Howdy -
Just joined spridgets because a 73 RWA Midget has taken up residence in
my garage as of this week. It's gonna keep my '80 MGB LE company...
I've done a lot of work on MGB's, but I never had a Midget or worked on
one... haven't even ridden in one for like 30 years... so figure I'm
gonna ask a lot questions that have been covered before. I was looking
for a FAQ for the group, but didn't find one or any mention of one in
the archives...
Apparently it sat in a garage for the last 5 years. Not sure if it got
much attention before that. With a new battery, it starts and runs, sort
of. I noticed it doesn't like to roll too easy when I pushed it into the
garage. I put the Midget up on jack stands, and pulled the wheels. Got
leaking wheel cylinders and soaked brake shoes. With the rear brakes
removed, the half shafts turn freely and have no discernible play.
The front calipers seem frozen, and wont really release the rotors. They
drag really badly. I cracked open the bleeders, some fairly clean fluid
trickled out, but the calipers wont release, so I figure a complete
brake job, replace hoses, calipers, cylinders, pads and shoes. Not sure
if I need to replace any brake lines yet. Left front line looks a little
rusty...
Wheres the best place to locate jack stands in the front of the car??
There are some electrical issues to chase down, prob still a lot of
grotty connectors, bad grounds, dirty switches...
The seats are shot, need complete rebuild or replacement, so depends
what I can find to fit my budget... Do the runners just bolt through the
sheet metal on the floor???
Other concern is the steering rack. I noticed that the car would not
self-center coming out of a turn. If you turn the wheel, it stays
turned... Steering seems pretty tight. Possible bad or binding rack,
maybe no oil in it, or maybe it's full of grease... Gonna have to pull
it out to see I guess. Not looking forward to that. I pulled an mgb rack
once, took me a week to get it back in the car and working...
A DPO had the SU's replaced with a weber and desmogged. I have pulled
the weber and the Pierce manifold, and plan to put SU's back in it. It
also needs a proper fuel pump. Got one of those obnoxiously loud
aftermarket pumps in it.
Looks like it's had new kingpins & shocks installed, the rockers have
been replaced, some floor areas patched and sealed, and a respray. Also
has a fairly new exhaust system. The car looks reasonably nice.
Any other things I need to know or look out for?
--
Marc
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