Beginners advice
Discussion
Hello,
I've had my mind on getting an MG for a little while now, and have decided that it is time to act. However, I actually know relatively little about cars generally, what little I know I picked up from playing around with old style VWs on my way to Mongolia, and as such is a bit limited.
Anyhow, I'm after either an MG B Roadster, or a Midget, probably the latter, and if anyone has any general advice or tips on what to look for, I would appreciate it. My budget is probably around about the £4k mark as an upper limit, but I'm particularly interested to hear about aspects to consider with things like the need (or not) to get one that has been converted to run on unleaded and so on, as I've been browsing the forums, but quite frankly get confused when people go into technical detail about piston seals and so on(!)
Any general hints or things to think about would be much appreciated.
Also, tragically work keeps me fairly busy, so I can't really look at getting one as a "project" as such, but would more need to look at getting one in good nick and just doing the odd bit of tweaking.
Regards,
SS
I've had my mind on getting an MG for a little while now, and have decided that it is time to act. However, I actually know relatively little about cars generally, what little I know I picked up from playing around with old style VWs on my way to Mongolia, and as such is a bit limited.
Anyhow, I'm after either an MG B Roadster, or a Midget, probably the latter, and if anyone has any general advice or tips on what to look for, I would appreciate it. My budget is probably around about the £4k mark as an upper limit, but I'm particularly interested to hear about aspects to consider with things like the need (or not) to get one that has been converted to run on unleaded and so on, as I've been browsing the forums, but quite frankly get confused when people go into technical detail about piston seals and so on(!)
Any general hints or things to think about would be much appreciated.
Also, tragically work keeps me fairly busy, so I can't really look at getting one as a "project" as such, but would more need to look at getting one in good nick and just doing the odd bit of tweaking.
Regards,
SS
I restored an old 1275 Midget from a basket case back to normal when i was 15- so you could say they're really easy to work on- if you need to.
Rust was the main ball ache on mine:
Inner & outer sills
If you can buy one with good body work, the rest will fall in to place over time.
It will breakdown more than a new car- it's to be expected
So you can replace the mechanical bits as you go along.
Rust was the main ball ache on mine:
Inner & outer sills
- A panel- bit between the fron of the door & the back of the front arch
- floor pans- you could put your feet through mine- a la Fred Flintstone
- front & rear Leaf Spring hangers
- around the headlights
- behind the grille (where the air ducting joins up)
If you can buy one with good body work, the rest will fall in to place over time.
It will breakdown more than a new car- it's to be expected
So you can replace the mechanical bits as you go along.
It does depend on what you intend to use it for. A B is far more suited to modern day driving due to the overdrive and bigger engine. It will happily sit on the motorway at normal car speeds, rather than being stuck in the inside lane with the lorries. The midget is tiny and has a tiny boot, whereas you can get tons of stuff in a B, especially if you swap the spare tyre for a can of tyre weld.
Both will rust while you look at them unless you garage them and use them in summer only. The midget is marginally worse as it has more small panels with more small panel joins, although neither are good. main area of concern is the sills.
Bs do cost more than midgets - for your budget you could get a pretty mint 1275cc chrome bumper midget or a pretty mint rubber bumper B. With a bit of looking around, and there is plenty to look at, you should be able to get a decent chrome bumper B that's been looked after.
I had my B for ten years - greased the suspension monthly (15 min job, involves jack / axle stands / grease pump and wheels off) and eventually moved to electronic ignition. It did like being used; it was far more reliable used every day than it was if it was left for a week or more. It's a very useable car, very distinctive and I loved it. I did over 200k in it and it had 110k on the clock when I got it. It had 2 engine rebuilds and didn't look as though it needed another imminently. It was on its second gearbox and second back axle and had the sills replaced three times.
I've driven midgets and I preferred the midget's quicker steering, but in every other respect my B was much better. No doubt the midget lovers will be on soon for the other. Drive both, see which you prefer, but if you want to use it for long distances, even occasionally, go for the B.
Both will rust while you look at them unless you garage them and use them in summer only. The midget is marginally worse as it has more small panels with more small panel joins, although neither are good. main area of concern is the sills.
