Re: Midget with heavy steering and no recoil.
Welcome to the best forum for British cars anywhere.
Probably the most common cause for this problem is lack of lubrication at the kingpins. Sometimes the grease gets hard, and the steering becomes a chore. Try forcing grease in there, and see if that helps. An extreme measure is to <u>gently</u> heat the kingpin area, after removing the zerk fittings, and try to melt the solidified grease out, then try to pump fresh in.
Another possibility is that someone has pumped grease rather than gear oil, into the steering rack, with the same result. Binding of steering components, or mis-adjusted upper trunnions may also be the cause, but I would go for the kingpins first.
I would disconnect the tie rods from the steering arms, and try to move each wheel individually to isolate the rack as being the cause.
You have come to the right place, and we should have the problem isolated and resolved shortly.
Jeff