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nortcomm

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I'm considering the purchase of a pre-1500 Midget. I'm an experienced mechanic with 70's-era English bikes, but have never owned an English car. I have lots of questions:
1) What's up with Midget wheels? I like the wire ones, but not all of the midgets have them. Are they a big deal to change?
2) I like the look of the pre-1500's, but wouldn't mind going a bit faster. Will a 1500 motor fit into a pre-1500 body?
3) Any other advice for a beginner?
 
I own a 1977 rostyle (not wired) wheeled 1500, and here are my opinions (welcome BTW)
1. There are wired wheels, and then they changed to steel stamped bolt on "rostyle" wheels. You can buy conversions if you have a bolt on style. Wire wheels have more maintenance and TLC invloved, but are sharp.
2. "Fast" is relative in these cars. The pre-1500 motors are known to be more reliable and still perform well. The gearing of either type, without an overdrive conversion, prevents really "high" speeds. I never take my 1500 above ~70. Also, you will want to decide whether you like the chrome or rubber bumpers when you decide what year you are shooting for.
3. Have a lot of fun, and don't rush anything. Research and reading has helped me a lot, as I have only been working on LBCs for about 5 years. This forum is a great resource. I cannot stress that enough. There is no such thing as a stupid question here, and there is a lot of experience and skill. I have completed a bunch of projects successfully because of this forum. With any purchase, I would make sure that the body is true, above all things. This is the area that can most bite you in the end. Mechanical issues are much easier resolved. It would be a shame to put a ton of work into mechanics and aesthetics, only to find that the body tub has a fatal flaw.

I am sure that others will have more advice-
 
Thanks for the feedback. I realize that "fast" is relative. My 71 Norton goes about 100, which was fast in 71. My 97 Triumph goes 160, which is fast now. For the midget, I was hoping for around 80mph. I was amused to see that the Mk 1 midgets had the same engine cc's (and probably far less power) as my Triumph.

I was under the impression that the rubber bumpers started in 75. I was thinking 74 or earlier.

For the wheels, am I to understand that the Midgets I've seen with wire wheels have been converted?

As far as there being no such thing as a stupid question, I take that as a personal challenge.
 
yeah. the bumber conversion happened then due to the U.S. 5mph bumper/safety changes.

Not all wire wheels are converts. Not sure what years did and didn't have them, though. Mine (77) did not.

You could probably reach 80 safely with and overdrive conversion, but I am not sure. I have no desire to go 80 in mine as currently configured.
 
Is the overdrive conversion a whole transmission, or a set of gears? Aftermarket, or taken from another model?
 
1) Wire wheels were an option. You can change to wire wheels with a conversion kit or by swapping out front hubs and the rear axle. Not really all that simple, but not that complicated either.

2) A 1500 will not fit into the chrome bumpers without massive alterations to the car. These really are not that fast compared with some of the cars out there, but when driving them, they feel a lot faster than they really are.

3) Patience, mechanical ability and deep pockets.
 
80mph in our lbc's, top down, on an interstate skeers the bejibbers out of me. We'd all be Spam in a can if there were an accident of any proportion.
 
Overdrive tranny requires (help me out guys) a bunch of stuff I can't remember. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jester.gif

Junkyard find maybe $50-100. "New" rebuilt, up to $1200 or more. I do know that, because I'm in the market for one and have been 'shopping.'
 
Just as a point of reference, when you say fast, that is quite a relative term. The only pre-1500s are the 1275cc and possibly the 1098cc (not sure if that was a Midget and a Sprite or just a Sprite) and in my opinion both offered just as spirited performance as the 1500 and except for the later 1275s, less emission garbage on them!
 
Something I havn't seen mentioned is that the "extra" 225ccs from the 1275 to the 1500 won't get you any more power anyway.

Of course the smog stuff has alot to do with it, but a '67 Midget with the 1275 made 65hp and 72 ft/lbs of torque.

A '79 with the 1500 made 50 hp and 67 ft/lbs of torque.
 
British victoria catalog for the MGB's have the complete overdrive in them. They fit in place of the transmission tail piece and are activated by an electrical solinoid by a switch on the dash. I think this will fit into the Midgit. If you want togo FAST then look at the internet sights for V8 Midgits.
 
I had a 75 Norton Interstate up until a few years ago and a Healey Sprite now..Apples and Oranges if you know what I mean. Same stretch of curvy road.....both will make you giggle though!
 
You know how to slow down a 948 Midget? Put a 1500 in it.
A 1275 Midget with a 3.9 rear gear will run freeway speeds, but you will be spinning 4500 RPM. Not a problem in my world.
Overdrives in Midgets are a major undertaking, and shouldn't be attempted by the faint hearted. Far easier to drop down a notch on the rear gear. You'll sacrifice some low end grunt, but if cruising speed is what you want, go to a 3.7.
Jeff
 
I have to ditto everyone's comments here. The 1500's have their own set of issues and there isn't much out there to squeeze any extra performance out of them. If I had the opportunity, I would probably go for a chrome bumper, 1275. I love the early 70's midgets so that might be a personal preference. I didn't know anything about them when I bought my '76. If I had it to do all over again, I would have held out for an earlier one with a 1275. There has been tons of research on the earlier engines and the amount of modifications available seems endless. With the 1500, pretty much what you have alread is what you have available.
JC
 
I don't claim to be a Midget expert, but I've been studying up a little bit because I'm planning to sell my '70 B/GT and start shopping for a '71 or '72 Midget. In Classic Motorsports' article on overdrive conversions a couple of months back, they claimed that a Laycock overdrive won't fit in a Midget because the drive shaft is too short. If so, the only options are the lowered rear end ratio or the 5 speed conversions that are available. Unfortunately, the 5 speeds are around $2500, from what I've seen. I think I'd go with the lower rear end route, and stay off the interstates.
 
FYI, the overdrive won't fit in a 1500 Midget because the tunnel is too narrow. A fellow in Canada did some modifications on his and successfully put a Spitfire overdrive in his, but they involved cutting supports and cutting into the body shell. I don't take mine over 60 just because the engine doesn't like the high RPMs. Seems to me the '78-'79 ones had a lower ratio rear end so they could do a little better. If you want to read about the overdrive conversion, it's https://www.brit.ca/~tboicey.
 
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