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MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Rattling quarter light

On my AHsprite mk3 the drivers quarter light has started to rattle but only when open. Sadly the glass got smashed due to an overtaking mirror which has since been moved and glass replaced now its in the seal tight when closed but when opened seems to be loose at the bottom of the frame and at the hinge. just wondering if anyone else has had this problem and is their a simple fix. (ie not taking the quarter light unit out the door) any help would be great.

Dan
D Sartain

could you get any proper windscreen sealant in under the glass ?

if you're near Northampton I've got so pro stuff with the large pro gun to fit the tube

or you could try the Loctite stuff
Nigel At

the glass seems to be tight in the frame as it is with just the seam and the glass it seems to be the frame which is rattling at the two places it hinges. seems more like the whole frame aswell as the glass would come loose not just the glass if you get me. when it is closed its tight against the main window post which is agaisnt the wind up window (sorry not really sure how to put it better). Unless the rubber seal around the frame of the quater light should be tighter which it isnt. Without looking im unsure but I think the seal is in three pieces the straight section then from the bottom of the quater light round the bend to the top. could just be replace that and its not as loose. but not sure still seems the hinges are quite loose.
D Sartain

The bottom pivot has a spring to tension it. You will need to remove the trim panel to see if the securing nut has come loose, or if the spring is broken.
Dave O'Neill 2

I guessed it would be a job that did need bit removing and guess the seal could do with being replaced aswell.
D Sartain

Dave as always is on the right track

whilst you're doing that you could also check the two other nuts under there are not loose and the one at the bottom of the glass track

plus the two bolts on the outside of the door on the sloping bit of the door (above the hindges)

no I'm not technical either

are you new to Spridget ownership?

ssssshhhhh, no warnings from you others
Nigel At

Im 19 and learning to drive in it so its basically my first car my dad ha a share in the car. we have had it since october last year the car is quite sound only i see every little bit wrong with it. had the Aposts looked at as it was bubbling under the paint work at welsh mg and afew other bits. afew months back went for its first mot which failed on its brakes only one would lock up i think he said and their was alot of give in the pedal but me being new to it and dad not driving an old car in years took it as normal and got used to it how it was. did about 200 miles to midget 50 weekend before. apart from quater light replaced putting oil in diff replacing 2 fuel hoses we havent really done much with it ourselfs.
D Sartain

for others reading
quite a for youngsters are getting classics now which is fantastic
but they tend to buy cars needing a bit of work and have no idea of the extent of servicing


D
your example of thinking the brakes are always that bad tells me you could do with my usual advice

if your dad thinks he can buy a classic and run it like a modern car i.e. do little to it other than drive he's in for an unpleasant suprise

yes they can be economical to own but you have to put in a bit of work and cost, the more you do that at the very start the lot less you'll do later

think of how much you saved on insurance (if you went to a classic specialist insurer) that gives you loads to spend and save each year

keep a paper and electronic copy of my next post, read it - and get that owners Handbook you need it

you should have done some servicing already, it's every 6 months or 6,000 miles but a classic new to you you need to check
Nigel At

Hi, welcome,

My advice to potential and new owners -

Keep a complete copy of this information to read and refer to now and later -

Buy an owners Handbook before even looking for the car and read it thoroughly as it tells you so much you need to know to own, drive, service and maintain your car and it’s very useful to have as a paper copy (even if you get electronic copies later) – http://www.mgocshop.co.uk/catalog/Online_Catalogue_Handbooks_5.html

Look at and test drive as many good examples as you can including some well out of your buying budget to see how good the cars should be and that you may need to increase your budget

It usually works out less expensive to buy a good but higher priced example than a poor lower priced example

If you buy one then;
always have the battery and connections in good condition as this will obviously help with starting the car and running the electrical items but also it will help with problem solving many items whereas a battery and/or connections in poor condition will create problems or not help with other problems

Also have all battery leads and connections, other earth leads and all connections - clean, secure and protected - as this will help with starting of the engine and all electric circuits, same applies to all electrical wiring and connections too

