A couple of questions regarding an MG Midget

Post by **GeorgeHurst** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 5:04 pm

Hi there,

Apologies that this is not for a Minor, but my brother's MG Midget 1500 has just failed its MOT and he has asked me to try and fix it, and I can't find a forum like this for MG's!

A couple of questions about the work that needs doing, any help would be great....

All of the indicators have been flagged as not working, including the hazard function and the dash 'tell tale' lights. On my inspection all indicators and 'tell tales' work with ign on and with engine on. Hazards also work but are very weak / not bright.

This leads me to think it must be a loose connection somewhere so it didn't work when the MOT inspector checked it over, but I can't work out the hazards being weak when indicators are fine... not enough power getting to them some how? Any thoughts? Maybe the relay is kaput, though it does 'tick'?

Next question! 'Parking brake lever has no reserve travel' - tighten hand brake cable?

And... 'NS + OS rear parking brake recording little or no effort' - check rear brake shoes, and either replace or adjust? Is the adjustment process the same as on a Minor, I guess so?

Any help would be great, many thanks,

George

Post by **8009STEVE** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 5:14 pm

Where abouts in Dorest/London are you?

Post by **GeorgeHurst** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 5:23 pm

Dorset wise: near Wincanton
And London wise: Dulwich, South East London

Post by **PSL184** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 6:10 pm

Definately sounds like a loose connection on the lights. Also, the hazards may have their own relay as these need to work with both ign on and off. The brakes need adjusting at the very least - you'll see once you get the drums off if the shoes need replacing also and if there are any leaks from the cylinders. Adjust handbrake after you have set the foot brake up correctly.

Post by **bmcecosse** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 8:10 pm

Perhaps it's just a low battery - try another - or at least charge up that one. The handbrake will almost certainly be needing new rear cylinders - and possibly shoes. Doesn't cost a fortune - exactly the same as Minor. You could mess about trying to free off what's there - but far better to fit new, and not worry about them for a year or two.
If the rear foot-brake was giving good results - then investigate the cables first - before rushing into cylinders/shoes.

Post by **Stig** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 8:11 am

Midget rear brakes are actually easier to adjust than a Minor's. You don't need to take the wheel off, there's a square headed adjuster poking out the backplate at the bottom. It needs to be turned 90 degrees at a time until you can feel a slight drag when turning the wheel.
It's probably worth taking the drums off to have a look first, though I take it the footbrake efficiency was OK in the MOT?

Handbrake adjustment means crawling underneath; you'll see where the outer of the cable is fixed to the axle, loosen the nut and take up the slack then re-tighten. It's got nothing to do with the rear cylinders - a different arrangement from the Minor.

Sorry, can't help much with the hazards problem, my Sprite doesn't have them.

Post by **bmcecosse** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 12:06 pm

Sorry - yes - I think they are more like Mini brakes than Minor brakes! Was forgetting which forum I was on!! Handbrake will be down to linkages - if the footbrake result was good.

Post by **Blaketon** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 2:38 pm

I've owned a 1500 for 25 years.

Handbrake cable adjuster is at rear of transmition tunnel (Bottom left). Cables can stretch and evenutually you get a vertical lever, no matter what you do (I've seen cables knotted in an attempt to shorten them). Drums are adjusted with a square brake spanner. Can sieze up in which case heat needs to be applied. Copper grease on the threads of the adjuster is a good idea.

Indicators only work with ignition on (Same fuse as the wipers and heater blower...possibly the fuel gauge too) and has a separate flasher to the hazards, which work without ignition. There is a general earthing point on the left front inner wing and this can cause problems.

Post by **GeorgeHurst** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 4:32 pm

Thanks very much for all the replies, very useful - hopefully with this and help from Haynes we'll get it sorted.

We went down to the welder today and were quoted a minimum of £250 for the welding that needs doing also (we can't do it unfortunately), so with my brother being a student it looks like its coming off the road for a proper strip down and resto.

