I'm in west Michigan, Hudsonville, near Grand Rapids, right near University Motors really (30 miles away from them?). I wasn't going to buy it until my wife and sons put me over the top. Don't get me wrong, it's a very straight little Midget but I should have held out for more for my money.
Alright, time to suck it up.
Tranny rebuild time (or swap rather, I might be able to handle a swap, not a rebuild!)
Funny, the biggest issue with my '75 Midget was weak tranny and here I am again.

Nope, most people prefer the A-series engine and chrome bumpers over the 1500 triumph motor and rubber bumpers. You made a good choice. Join the spridgets mailing list at autox.team.net . I think there are several people on that list in your area.

I know very little about the ribcase transmission, so your problem might be a simple fix. However, it sounds like you'll have to pull the tranny to take a look.

Does it have the ribcase tranny - or is it a smoothie?

Tell me what to look for I'll go look! The engine is a 10cc BTW.
I'll go check the gearbox.
You'd think it'd do something before it died.
There is some judder on take off too though.
I suppose I could drain and refill (20w-50?)
Just for fun.
It really is a straight little car, no rust to speak of, only a few chips and scratches but I'm sitting here feeling pretty screwed. I put all my eggs in one basket I guess.

Here's some pictures.
more picures and gearbox shot
Taken by my 7 year old.
Last one I just took now showing the gearbox from the engine bay.
Bummer. Just goes to show you can do everything "right" and have issues. I drove it for a good 20 minutes and idled it in the driveway and crawled all over it. Never missed a beat, never dripped, all was golden. No reason not to snap it up, but for a tiny voice telling me to wait a day or two (which would have been really inconvenient). When my wife told me how much she loved it I decided to get it. Anyway enough.
What am I going to expect to have to pay for a gear box swap? I can't seriously expect to do it myself. Maybe I'll offer to sell it back to the seller for $500 less just to get out of it.

That would be a ribcase tranny. They are fairly easy to find.

Ribcase...but that transmission's been off the engine at least once!

But haven't most all of them Tony? I mean clutches and throw out bearing only last so long.

The real question is.... has any one rebuilt the transmission. If so, then the problem might be a simple loose shifter arm.

Why it's lovely. You done good.

Shucks a tranny rebuild is not that big a deal, couple of hours out and maybe 4 back in. With the rebuild in the middle.

I don't know what I'll do. I have tons of tenacity but I also know my limits. I do not have the facilities for an engine pull, let alone the experience. And frankly, after spending countless hours on that Opel, I don't know if I have it left in me. I wanted to spend all I had on as good a car as I could get so I could just enjoy it as it was. Yes I could do it but it'd take me weeks and only 50/50 chance I would screw it up and have to do it again. I'll stop by University Motors and see how much $$ it'd take to have them do it. Crap.
Seller gave me the impression he didn't really want to part with it. As much as it kills me, I'm willing to give him a few hundred to take it back and let me off the hook.
Maybe it'd be wise to take the car itself into University for a proper diagnosis. I let it cool down and tried again but where 4th should be, there is no where to go, just not there.

PS
Loose shifter arm? Something simple like that would sure be nice!

Jeff, don't be so quick to throw in the towel. A tranny swap isn't the end of the world, and good units are available in the $200 range.
I wish MY '63 looked that good!
Jeff

That's a very pretty car! when I was researching my last car (the Intrepid that is) I read somewhere that when you buy a used car, you can count on $1000 in the first 6 months of deferred work the PO knew about but didn't want to do. still looks like a blast once a few things are sorted. And, BTW an engine pull on a Midget is a driveway job and about 26 nut & bolt connections

That's a nice looking car. I picked up a spare ribcase transmission for my car for $150 plus shipping (about $200 total), there's lots of them around. Pulling the engine and transmission is not too difficult. Heck, I've done it twice and barely know what I'm doing.

I'd try draining and replacing the transmission oil as a first try. It's cheap and easy to do, and might help out.

If you don't like the wood dash, you could always cover it with black vinyl (that's how the originals were finished). It's a simple and cheap task, and would make the interior look more original. The wood dash doesn't look bad at all, just a thought. And I love that steering wheel. Neat.

What ever you decide, take a day or so and catch your breath. You did get a good car, just a few things to sort out. Hang in there!

I like the dash. It's OK. And the rest of the car is just beautiful. If it's only a trans, of course just change the oil first, but I've also had a few ribcases give up on me. On that car, the engine and trans are easy to remove, and a used or rebuilt trans isn't hard to find... in America.

And if you can read a decent manual, these trannies are a pretty straightforward rebuild...nothing too complicated...Could be something as simple as a worn detent ball or worn out synchro. I think a loose shifter fork would give you problems getting into gear as well as popping out of gear. I would recomend finding a replacement tranny, and then rebuilding the one in the car at your liesure! You will learn how the tranny works and still get to enjoy usage of the car in the meantime and wind up with a spare tranny when you are done!