Anyone know this car/owner?

[vagt6]

Well folks, I'm test driving a nice Midget tomorrow and will purchase it if it checks out okay. It's on eBay right now, the 1974 white RWA Midget in the link, below.

Do any of you guys know this car, or the owner (his name is on the eBay ad in the contact info)??? If so, what can you tell me?

I've been lookin' around for a nice RWA Midget for awhile, maybe this is the one. eBay link

We'll see . . . more to come soon. :thumbsup:

 

[walshja]

hey Mark

I saw that listing and was impressed with the car, and the story !!!

I don't know the owner, but I will be interested to hear your thoughts on the car.

I hope it's as described, and you find yourself sitting behind the wheel of a small automobile !!!

It looks like the smog equipment has been removed, you may want to ask for the parts if you are looking to get it back to stock.

 

[Gundy]

That's a sweet Midget! 5 speed, zip out rear window and
luggage rack are nice features. Good luck! :thumbsup:

 

[tao724]

Sure looks like a taker to me!

 

[vagt6]

I bought it for a bit less than the "buy it now" price. Luckily, the hard top came with it. My test drive went very well: the car is tight; suspension relatively tight but not race-tight (lever shocks); few, if any rattles. Engine pulls nicely once it's up into the torque curve, smooth and idles nicely. Started right up, no cranking, no smoke at all.

Engine has been tweaked (balanced; pistons, headwork, cam) and runs great. Stock exhaust may have to go, though, it's VERY quiet! Engine bay, trunk, wheel wells and underside of the car are very clean.

The Datsun gearbox is nice with fairly short throw on the shifter. However, I crunched second gear a couple of times. I need to find out how to service the gearbox, where might I get a manual? Fifth gear will render nice cruising RPMs on the highway. First gear is VERY low.

I jacked it up and eyeballed the suspension, grabbed the front tires and shook: nothing loose, no play in steering, fulcrum pin, hub bearings. He said the entire suspension was about 5 years old with less than 5,000 miles on it. Seems to have poly (black) bushes throughout. I think the front suspension needs lubricating, though, will do that this weekend. It has lever shocks, apparently in good condition with about 8,000 miles on them with no apparent fluid leaks. The car rides nicely, not too stiff at all and takes road bumps nicely, much like a modern car (I was very pleased with the ride quality). It has an anti-sway bar up front, too.

The only "drawbacks": the seats are slightly worn; the dash pad has cracking on the far left side; speedometer is twitchy and way off. When the Datsun gearbox was installed I'd bet they didn't change the speedo drive gears. Can these be purchased?

The good: new vinyl top, perfect fiberglass hard top with matching (new) paint and good rubber. Nice Pioneer stereo with good speakers. Windscreen and all rubber surround is new with new wiper motor. Custom (smaller) wood steering wheel provides a bit more room, nice.

I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of room I had with the seat all the way aft. Not bad at all.

I couldn't find any evidence of rust in the key areas. New (good) paint job in 2007, looks like new! Pans and sills have been replaced. Good tires, refurbished rostyles look very good. Chrome bumpers look like new. Engine bay looks like new and VERY clean.

I'll get into the car a bit more this weekend, with a rainy weekend planned here I have several hours of good garage time to thoroughly go over the car and perform maintenance.

AND, I'll be back here to pester you guys with lots of questions and input. I've never owned a Spridget before, so I'm gonna need a little help.

Thanks in advance for the advice, folks. :thumbsup:

 

[Trevor Jessie]

You might try a different oil in the gearbox to see if it lessens the shifting problem. 1st and 2nd are too low IMO. However, you get used to it pretty quick. I'm only in 1st for a short moment and I usually wind out 2nd pretty far so that the engine doesn't lug when I get to third. Small price to pay for a smooth shifting five speed.

 

[tao724]

IMO well bought!