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Looking at a '74 Midget

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I have a '68 Javelin for sale, never wrecked former California car that's 99.9% rust free. If he's serious about a '68, I can give him a better deal than he can find anywhere else and it's a very solid car.
 
urchin said:
The current owner removed the heater unit on the car and does not have it around, so I'd like it to be on a warmer day than we're having right now :smile:.
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Warm coat, hat, gloves. Brrr! A least it has a top so you can keep the wind chill down. :cold:
 
Drew, good ideas, all. I'll make it happen somehow. KellysGuy, I've passed your message along to the current owner and asked if he wants me to share email contact information. If so, I'll PM you with his contact information.

Jeff
 
My first British car was a MG TC purchased in January 400+ miles from home. A heater was an aftermarket accessory and mine didn't have one. Of course I and my friends were young and impatient so we had to go get it. No trailer so we drove it home. Changing off regularly and 2 in the car. Needed the extra guy to keep the frost and mist scraped off the inside of the windshield so the driver could see. Snow storm before we got home and we were plowing drifts at the last! What fun!!!

Kurt.
 
Kurt, that's a great story! My second LBC was a '63 MGB, purchased in 1978. The rear window on the top was opaque so when my VT state inspection came due in December, I had to take the top off and drive it to the service station [where I worked part time] for its inspection. I used a tonneau cover to try and keep in some of the "heat." When the mechanic saw me drive in, he asked, "Aren't you cold?" Of course, I denied being cold at all and insisted I liked to drive around a sports car this way. Fortunately he never saw the top or he would have been forced to fail the car on inspection.

The directionals had some sort of relay that wasn't workiing; the lights, front and rear, stayed lit all the time. So when he asked me to turn on the right and left directionals, I simply pushed down on the lever, counted "1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi..." and then pushed it back up with a hidden flick of the wrist. "They're kind of slow," he noted, and I resisted the temptation to offer to speed them up :smile:.

The top is down on this '74 and it is housed in an unheated garage. If we get a thaw I am going to ask to owner to raise the top so at least I can drive it home without looking too ridiculous. There is no tonneau that comes with this car.

Jeff
 
Thanks Jeff. I almost forgot, 343/4 speed car if he asks. (trans just rebuilt and entire front end rebuilt, swapped to disc brakes and entire brake system done, everything has zero miles on it.)
 
kellysguy said:
Thanks Jeff. I almost forgot, 343/4 speed car if he asks. (trans just rebuilt and entire front end rebuilt, swapped to disc brakes and entire brake system done, everything has zero miles on it.)
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Kellysguy, I forwarded this to the owner of the Midget. Thanks - not my kind of car but it sounds like a nice one!

Jeff
 
Sunday forecast for Rockland:

Sunday
Showers in the morning, then clearing with ample sunshine in the afternoon. High 42F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.



Get creative. Find a place to store it in Rockland. You could have a reverse "Island Car". Instead you'll have a "Mainland Car", something to use whenever you come off-island. Or donate it to Owl's Head with the right to visit it and take it out whenever you want (free storage for life)
 
HealeyRick said:
Sunday forecast for Rockland:

Sunday
Showers in the morning, then clearing with ample sunshine in the afternoon. High 42F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.


Get creative. Find a place to store it in Rockland. You could have a reverse "Island Car". Instead you'll have a "Mainland Car", something to use whenever you come off-island. Or donate it to Owl's Head with the right to visit it and take it out whenever you want (free storage for life)
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Clever idea, Rick, except its not in the kind of shape that the Owls Head Transportation Museum would prefer :smile:. That said, I've often used my LBC as my "mainland car." Since the TR-7 developed a head gasket leak, I've not used it as a mainland car these past two years; that's been the job of the Corvair.

This island is too small and the roads too familiar [and in rough shape] for much sports car driving. Also, I'm in the Land Rover working most every day so there's very little MG Midget time . I'll bring it to the island for the winter and spring so I can sort out what it needs and hopefully it can be the mainland car during the summer and fall.

Jeff
 
Sadly, the owner of the '74 Midget has experienced great frustration in his search for a "replacement car"; his search centered around small American cars with big engines, and he found sellers were deceptive on the condition of the cars. He backed out of three deals once he saw the cars, and just told me that he's decided not to sell his Midget after all.

So my search continues. So far New England ads seems to be for rubber-bumper Midgets only - at least at prices I can afford.

Jeff
 
Very disappointing!

Your car is out there, somewhere. Maybe come spring and warmer weather more will start popping up.
 
That's too bad Jeff. That was a nice little ride. A rubber bumper car might be good on the island, I hear the roads are not so great...
 
HealeyRick, that one came up on the Maine Craigslist, too, and I emailed the owner as requested. I haven't heard back from him yet. Steve, the roads on the island are poor and the added height of a rubber bumper one would be an advantage. There are some later Midgets for sale; I just would like to have the 1275 engine again. Rut, the Alabama car looks quite straight, although it's clearly a repaint.

Is "The Shoals" the Muscle Shoals region? I'm a big Muscle Shoals music fan. Now would that be a great drive home to Maine!

Jeff
 
Jeff,
yes, muscle shoals area. I'm sure there are lots of cars out there that would be good candidates and a well done example is always much cheaper than restoring it yourself. Use searchtempest.com to find cars in multiple cities.
Rut
 
urchin said:
And yes, I haven't grown much since then so I'll fit in it :smile:. However, I won't forget what it was like to squeeze in all bundled up for a winter drive only to discover your keys were still in your pants pocket.

Jeff
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I was just reading through this post and it really made me laugh, obviously you are a real Spridget man, I remember the same deal with my Sprite in the late seventies and early eighties, even without being bundled up for winter, even though I was young and flexible and skinny, we wore tight fitting jeans back then!
 
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