Positive signs

I had just about given up hope on my MG when a guy at work told me he knows all about them and offered his help.  Hopefully his guidance will be all I need to get this car back on the road where it belongs.

Getting started again

Big changes at work kept me from working on the MG all summer and now I have some time.

Went over to the Pole Barn and my brother and I decided to move the car to another bay.  We pumped the tires up and they held!!!

We moved the car a few feet and tomorrow we will move it to the other bay.

Once there I plan to put it on stands, take off the wheels, take out the seats and interior and clean out the engine compartment.  There will be pictures.

I’m excited about the future.

MG Advertisement #14

On Vacation and an MG Question

I’m in Ocean City Maryland enjoying the boardwalk and I’ve been thinking about what color I should paint my MG when it gets to that point.

I bought the car and it was a beautiful Russet Brown.  Since then I’ve seen gorgeous British Racing Green, Deep Red and White.  My wife’s MG (the one that she totaled) was white with a racing stripe.  That car was a beauty but my memory may be influenced by remembering her in the car with the top down and her hair flowing back from the wind.

I found a 1980 Midget that looks exactly like mine when I bought it.  It is David Gilberts and I have no way of contacting him .  So there is a problem with me posting this picture let me know and I’ll delete it.  In the meantime go HERE and check out his MG with his wife's MGF VVC

I like the look of it and I seldom see midgets that are russet brown.  That’s the way I’m leaning right now.  Let me know what you think.

MG Advertisement #13

What is the reasoning with no one driving the car?  I’d love to see ad advertisement of a woman driving the car with the top down and the wind through her hair.  It’s not to be.  Instead you see the couple looking at the car.  Hmmmm.

MG Advertisement #12

I am amazed that they never show anyone driving the car.  My wife had a white one like this when I first dated her.

MG Advertisement #11

Another. This time the guy has decided to ride a bicycle instead of driving the car.

MG Advertisement #10

I haven’t been able to get to the car this week so I’m putting up another advertisement.

Notice again that they aren’t driving the car.

Windows Live Writer

This has nothing to do with MG Midgets but I started using Windows Live Writer to write my blog entries.  It is a wonderful tool that makes blogging easy.  If you blog it’s a must have.  Check it out.

Before Pictures: The Body

I haven’t had a chance to do a detailed analysis of the body but it looks pretty good. There are a few rust spots and only one that is all the way through. Not bad for a car that is thirty years old.

Here are some pictures, notice that there is still a lot of clutter around. I’m working on it.

The rear looks great .

Here is the worst damage on the right wing, a ding and a rust hole.

Other parts (near the door as in this picture) there is corrosion. I don’t know much about body work but this sort of thing seems minor.

Some body work and a new paint job and the car will look great.

Before Pictures: The Wheels

The wheels have rusted pretty badly. I plan to have them sandblasted and then I’ll mask and paint them. I really like the look of nicely painted Rostyle wheels. I found a great post on a MGB blog (that I’m adding to my blogroll as we speak). You can read the post about refinishing Rostyle wheels HERE.

They look worse then they really are.

Before Pictures: The Engine

Here are pictures of the engine and they are pretty raw. The battery is out and there an it is pretty dirty. The carburetor is off and I have a separate picture of that. While I was cleaning I found a carburetor rebuild kit that I bought a long time ago.

Finally: Some Before Pictures: The Interior

I’m still cleaning and I”m not done by a long shot.  The plan is to get the bay clean and then the brother and I organize tools and the workspace.

Today I got enough out of the way that I was able to take some pictures.  They are basic pictures and once I get real room and time I’ll take more detailed pics.

The Interior

The seat on the right isn’t that white, that is caused by the flash.  The dashboard looks good and I will do a detailed analysis of what needs to be done at a later date.

Here is a different angle that shows the color better.  Plus you can see the great speakers I had installed back in ‘79.

Here is a closer look at the steering wheel and instrument panel.

Tomorrow I’ll post pictures of the engine and after that the body. 

The Purge Continues

I’ve been cleaning out the pole barn like a madman.  The older I get the more I realize that I don’t need so much stuff.  I have boxes of junk that I haven’t looked at in years and will never need to look at again.

I’ve found hundreds of genealogy documents that I will scan and discard.  I will have the area clean and organized soon.  My brother is helping me so it will be done right.  He is the practical one and knows how to set up the work area properly.

During the day I am getting the area clean and at night I’m looking at Victoria British and Moss Motors catalogs.  Then I look at the restoration guides.

Life is good.

Found another manual

I’m amazed by the amount of junk in that bay of the pole barn. It’s taking longer than I expected.

I’m surprised to say that I found another manual, one that I forgot that I bought. Imagine the surprises in store for me when I actually work on the car.

Found one of the manuals

Cleaning out the pole barn is kind of fun. I'm finding tons of stuff I had forgoten about. One of the impprtant things is a Haynes Manual for the MG Midget that I bought years ago and thought forever lost.

This should be a great help. I'll be spending the nights going over it and getting an idea of what I am getting myself into.

Digging out

I spent a few hours trying to dig out the MG Midget from years of detritus. The bay in the pole barn that the MG is in is full of years of junk and clutter. It's going to take a few days to clean it out and then organize the workspace.

1979 MG Midget Commercial

I was poking around the tubes of the interweb and found this commercial from 1979. I love it.

Finally Found My Title

30
Been organizing my records and I finally came across the title to the ancient beast. The ID Number is GAN6U214313G. The car is russet brown.

Since the car is British I plan on using British terms for things. This will annoy many when they read tyres and petrol.

Soon to the car.

MG Avertisement #9

This is the most blatantly misleading ad I've ever seen for an MG Midget. The lens makes the inside of the car look roomy. I've spent a lot of time in the car and it's anything but.