Hi List,
I went to see the car I am interested in today. Superficially, it doesn't
look too bad. 4 painted wires (no spare), all the spokes seem to 'ting' more
or less the same pitch. It shows 69k miles, and I think i believe it, from
the overall condition. The PO really doesn't know anything about it, he
bought it for his wife, lost interest, been sitting for a year (it's been
started and taken his kids for rides periodically).It seems to be whole,
except for missing front turn signals.
It's been painted, overall looks OK. has some rust in trunk, but no holes.
The trunk lid is not closing tightly, but the seal there is very good.
What's all the extra holes around trunk? Has some bubbling around rear wheel
arches, I know what that means..... The wheelwells themselves look good, as
far as rust. It has a fairly recent top, no zipper for back window. It has a
non-SCCA rollbar, no crosspiece. Appears to be bondo on driver's rear
quarter, but is a good job. It has a chrome rocker panel added, which
usually means rust, but I was short on time, and didn't get to look under it
much.
Interior is good for the age, gauges work. Doors close easily and don't
appear to gap. It started well cold, but was a little blubbery after warming
up One thing that puzzled me, was the clutch disengages completely, but the
pedal would not return easily, once it stayed on the floor! don't think it's
low on fluid (didn't check) it seems to be engaging well, no slipping. Weak
spring? I didn't think it would be clutch, since it didn't slip.
First gear is a little noisy, I know it's not syncromesh. Even accounting
for the fact that I haven't driven a car like this for a long time, the
steering seems good, no play. I wanted to (but didn't have time) to get the
wheels off the ground and pull on them, or maybe get approximate runout. It
has J.C. Penny tires on it, about half tread. Engine compartment is clean,
hood's hinges are a little loose.
If I got this, I would eventually like it to be a daily driver. I don't
care about incorrect colors, it will never be shown. What is the current
state of parts availabity? When I had 73 Spitfire (in '75) parts were
sky-high and scarce. I know Midgets have been hugely popular, are normal
wear and tear items like starters, etc reasonable? PO says he has $4k in it,
would take $2500. I have the feeling that if i waved a two thousand dollar
bill at him, he would take it. Here's some pics. The interior actually looks
better than the pics here, it was getting dark and the flash washed it out a
little.
Front <http://204.202.9.122/%7Essanders/midget/front.jpg>
Side <http://204.202.9.122/%7Essanders/midget/side.jpg>
engine1 <http://204.202.9.122/%7Essanders/midget/engine1.jpg>
engine2 <http://204.202.9.122/%7Essanders/midget/engine2.jpg>
doorpanel <http://204.202.9.122/%7Essanders/midget/doorpanel.jpg>
inside <http://204.202.9.122/%7Essanders/midget/inside.jpg>
back (what's the extra
holes?)<http://204.202.9.122/%7Essanders/midget/midget_back.jpg>
rollbar <http://204.202.9.122/%7Essanders/midget/rollbar.jpg>
wheel <http://204.202.9.122/%7Essanders/midget/square.jpg>
trunk <http://204.202.9.122/%7Essanders/midget/trunk2.jpg>
wheelwell <http://204.202.9.122/%7Essanders/midget/wheelwell.jpg>
topdown <http://204.202.9.122/%7Essanders/midget/topdown.jpg>
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