Spridget Tech Talk (MG Midget & Austin-Healey Sprite)
New to this side of MGE, I am a B owner, but have an interest in someday getting a Midget. Is there a Chrome bumper conversion kit available for a RB Midget? I see lots of RB cars for sale and few CB cars. Might be interested in a RB if I can change it some day?
Its not so much a kit as just swapping parts. However some consider the 1500 engine and the tech used post 1974 to be the the larger issue. Unlike the B the Midget got a Spitfire engine and transmission which "some" think inferior to the A series of the OEM chrome bumper cars. fwiw.
The front valance on the cars have different openings (small round on CB, long rectangular on RB) the area under the tail lights will need sheet metal/body work.
RB's can be changed. Not hard to do with grinder and welder and some patience. You can get pre-fab kits to do this also, mostly out of the UK. Personally, I believe it is false economy to get cheaper RB car and then invest $$ to change it to a CB look, because the RB car is still going to be heavier and still has the Triumph 1500 engine to overcome. If you can get the RB car really cheap, as I have, then it is probably worth it, but only time will tell.
Billy, as the old saying goes," You ain't kiddin'!" I have been told that it is all part of the journey, part of the MG experience.... we are a breed apart, are we not??....
Funny, there are as many "opinions" on this forum as there is on the B forum LOL. Thanks guys I do appreciate the thoughts and welcome any more. I don't know much about the Midget, but think it would be fun to have one and look forward to the day of actually looking in ernest.
I love my RB Midget with the BIG BLOCK engine!
And once again for the 1275 purists...a little history lesson:
http://www.mgmidgets.net/techdata.htm
Each to his own!
(:D
Jon I did the conversion, not as easy as on a 'B
follow this thread for pics
http://www.mgexperience.net/phorum/read.php?3,1577140
the advantages of a Rubber Bumper in addition to price and condition is that they have unleaded heads and electronic ignition. Doesn't entirely compensate for the bumpers but doesn't hurt.
Big Floppy Crank?
Alot more thrust (I mean torque) with a Big Floppy Crank!
::o
You just have to be careful not to beat on it too hard or too often.....
Follow Jeff's advice & that big crank might not be so floppy...
8-)
I would never go down that rout you will be throwing money at trying to get it as near to the real thing as possible if you want cb go for the real thing! Its false economy not to. So don't drive a lie!
You will still have that big floppy crank hanging in front when your out cruising and you and cant hide that!
get your self a 1275 and live the dream
the very best of luck in you quest
Colin
What the world needs is a Sebring nose that bolts onto RB cars at the bumper mounts.
( or at least a new, better RB shape.)
Funny how these conversion threads seem to always take off...Whether it is bumper conversions, overdrive conversions, carb/intake conversions (ZS to dual HS2's from 1300 or dual HS4's from 1500 Spit or single HIF for ZS), even ignition module and alternator swap threads always seem to peak many people's interest, especially for the RB owners. Someone needs to open a shop specializing in doing these upgrades/conversions at reasonable prices. All we'd need to do is just drop the cars off and pick them up "new and improved." This way we could spend more time driving them and less time typing about them or wrenching on them. Although we all love to be hands-on with our little beauties, it sure can be a drain on time and resources..
Jeff, good idea, but the bumper conversion takes a fair bit of cutting/welding/painting, compared with the other items you mentioned which are more straightforward "remove and replace".
Even if one fits the large Mk III front bumper, which nearly covers the body issues there, the rear end is still a pretty involved cut/weld/paint undertaking, in order to change the big, square structural shapes into the prettier, rounded earlier shapes.
Norm
I have been away from the forum for about 8 months, no, not doing time but riding my Goldwing. Thought I would check in and get the pluse of the board. I bought a Trumph Spitfire new in 1963 with the 1500 engine. Drove it for 2 years and that big flopy crank threw two rods. One through the pan and one through the block. So, I certainly donot like the 1500 engine. I have a 1972 Midget I bought new with the 1275. Love the little car. The chrome bumper and 1275 are reasons to buy pre 1974.
