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Another "new" one.

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aeronca65t

aeronca65t

Great Pumpkin
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Another "new" one.

A few years ago, I started looking for a decent rebuildable 1275 for the race-Spridget. I went to my local craigslist and found it was cheaper to buy an entire car. Made sense too: I ended up with a 1973 Midget with a decent 1275 that also provided tons of spares for $250. I rebuilt that engine and it's in my race car right now.

So I've been thinking about the Austin A35 sedan that I'm building for racing. I had considered "sharing" my current 1275 between the Spridget and the Austin, but upon reflection, it seems like a pain.
So I went to my local craigslist again and found another $250, 1973 Midget.

This one has 19,000 miles and the body is really solid. Good rockers, doglegs, etc.
It's far nicer than a lot of Bugeye projects I see that are getting big dollars. It would be a shame to cut it up.

So after I yank the 1275 out of it, I think I'll put in my spare 948 and make it a low-bucks driver.

Of course, that plan may change after I actually <span style="text-decoration: underline">tell</span> Linda I bought this thing (I hid the previous '73 Midget at our summer house and she didn't find out about it for two years) :laugh:


73-midget.jpg
 
Re: Another "new" one.

Hey 65, I was wondering if you could go into more detail about building a low buck driver. a rat rod type car with the 948cc for the MPG or something else as I thought about doing that with a 948 I have lying around.
 
Re: Another "new" one.

I wasn't going to do anything real extreme.

Just pull the existing 1275 (for my racer) and drop in a stock 948 that I have here. I'll leave the trans in....I have a few spares already.

Assuming I decided to do this:
I'd gut the interior and replace current seats with better ones I have on hand. Paint the interior-no carpets.
Spray some rattle can red paint on the body as needed.
I have a fair amount of spare brake parts on hand, so I could do most of that for free.
Tie rod ends and king pins seem good.
Change fluids and grease as needed.
This top isn't awful, but I do have a better one.
Clean up all the wiring connections and maybe do a small Japanese alternator swap if needed.
I have some decent street tires.
Do a general clean up of the car.

That's about it.
 
Re: Another "new" one.

aeronca65t said:
I wasn't going to do anything real extreme.

Just pull the existing 1275 (for my racer) and drop in a stock 948 that I have here. I'll leave the trans in....I have a few spares already.

Assuming I decided to do this:
I'd gut the interior and replace current seats with better ones I have on hand. Paint the interior-no carpets.
Spray some rattle can red paint on the body as needed.
I have a fair amount of spare brake parts on hand, so I could do most of that for free.
Tie rod ends and king pins seem good.
Change fluids and grease as needed.
This top isn't awful, but I do have a better one.
Clean up all the wiring connections and maybe do a small Japanese alternator swap if needed.
I have some decent street tires.
Do a general clean up of the car.

That's about it.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a plan. The thing I hate is that the insurance is so much more for a daily driver because Hagertys won't insure a daily driver.
 
Re: Another "new" one.

Yeah, mine won't be a daily driver. I'll have historic plates on it. Cheap here in NJ and no inspection, but limited to 2000 miles per year (which is fine for me). With historic plates, insurance is around $100 per year (this is what I have on my street MGB).
 
Re: Another "new" one.

aeronca65t said:
Yeah, mine won't be a daily driver. I'll have historic plates on it. Cheap here in NJ and no inspection, but limited to 2000 miles per year (which is fine for me). With historic plates, insurance is around $100 per year (this is what I have on my street MGB).
Click to expand...
I don't know when you are going to be done with it but If you want a full paint job I will be setting up to paint my "new" one at some point and the setup is such a pain in the butt that I feel like I should paint more than one to be worth the effort. Last time I was just set up to paint the midget and that is all the room I had so its spridgets or nothing.
 
Re: Another "new" one.

Thanks. But I'll probably just do a quick "50 footer" with a rattle can and enjoy it. I already have a real nice looking MGB. I see this one as "not-quite-a-rat-rod".
I'd keep it usable with a radio, top and heater.

In a way, I'm just planning on doing the minimum to save it for the next owner. These RWA Midgets are getting harder to find (one of my brothers has a <span style="text-decoration: underline">real</span> nice '73.....I bought that one for $500 and passed it on to him).
grin.gif
 
Re: Another "new" one.

Nial,

You've got HOW MANY cars?Trying to keep up with the
rest of us?Looks like a good buy.

- Doug
 
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