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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - New interior's done

The attached photo is a cheesy phone pic I just shot in the parking lot here at work. I finished the interior installation yesterday evening, after starting Friday night and putting in a marathon Saturday - along with Sunday afternoon and evening. It made for a pretty full weekend's work!

I'm thrilled with how it turned out. This was with the Moss interior components, and everything fit very well and seemed to be of high quality.

I had no idea that my old seats were as shot as they were. The new ones feel great, the side effect being that I feel like I'm sitting a good two inches higher now. I had to adjust my mirrors to compensate.

I took some high quality pictures of the installation process, and will probably post a Flickr gallery later. Just wanted to show off the new setup. It goes great with the black bodywork!

-:G:-


Gryf Ketcherside

Looks good, Gryf! Now for some tan bristleflex, paint the ashtray, re-paint the dials on the speedo, tach, etc., replace the vinyl on the console and paint the dash and you will be set ;-)
David "just kidding!" Lieb
David Lieb

Gryf,

Looks great! A couple of questions - when you get the interior kit from Moss, does the actual door panel come with it, or just a new cover for your old panel? Also, how do you remove/replace the door limit strap from the door? And, info on your wheel, ie. size and brand. Looks like a Nardi, very nice.

Jack
Jack Orkin

nicely fitted

but you should have gone for red ;P
Onno Könemann

Looking at the "erected state" of your handbrake i take it your car is feeling happy too it has a new interior. LOL

Gryf, i cant pull the handbrake that far, is your cable possibly wearing out?

Nice clean interior!
I know what you mean by the seats, i restored them too with new webbing and cushens and after 11 years they still sit great and comphy.
Never got backpain sitting in them, even after hours motoring.

Arie de Best

Awsome Gryf,

Vary nice, I cant wait to see it in acouple of weeks.

And you got the commi ng holiday off to tweek anything else, like say chrome side pipes, I bet that would look cool...LOL

Prop
Props Black Hole

Gryf,

Looks great - Didn't know the ribbed door panels were available.
I was amazed how quickly the handles got to you, seeing they were sent 'snail mail'.

Richard.

richard boobier

Thanks, all!

Jack, the door inners come complete. All you need to do is to fit the the little clips in the holes and pop it on. Well, it takes a few minutes to get all the clips aligned with the holes in the door, but it's not too bad. The door capping requires peeling and recovering, but that was easier than expected.

As for the check strap, there's a metal cross-piece in the aft end of the strap that swings up into the strap so you can fit it through the door slot. Once in place, you just pull on the strap and the cross-piece swings back perpendicular and locks behind the slot. It's pretty simple, really. And speaking of the check straps, I took some advice from the earlier thread and covered the mounting plates with vinyl.

That is a Nardi wheel, courtesy of the PO. I'm not sure what size it is, but the wheel, along with the wood overlay on the dash, look amazing with the brown upholstery.

Arie - yeah, the handle does pull up rather far. The rear brakes are well adjusted, so I think it's time to get under and adjust the cable length. The cable itself is fairly new - just a few years - and shouldn't be showing any wear. For that matter, the design of the 1500 handbrake cable is much less subject to wear than the earlier model.

I attached a later pic I shot this afternoon.

-:G:-


Gryf Ketcherside

Gryf, in a little over a year I have stretch my new parking cable to the limits of adjustment. I have an old cable I'm going to clean up and use. Several other people have commented on the replacement cables stretching.
Trevor Jessie

Yeah I got the same issue with my cable, its only 3-4 years old, Im thinking about cutting it and putting in a (whats the name Im looking for) 2 eye screws at opposing ends with a long bolt in the middle that can be adjusted, then use cable clamps to tie off the cut cable, that way the cable can be re-adjusted as it streatchs

BTW...Did the moss kit come with extra vinal

Prop
Props Black Hole

Turnbuckle?
David Lieb

I was planning on adding a spacer in the cable to take up some slack on mine. Cut a slot in a steel spacer or something, I was told, or slot a pile of washers and achieve the same effect.
J Van Dyke

Thanks David,

Thats the word....Must be early genetic onset alsymers kicking in....thanks grandma (lol)


Prop
Props Black Hole

Just FYI, I just posted pics of the project here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/safety_fast/sets/72157622081163601/

Funny we'd have issues with brake cable stretch, with the things being as short as they are. Makes me wonder how much adjustment I have left, as it's been a while since I've been under for a look.

Cheers,

-:G:-
Gryf Ketcherside

Your car looks great. If you are interested in matching color door seals, the Roadster Factory sells a seal set for MGB 75 inches long. The midget uses about 65 inches. I don't know that they are the same, but I would be suprised if they are different. They may send a sample for you to compare the cross section.
J Bubela

Gryf I got to tell ya, I wouldnt paint the dash, Id keep it black and just polish the cap, infact the only thing Id do on is strip th wooden shift knob and restain the same color as the wood dash and the steering wheel...other then that, it looks perfect,

prop
Props Black Hole

Well done. It looks great! It's a whole different feeling driving it, isn't it?

Cheers,

Glen
G. D. Phillips

Gryf,

Your car looks great, good job.

Regards,

Larry C.
Larry C '69 Midget

>>> Well done. It looks great! It's a whole different feeling driving it, isn't it? <<<

My, yes. That's an aspect of the project I hadn't anticipated at all. Even though it's the same machinery underneath, it feels like a new and different car. Honestly, it's a weird feeling.

>>> Gryf I got to tell ya, I wouldnt paint the dash. <<<

Nor would I. That was never part of the plan, but I agree that a lighter shift knob is in order. Trouble is, the current one is walnut, which is dark by nature. I'll be on the lookout for a lighter one.

>>> Your car looks great, good job. <<<

Thanks!! :-D

-:G:-
Gryf Ketcherside

gryf,

Take the car to a high end paint store / lumber yard where they sell high end stain, (not home depot or there blue sister) A good starting place is the wood crafter store. Most of the time they will have a pro on staff that does custom stain matching, I use this service a good 6 times a year, and its always dead on....and yes they can cross match to other woods from soft to hard woods, the darker the harder to match, but yours is fairly light, I cant see a pro having a problem. It wouldnt cost vary much...$25 - $75, granted you can get another shifter cheaper, but the odds are NOT in your favor that it will match vary well. unless you do a black knob, But I think it has to be a wood grain to look the best.


Prop
Props Black Hole

Hi Gryf,

I have been toying with the idea of replacing the interior trim on my midget for a while and having seen your photos on flickr has made my mind up to take the plunge. Your car looks lovely and you made it look so easy.

So... the questions are -
is there any pitfalls to avoid? Any tips? I was hoping not to take the seats out (the carpet's ok) but if i have to - is it an easy thing to do?

cheers
Wendy
WJ Brown

eaqch seat has 4 nuts under the floorpan, 10 minute job per side max.
David (davidDOTsmithAT stonesDOTcom)

thats 2 under the seat and 2 under the floorpan!
Mick - trying to sort the wiring

Gryf,

That looks fabulous. Just wonderful and probably better than it did when it left Abingdon.

Tell us about refitting the door window seals - that rubber on the outside of the door against the glass. Those little clips intimidate me...
C L Zeni

This thread was discussed between 31/08/2009 and 10/09/2009

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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