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What do you think of this Midget?

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RickB

RickB

Yoda
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I've spoken to the owner, it needs a new brake light switch & headlamp switch. It's been garaged, he says there's very little rust. It needs a muffler.
I'm not sure about the motor situation. It's definitely not what someone who wants originality would look at, but is it a "good thing"?.
He's definitely a motivated seller.

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/car/300184545.html

Thanks!
 
Beware of motor swaps. If they are poorly engineered, then it could be nothing but headaches.
 
I wonder about that "frankenstein" look on the hood.
 
In my book, the Frankenstien hood is the first indication that the guy that did the engine swap is a fool.
 
I emailed & asked. He said
"it is the intake. the new motor is a little larger than the original, and the intake pokes throught the hood"

Oh boy.
 
If you really want the car, you could probably find or fab a new intake (coupled to a different carb of course) that will fix the problem. You will probably get better performanc out of the Nissan unit... but if it were a good swap, why is he selling it?
 
Don't buy it, wait for something better to come along, this car is defintely one to run from.
 
We tried out the white one. Originality score, very high.
Drivability score, very low.

Much oil burning, not much power going up the slight hills around the owners house, & can we say "bondo"? Creased boot, bondo bonnet? The top doesn't fasten at all around the corners & part of the back.

Ouch!!

So we went & gave the brown one a chance, and bought it (for $1200).
I drove it home on the freeways, 65 - 70mph. Power to spare. Gotta do something about the wart on the hood though.

The guy got it from the old owner who did the engine swap, it was his baby. Almost no rust anywhere. I also checked with a magnet & couldn't find any bondo or fiberglass. It has a couple rough spots, but nothing too bad.
Other than the wart, it's a good powerful car that almost looks right.

The problem is the carb sticks up and then the air filter protrudes through the bonnet. If I could put on a very low profile air filter that might do the trick, then either repair the hole or put on a different hood.
 
Rick, I missed the pictures of the brown one, as the link had already been closed by the time I looked at it. What kind of an engine does it have in it, and what year is it?
Jeff
 
I'll have to go out & take pictures tomorrow - then post them here.

It's brown with very little rust, what I saw was just a light amount of surface rust in the trunk (boot).
No cancerous rust anywhere!

I will post pics of the engine & the carb area in detail.
The motor is a Nissan A15 and the year of the car is 1978.

After driving the '74 this seemed like so much more of a solid little powerhouse.

Now to start tinkering. I need to get a headlight switch & a brake light switch. I should probably try getting them locally since those are both "need it now" items.

My browser still had the Ad in it's cache, so here it is:

78midget.jpg
 
Since the rubber bumper midgets had some frame modifications to fit the Triumph engine, the Nissan swap might not be too bad. Those engines are bullet proof.

Anyway, welcome to the club. Hopefully you can get the "wart" removed.

Keep us posted.
 
If one consideres that the gearbox swap is almost standard in midgets now, and the original 1500 was crap, and this swap has been used in Morris Minors for a long time, it doesn't sound too bad.

My wife had a 78 B210 with that engine. I will say they are ok engines and look similar to the original, except for the light blue color.

Change the carb and fix the bonnet.
 
I am open to suggestions on what to change the carb out. To what? Someone suggested an SU - then I would need some kind of intake that bolts up to the side of this motor, probably have to be made & I have no fabrication facility /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

If I could find some sort of very low profile air cleaner I could get rid of the bump on the hood.

Or a different carb, but a low profile air cleaner would be cheaper.
 
Let's get some pictures of the carb/air cleaner and manifold and maybe we could offer some suggestions.
 
Without fabrication facilities, you're stuck with pre-fabricated components. That says, No SU.

The manifold must fit the datsun motor and that means whatever is available. For a low profile carb, you want a side-draft.

My choice in this situation, Weber DCOE. It is a side-draft, low profile and no hood wart. Also excellent performance. If you thought the car goes strong now, just try with a Weber DCOE. They perform beautifully, also at low engine speeds.

Other choices are very limited. Basically your own suggestion of a low profile air cleaner.
 
Perhaps you could fabricate some kind of low-profile airbox for on top of the carb and connect it with a flex hose or pipe to a cone filter mounted lower in the engine bay, like the modern "ricer" cars do. In fact, there might even be such a kit for the same Nissan model that was your engine donor.
 
Fuhget about it:

https://www.tweakit.net/shop/product_info.php?cPath=&products_id=229


Ps. According to Wikipedia, the Nissan A-series is a descendent of the E-series which was a licensed reproduction of the Austin A-series. In the US, the A15 was in the Datson 210. The very same that holds the highly coveted 5-speed used in the Morris/Rivergate conversion. I am really sorry I was negative on this purchase. I think you have something really neat on your hands.
 
Jack_Long - I really like that idea! Don't know where to start looking, but it sounds cool. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

Morris, thanks for doing the research. I wondered about the engine, good to know it has a positive pedigree.
It has more power than I need for sure! Gives me the feeling I used to get riding a motorcycle!
 
The problem with a remote air box is the number (and type) of bends required will restrict the air flow.
 
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