Will get these sorted first and then for the respray!

Thanks again everyone. George

Post by **alainmoran** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 4:47 pm

£250 would buy you a welding set & a pile of scrap to learn with ;)

When the welder says a minimum of £250, he means that he can currently see £250 of work, but that when he peels off the layers to start that work he will probably find more work that needs to be done first.

After about the third lot of welding I had done I realised that it would be much cheaper in the long run to get the kit and do it all myself

Post by **GeorgeHurst** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 5:56 pm

Yeah I know! The welder gave me a very quick intro and let me have a go on some scrap, surprisingly simple (though I'm sure doing it well is rather more complex).

The bigger issue at hand is having the space and time to do it at the moment, i think it'll be a while before my brother has the money for welding so maybe by then I'll be able to do it

Post by **Blaketon** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 6:04 pm

alainmoran wrote: When the welder says a minimum of £250, he means that he can currently see £250 of work, but that when he peels off the layers to start that work he will probably find more work that needs to be done first.

Quite so!!

The flat floor of the Midget means there are fewer rust traps underneath than on some cars. The inner and outer sills can go, the edge of the boot floor, followed by the adjoining rear wing bottoms. The bottom the A pillar can go, along with where the rear wing meets the sills. Then there are the door bottoms and the bottoms of the front wings (Both ends). Ofcourse, they can be a lot worse than this but the things I haved mentioned seem to come as a "Set". The front chassis rails seems to fare better, as the heat of the engine (Plus the odd oil leak) help to keep rust at bay.

A nice little conversion on the Midget 1500 (If you ever have to mess around with gearbox crossmembers), is the Spitfire Overdrive box.

Post by **bmcecosse** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 7:38 pm

May be better to consider a new bodyshell - if the 'welding' is extensive. And the car will then be worth SO much more!

Post by **alainmoran** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 7:39 pm

GeorgeHurst wrote:The bigger issue at hand is having the space and time to do it

I feel your pain ... hence how it has taken me three years to restore a pretty-much sorted minor ... still I dont ever regret buying a welding set (even if it is only a SIP), there is a great sense of achievment in knowing that you fixied it all yourself ... I only wish I'd taken the same tack at having it re-sprayed.

Lesson learned, I'll be buying myself a compressor for my next major tool purchase ... you just cant trust 'professionals' - they dont give a monkeys about what kind of job they do, all they care about is money in the till. (certain minor garages excepted, not that I could afford to shell out for their work to find out for sure)

Post by **Blaketon** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 8:12 pm

I don't think its fair to say all "Professionals". Like everything there's good and bad. Yes, they are in it for the money (Aren't we all) but if they get a bad reputation, they don't get the work and they don't get the money. Ofcourse there are the spiv operators, who rely on a throughflow of new and unsuspecting customers every time.

To run a good paintshop costs money and a good sprayer is a skilled person, worthy of a good hourly rate. RS Panels (http://www.rspanels.co.uk/), for example, will do a nice job and also have the skills to make ANY panel that can't be bought.

Post by **Stig** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 9:45 am

Hi George,

Practical Classics magazine have been restoring a Midget recently. I've kept the back issues if you want them to see what you're letting yourselves in for.

Stig

p.s. there is a Sprite/Midget forum at http://www.spritespot.com/phpBB3/index.php though it's nothing like as active as this one.

Post by **GeorgeHurst** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 4:43 pm

Stig, That would be really great, my brother would definately appreciate that. Are you done reading them and happy to part with them?
George

Post by **Stig** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 11:27 am

Yep, they're yours if you want them. Any time you're likely to be near Reading let me know.

Post by **GeorgeHurst** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 6:28 pm

Hi stig, thats really good of you, thanks very much.
It will be a while before I could get to reading but if you're ok hanging onto them then I'll get in touch when I can make it over.
Many thanks, George