Les,
A '72 Midget was a pretty well developed, reliable car when it was new.
However, many (most), due to their affordability, fell into the hands of
complete idiots/"first time" car owners, squirrelly kids, and others who
either had no clue, or were simply not interested in spending money and
time on maintaining such an inexpensive (read "disposable") sports car.
What this means is that, by now, most Spridgets have been TORTURED,
half-ass/jury rig repaired/restored, tortured some more, "maintained" by
the unenlightened, using inferior/incorrect service parts....... The
list goes on and on.
It is still possible to make a Spridget reliable enough to drive every
day, to work. I did it for a few years (with my'72 Midget, purchased
from an idiot for $500, 24 years ago), driving 30,000 to 50,000 miles
each year.
The trick is to go over every mechanical/hydraulic/electrical component
on the car and rebuild/repair/replace everything. It's no good trying
to play "catch up", by waiting until something fails before taking
corrective measures. Get it right BEFORE you start to drive it,
maintain it BY THE BOOK, and you will be fine. Don't try to
"re-engineer" the Spridget by replacing OE parts with aftermarket stuff,
thinking you are getting away from "unreliable" Lucas or SU components.
Those two names have been badly abused by a lot of clueless people, who
have no idea what they are doing. The fact is that, when new or
rebuilt, and PROPERLY maintained, Lucas and SU components are every bit
as reliable as any other electrical/fuel system component of their
time.....OK, there were some QC issues in the 70s, with some switches,
and minor items. But, I've found that if you keep electrical
connections clean and tight, it is amazing how trouble-free those
"suspect" components can be.
Example: My Midget, with 170,000 + miles on the "clock" still has it's
original light switch in perfectly functional order, as well as all of
the original instruments (well, the combination gauge had to be
replaced, but that was due to some turkey (not me, either ;)) crossing
the fuse block with the capillary line (it was NOT a pretty sight).
Bud Osbourne
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-spridgets@autox.team.net
[mailto:owner-spridgets@autox.team.net] On Behalf Of Les Jones
Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2006 4:36 PM
To: spridgets@autox.team.net
Subject: daily drivers
Folks,
I'm working on the brakes of the 72 RWA and wondered how many of you
folks drive your Spridgets on a daily basis. I'm planning on driving the
72 at least a couple times a week but my commute is about 120 miles
round trip. I'd like to be able to Spridget everyday but not sure how it
would take it.
Any musings would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Les
Kentucky
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