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Going to get my new Midget.

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And now for the BCF mantra.....PICTURES!!
grin.gif
 
Well, I am back home. It took a little time to unload and get things at least a little put away.

Here is what the first look tells me that I have. A 1974 RWA Midget with 32,440 miles. The VIN tells me it is definitely a '74 but I do not know what the letters in the vin stand for. GAN5<span style="color: #CC0000">UE</span>*****<span style="color: #CC0000">G</span> Would apreciate any thoughts here.

The car is now BRG but I think it might have originally been some shade of red. Since the owner did his own body and paint work I will almost certainly pretty much start over. Because of that the car will likely not be repainted BRG, that is the color of my TR6, unless I decide not to keep it. The reason for that is that until this car became available I had never considered a Midget.

There are several large boxes of parts and a lot of work ahead. Just making an inventory will take a lot of time.

The engine has been bored .030 over, a new cam, cam bearings, and new seats and valves were included in the rebuild. It was a professional rebuild and included a list of the engine's specifications. The engine is still in the builders plastic bag and has never been in the car. I will at least do a partial tear down to check things out.

Anyway, at well under $1000 I think it wasn't to bad a deal. The bill for the engine build without parts was much more than I paid for the car. I actually paid the asking price, I had an opening to hagle and let it slide.
 
wow!
GOOD SCORE!

m
 
Nice looking find. If the body work cleans up, could you leave it at that? Pictures look pretty good.
 
Nice! Good looking car!
 
I figure just giving myself a few weeks to let it all settle in and have some time to get an idea what I want to do with it.

Drew, There is some metal work that should have been done but I could probably make the body repairs and not do a complete redo on the paint but I really do not want another BRG car. Is there a paint code on the car? Does it make any difference what color it is if it is a '74 color?
 
Nice find.
 
No paint codes on the car -- you can find the original color with a British Motor Heritage certificate if you want, but that would be the only way (I think... I know that was the case with the early Spridgets). Fixing the body work now makes good sense as it's already apart.

An advantage of Spridgets is that they made a lot of them, and there are plenty out there that are pristine and original. Most of us have modified our cars in some way. Paint it any way you want, it's your car! :smile:
 
I agree, it does look great underneath. It has never been on ebay or any other site. I got it from a guy that kind of got stuck with it and gave me a call because he knew I am into LBC's.

I got in the passenger seat a few minutes ago and it was a struggle. If it is that hard to get in the drivers side I probably won't have it long. I never got in till now because it was packed tight with parts. The boot was also filled with parts and there were a number of other boxes full.
 
Drive it first. You'll keep it.
 
Easy to get in drivers side, sit down and spin one leg at a time.
 
You might try throwing your right leg over the steering wheel to get it down near the floor and just slide down the seat. I used to do it that way. It was a lot easier getting in than out though.

I wish I could move the seat back ('71 Midget). I wouldn't mind cutting into the bulkhead, but I'd also have to cut into the wheel well. Has anyone ever tried this?
 
In my MK2 Sprite, since I had to totally rebuild seats from scratch anyway I used wood for the bases which dropped me down a couple inches and bolted the frames directly to the floor as far back as possible. Once I have the smaller steering wheel installed it should be very roomy, even for my XXL size! The MK1 Sprite & Midget and MK2 Sprite have an advantage with the "window area" being empty (no roll up windows) this provides extra room at the side area.

I sincerely doubt many of you are my size (gut) and I drive my 78 Midget every day. I would have more trouble if I were taller, my 6 foot something son has a bit of trouble fitting in, but he does fit in. However he doesn't have the gut that I've got.

It's definitely a case of "Where there's a will, there's a way".

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

One other thing you could do is get a quick release steering wheel mount. Pop it off when you want to get in & out.
 
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