Bs do cost more than midgets - for your budget you could get a pretty mint 1275cc chrome bumper midget or a pretty mint rubber bumper B. With a bit of looking around, and there is plenty to look at, you should be able to get a decent chrome bumper B that's been looked after.
I had my B for ten years - greased the suspension monthly (15 min job, involves jack / axle stands / grease pump and wheels off) and eventually moved to electronic ignition. It did like being used; it was far more reliable used every day than it was if it was left for a week or more. It's a very useable car, very distinctive and I loved it. I did over 200k in it and it had 110k on the clock when I got it. It had 2 engine rebuilds and didn't look as though it needed another imminently. It was on its second gearbox and second back axle and had the sills replaced three times.
I've driven midgets and I preferred the midget's quicker steering, but in every other respect my B was much better. No doubt the midget lovers will be on soon for the other. Drive both, see which you prefer, but if you want to use it for long distances, even occasionally, go for the B.
Hi
I have had my 1275 RWA Midget a year now (garaged sunny day use)
The 'B' is a better car but the reasons for choosing a Midget
a) Cheap to by and run.(4 x new tyres £100)
b) Small enough to fit in the garage and still get right round the car.
c) A lot of fun.
d) loads of friendly help on BB (try MGCC BB as well)
The down-sides, unrefined @ Motorway speeds (4 speed box no overdrive)
errrrrrrr thats it really.
It's all about getting a solid one take a second opinion with you when you view. The clutch is an engine out job.
Expect to spend the first few months putting minor things right the P.O. ignored
I have had my 1275 RWA Midget a year now (garaged sunny day use)
The 'B' is a better car but the reasons for choosing a Midget
a) Cheap to by and run.(4 x new tyres £100)
b) Small enough to fit in the garage and still get right round the car.
c) A lot of fun.
d) loads of friendly help on BB (try MGCC BB as well)
The down-sides, unrefined @ Motorway speeds (4 speed box no overdrive)
errrrrrrr thats it really.
It's all about getting a solid one take a second opinion with you when you view. The clutch is an engine out job.
Expect to spend the first few months putting minor things right the P.O. ignored
Have owned and run several Bs and a Midget ~ long time ago now ~ sold my last MGB, a 1978 GT to a neighbour back in 1984 ~ he had just taken delievry of a new MG Maestro 2.0i then too...
By today's bulky and bulbous average car size standards, both the MGB and the Midget are small cars, very small in the case of the Midget which is well named.
Although car designs have moved on and improved vastly since the MGB first appeared, even by modern car standards the MGB is still an enjoyable car to drive I find. Understandably slower than the average 2 litre saloon now but, not slow if you get my drift. My 1963 three main bearing B-Series engined tourer was decidely quicker in all respects than my 1978 GT which had the later five main bearing engine and electric operated overdrive ~ nice to use.
Some enthusiasts have replaced their original B-series engines by slotting in the much more powwerful but similar physically sized Rover M16 and T16 engines into their MGBs. These later Rover engines have some B-Series DNA in them so the job is far from difficult. With around 200bhp available from the bog standard Turbocharged T16 engine transplant, the performance of the small MGB is transformed. IMO, a better transplant than the Rover V8 of which many modified B's have used, excluding the 2000 odd factory V8s, all of those being the GT version only. Thus any V8 engined tourer, is a modified car.
By today's bulky and bulbous average car size standards, both the MGB and the Midget are small cars, very small in the case of the Midget which is well named.
Although car designs have moved on and improved vastly since the MGB first appeared, even by modern car standards the MGB is still an enjoyable car to drive I find. Understandably slower than the average 2 litre saloon now but, not slow if you get my drift. My 1963 three main bearing B-Series engined tourer was decidely quicker in all respects than my 1978 GT which had the later five main bearing engine and electric operated overdrive ~ nice to use.
Some enthusiasts have replaced their original B-series engines by slotting in the much more powwerful but similar physically sized Rover M16 and T16 engines into their MGBs. These later Rover engines have some B-Series DNA in them so the job is far from difficult. With around 200bhp available from the bog standard Turbocharged T16 engine transplant, the performance of the small MGB is transformed. IMO, a better transplant than the Rover V8 of which many modified B's have used, excluding the 2000 odd factory V8s, all of those being the GT version only. Thus any V8 engined tourer, is a modified car.
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