. Worked
on mine and has lasted a year so far.
Crash
>As far as the vacuum unit for the Spridget dizzy, M & G Vintage Auto Co.
has new
>and rebuilt vacuum units for British cars. I called on an ad in Hemmings
Motor
>news about rebuilding the vacuum unit from my Bugeye and the guy there said
what
>about a new one?
>For about the same price ($60) I bought a brand new unit. When it arrived
it
>was not the correct one. It had the large nut on the side. My original
one had
>no nut where the vacuum line was threaded to it. I called them and they
said
>send it back. Couple weeks later, the correct unit arrived. I seem to
remember
>giving them some numbers off the original unit the second time.
> There is also an article in a back issue of Austin Healey Club USA
magazine
>about rebuilding the unit yourself. It won't look original because you
have to
>drill holes all the way around the circumference and install nuts and bolts
to
>re-seal it. But hey, you probably save a bundle instead of buying a new
one.
>You can point to it with pride and say "I rebuilt it!"
> I will look up the article and fax it to interested parties if anyone
>thinks they would like to try this.
>Mike MacLean-60 Sprite
>
>"Charles D. Sorkin" wrote:
>
>> Brian said:
>>
>> >I drove it a week ago and I have some questions. This is the only sprite
>> I've
>> >ever driven, and it seems under powered. Not quick away from a light.
Now
>> this
>> >is compared to my 100-4, but 2nd gear was required to make a steep hill.
Is
>> >this typical?
>> >
>> >Also, I had to really mash the brakes to get it to stop. Again this is
>> compared
>> >to my 100-4. I thought the front disks would help stop this little car
on a
>> >dime. I also noted they faded once stopped, requiring ever greater
pressure
>> to
>> >hold the car still on a hill. The owner said the master cylinder unit
was
>> >replaced a few thousand miles ago. This owner is a club member so I
believe
>> >him.
>> >
>> >The car seems to be as reliable a driver as one can expect from a 36
year
>> old
>> >British car. Are these things I've mentioned problems or typical of a
tiny
>> >inexpensive sports car?
>>
>> The acceleration issue could be caused by a bad vacuum advance. The
>> diaphragm sometimes decays after a few decades, and although the Lucas
>> dizzies are no longer made, rebuilt units are available if you have a
good
>> parts vendor or if you monitor ebay (risky). I haven't heard of people
>> being overjoyed about the performance of the Mallory dualpoint dizzies in
>> the Moss catalog. As far as power is concerned, my '74 Midget had very
>> little until I gave it a tune up, the first it had probably had in years.
>> With the valves set with 0.012 - 0.013 clearnaces, the engine breathes
much
>> better.
>>
>> The brakes on my Midget are the best I've ever had on any car, domestic
or
>> foreign. They should be completely faultless, no fade, not spongy, when
in
>> good condition.
>>
>> As far as reliability, mine only breaks down at home, in the garage. My
>> parts replacement/repair/restoration budget has been averaging about $100
>> per month. Like the big healey, all spridgets eventually require a
>> front-end rebuild.
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Charles
>> '74 Midget
>> '68 Sprite
>> cdsorkin@ix.netcom.com
>> Bloomfield, NJ
>> "How about we duck inside for a Hen?"
>
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