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New addition to the family!

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regularman

regularman

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Well, it seems that the guy who was going to buy a midget that I heard about at work has backed out. I told the owner that if the deal didn't go through then I wanted it. Its mine now and I go fetch it tomorrow. Trailer is already hooked to the truck. Its a white 78 rubber bumper model.
I know when it was bought and that guy died and had a bunch of new parts for it. Its been garage kept by a guy who loves big mopars and wants rid of the midget.
I will do a full inventory of it all when I get it home. I have been told that the engine has been rebuilt but its hard to sometimes know what that means. The guy took some electrical things apart to get the electrics all fixed before he first got sick.
That is all I know about it.
I am a pure stranger to Triumph and how their motors work and what the look outs are.
I have a junker 76 that I can use parts from. I need to strip it and get shed of it. I cannot even see it now for the high grass in my field. I know that it needs to go.
Anyways, pictures of the new litl'un tomorrow when I get it home.
 
Congrats on the new one. May it bring you many happy miles.
 
Well Kim I'm sure you have heard all the warnings about the crank. Take a big screw driver or small pry bar and with the car in neutral try to pry the crank forward and back at the dampner pulley. That will tell you if there is excessive play in the thrust washers( or if they are in the pan!).

Kurt.
 
No, I am not familiar with that. I will check it though. Is this a common thing? The thrust washers worn out or missing and then this lets everything else wear out in a hurry? This is my first "Spitfidget" so I have lots to learn there.
 
Congrats Kim.

As stated above, look for axial crank movement that indicates thrust washer problems. The rod ends can be another weak area. However, both can be replaced (at least on a Spitfire) with the engine in place by dropping the pan. If you fit a new oil pump while in there, take the new pump apart and measure all the clearances. The length of the pump body can be shortened by sanding on a flat plate to minimize axial gaps. You want as much coming out of the pump as possible.

Beyond the engine, the rest of the mechanicals should be familiar to you or similar to what you are used to.
 
Congrats on the new addition !
 
Yes Kim, Congrat's! The crank is the only thing you should be aware of but these engines have given many owners many happy miles. Enjoy!

Kurt
 
Well, I had to work later than I had planned and just barely was able to pick up the Midget and transport it home and get it inside before dark. The sleeping arrangements are very tight down there in the Garage/Basement. With any luck I will be able to do a better assessment tomorrow. The car also came with an entire pickup truck load of other parts, including a full set of wire wheels and axles, etc. It needs work that is for sure, but the engine bay looks really good, the underneath looks good. The seats have just been redone and are wonderful and it has a brand new top on it. There is a new carpet kit in the trunk as well. Paint is rough, there ain't a hint of any brakes, bumpers are off the car. I will try and take a few pics of it tomorrow.
 
Well, I gave some thought to this. I already have one A-series Midget and no need to have another.
Plan A, use the spit engine and be happy with that.
Plan B, (there is a major problem with the spit engine) convert to an electric car with a DC motor and batteries.
Plan C, The spit engine is a gonner and the electic conversion gets too complicated, go with the Hybusa engine conversion.
 
Wait? A motorcycle engine conversion less complicated than an electric? I'd say they are about on par.

Let's add plan D, Install a ford Zetec and 5 speed. (Or some similar 4 cyclinder conventional)
 
Kim
A Datsun 1500 (A-15) from a Datsun 210 (along with a 5-speed trans) would fit really well, just ask RickB about that!
BillM
 
Kim; I would second the datsun engine and trans, as I had at Midget 50 as well as Rick B's. In a 1500 midget no cutting necessary but you would have to fab exhaust manifold and intake.

Kurt.
 
I love mine.

A bit of fiddling with the motor mounts is needed, but I saw it done elegantly by a local guy here when he showed his Bugeye at the XXX Drive In earlier this "summer".

He mounted the motor right to the frame rails with big round rubber mounts, it looked simple and effective. He builds cars, all kinds of cool custom hot rods.

I think I took a picture, so I'll try and find that and post it here.
 
Sorry, still no pictures yet. I checked into things a little more last night. It has a roll bar in it. Sorting through all the boxes, it looks like everything is there. The floor pans are in good shape. It has a header on the spit motor. New skin for the driver side sill that is in rough shape. I need to see how bad that one really is. If it is bad then I can cut that one out and weld in that brand new one. Also there is a brand new valence piece. I plan on removing the front end so I won't need this. There is a full set of 5 wire wheels and the axles and spindles, knockoffs, etc. The tires on them are acient though. This might be the right time to use that expensive Mirra-chrome paint from ALSA. It is supposed to give 98% of the reflectivity of real chome and chome wire wheels would look good.
Also there is some older model stuff that I won't need. There is a heater and blower from an older sprite. Spare trunk lid and doors. The dash that is in the car is un cracked from what I can tell and it came with a spare dash that also looks unblemished.
Whew, where to start. I am thinking one of 4 places. The suspension, the brakes, the clutch, or go right for the engine and see if I can get it running.
I will probably start with the suspension and check what it needs and then the brakes. The suspension looks good but we all know that can be deceiving.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]The suspension looks good but we all know that can be deceiving[/QUOTE]

Yeah, don't I know it. It would help if previous owners would get with the program and at least install the right parts when they work on our cars!! Geesh anyway!

With a header on there the PO may have done something nice inside the motor as well, hoping it's all good for you!
 
Well, the plan is still to make this one a true spridget and to that end, I am heading out in the wee hours for the NC coast and Oriental NC to get a bugeye nose from Charlie (Coastalman) that needs some work. 400 miles one way. I am hoping to be back with it by dark.
Oh, and remember my ford ranger with the high mileage tires? I noticed a bad shimmy on the way home towing the new midget. At 77,200 miles a knot came up on the tread and so one tire is done. I put on an older spare that I have and left the unused(but inflated) spare up under the truck. With any luck it won't give any more trouble until I get a set of 4 new tires on there. It was a good run for those tires. Its a 94 model truck and those are original tires. I did a good look over of the other 3 tires and no lumps or anything. I hope there is one more good long run in those 3 :wink: I need to get some new tires on there before I tow my camper to the beach in September. God, the price of truck tires has doubled.
 
Well, I am home safe with the bugeye nose after 800 miles of driving. It turned out to be an adventure. I had another of my tires on the truck go. The tread separated and I had to put another spare on. I got worried because I had no spare after that and went to a firestone dealer in Goldsboro and bought a set of 4 tires. They said it was going to be 4 hours for them to get put on so I bought them carry out and went to another garage and had them just put one of the new tires on one wheel to have a spare. I will put the other three on myself.
Charlie let me drive his bugeye and it is one sweet ride. I forgot how much more room there is in a bugeye. He has an awesome Big Healey as well.
Left out at 0400 and got back around 9:30pm.
 
Good to hear you made it with only small problems. I recommend you put those three new tires on your truck instead of on yourself though. :banana:
 
So what kind of carry out did you buy the guys at the garage? Chinese?
:jester:

Just kidding around, glad you made it back safely Kim.
 
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