That's why we need a shop, probably somewhere in Kansas, equal-distant from both coasts, to open and do these conversions for us. A shop that did this would cater both to the sentimentalists and to those playing the cards they were dealt and could do this at a reasonable cost, because they would do it over and over. We need a University Motors-like Mid-America RB Upgrade Center as a focal point to put these threads into action/practical application at a more reasonable price than having to go here for this, or there for that. Everyone who comes into possession of a RB car seems to have to climb the same mountains over and over...At least we have this forum as a great repository for information to serve as our map as we climb the peaks...And we have Norm and Hap and Robert and many many others, Dave, Billy, Jeff, Colin, etc to guide and provide input and inspiration along the way....Keep it up, guys!
Honestly I think all most people need is a parts list and some decent instructions. Except for being in the Uk, thus the shipping becomes a factor, I think the mg world product is a pretty good example. I do wish they had a few more pictures, especially of the back. The fact that they don't leads me to believe the rear side may not be as polished as the front looks.
I tried to contact them for more info and they were actually nice enough to return my call, but I wasn't here and haven't gotten around to calling them back. I probably should.
Most of us could get a hold of the bumpers ourselves, and I think many of us are willing to spend a little cash to reward those who have ingenuity in our hobby and make things easier. I'm not a fabricator of any sort and am terrible at coming up with things on my own, but I am good at following instructions and can do some limited welding, etc. So for me in a heartbeat if I could get some sort of kit where the grand total was > $500 I'd be all over it.
Hi I'm a new member and I have been restoring my 76 Midget for the last 3 years and also converting from rubber to chrome bumpers.The project is nearing completion. This conversion can be quite time consuming and expensive if carried out properly and sympathetically, but can be completed on a shoestring if second hand parts are used. All my photo's of the conversion can be viewed VIA facebook if you type in my Name - Paul Owen and my E-mail paulowenjoiner@hotmail.com
Well said Bryan. I see you hale from the upper Dakota so I suspect you too know the difference between a road apple and cow chip...:devil:
Love the TORQUE of my tractor engine...
The 2nd paragraph on the 1500 says it all:
http://www.mgmidgets.net/techdata.htm
"no one could deny the cars much better performance"
>:D<
Now, :)o if I could only figure out an oil pan and how to get the starter on the other side of this Ford tractor engine I could really save some money on my chrome bumper conversion ... :devil:
Some people may consider the Triumph 1500 engine to be more inferior than the A series, but they would be wrong, Both engines are excellent and well proven and the 1500 does have a bit more punch especially when the rubber bumpers with their heavy built in box girders are removed from the car.
Paul
Even with the heavy bumpers still on my car...it scoots.
I have no complaints at all.
I've thought about removing the bumpers, but I live in the Land of Pick Up Trucks & SUVs...the bumpers do give me a sense of security, however false!
:)-D
Just to be clear, the A series is a very competitive engine serving to embarrass a lot of new car manufacturers in its SCCA class. They have done everything but out and out outlaw it. The perceived problem with the 1500 is, its not a real A series, it came via Leyland and not BMC, and it along with its big sister the MGB have a "bit of a reputation" when Leyland introduced the rubber bumpered cars. Properly sorted, and that almost always means loosing the carb and a few bits which make the 1500 run too hot, while different it's certainly a fine fun car.
Dave Rhine, you sure know how to stir the @#$%. I like my car the way it is too, "Big Block" and all. There are so many out there trying to make their car something it is not. I look for ways to improve performance but besides that I don't waste my time on changing the cosmetic look. I spend my time driving it. I have put 60,000 miles on mine in 4 years. It hasn't spent much time up on blocks getting a face lift. I love driving it more than working on it.
JMac
Actually, I think the Small Block guys are just jealous, after all we've got a more powerful engine, 4 SYNCHRONIZED forward gears & a more freeway friendly rear end!
Stir, stir...
(:D
So who's swapped the big, beautiful, faster 1500 in a their pre-1974? AND silence...
Sorry, Dave. I had to help stir. :devil:
This is a picture was my experience with the 1500. It was my first car...and my dad and I converted it to a 1296!
My dad is now using a 1500 to power his Lotus seven inspired homebuilt. (And yes I give him crap about it)