As soon as possible after purchase do a full and proper 36,000 miles service only miss out items that you have 100% proof have already been done very recently, including;
g/box and back axle oils
brake and clutch fluids
coolant
dissy cap, rotor arm and leads (buy good quality ones) - http://www.distributordoctor.com/rotor_arms.html
fan belt

For a coolant change first clean with something like Bars Flush Cooling System Cleaner then drain the whole system - engine block, rad and heater matrix, if you can get any of these out to give them a good shake at the same time as flushing and back flushing then all the better - the sequence is use cleaner as per its instructions then flush, back flush and flush and continue this until water runs clear, refill with the correct coolant mixture but bear in mind in tap water isn’t always the best water to use

Follow the refill instructions from the owners Handbook to avoid get air locks or ‘hotspots’ that could cause overheating of the engine

If you clean the whole of the coolant system and also renew the seals and foam around the heater matrix you will find the heaters can get very hot

As new rubber cooling hoses tend to be poor quality now this is also a good chance to change them to silicone and rounded-edge clips - http://www.classicsiliconehoses.com/

Be aware that brand new parts can sometimes be faulty, especially electrical bits (see just above) so don’t discount them when problem solving just because they are new, buy good quality parts

Check the age of your tyres if they are 6 years old or more replace ASAP regardless of tread depth, this will improve the braking, steering, ride, handling and possibly noise and safety of the car greatly

Also change very old brake pads as soon as practical as they may well hard gone off with age, as can the hydraulic seals if the car has been standing still for many years and the clutch may be stuck on, tyres squared, bushes stiff, if facts lots of potential problems with a car that hasn’t been used much or at all for many years

Use the car regularly - to get used to it, sort out any wrinkles and prevent the problems that occur with lack of use, and to enjoy it

Every few weeks check your horn, wipers and all switches work and heater valve turns on and off (all no problem if you use the car regularly)

Follow regular checks, servicing and maintenance as per owners Handbook

Drive in all weathers, the Midget hood should be very watertight if fitted correctly and the heater is more than adequate, if working correctly, for the small cabin

Do not do any cosmetic or improvement work for at least 12 months of regular use, unless you need to replace parts or components, as you may need to use the money elsewhere on the car

Also very useful, you can get suppliers catalogues for free to get you started to see where things go but in my personal opinion they’re not as good as a paper copy like – http://www.mgocshop.co.uk/catalog/Online_Catalogue_Parts_Lists_3.html

You can also get an excellent DVD that includes original Parts Catalogues, Parts Fiches, Workshop Manuals and owners Handbooks to have in electronic format – http://www.motoringclassics.co.uk/heritage-range/c380

Cheers, enjoy your car
Nigel At

^^^ there it is! :D

good to see more young owners, I was 19 when I got mine 6 years (YIKES) ago.
Rob Armstrong

<< I was 19 when I got mine 6 years (YIKES) ago >>
I was 22 when I got mine 36 years ago {THAT'S "YIKES" }

David Cox

Nigel,

With all due respect to you. Try to remember when you were young, and spridgets weren't classic cars. They were just cars. Crappy little english psuedo sports cars.

There is NOTHING mysterious or difficult about spridgets. NOTHING.

Anyone with any basic mechanical aptitude can make one of these things work. Esp a curious 19 year old.

That LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG long list of items you keep posting about what you must do prior to, and post aquiring a "new" spridget, is full of loads of stuff that can be ignored.

If I had never owned a spridget and came to this site looking for advice, and saw your post, I would think to myself. "Geeeeeeeeeeez, these spridgets are one heap of junk. If I have to do all that just to buy and run one, I wont bother".

D Sartain.
I have NEVER done a 36000 mile service in my life on ANY car, let alone my spridget which I have owned for 34 years.

Amazingly then, it is still going strong. When something breaks, I fix it. I can't rember the last time I broke down. I dont think I ever have.

AND, I am NO mechanical wizard or genius.

Really, unless you want to start mofdifying the engine, or suspension, or other bits and pieces, these are very simple little cars. Don't get the impression that they are anything else.

You came on here with a rattling quaterlight. Dave O'neil gave you what is probably the answer. Pull off the door lining and tighten up the spring on the window. You'll probably find it's rusted, so it may not be willing to tighten up easily. Shine a bright light up there and take a look, it will be obvious when you see it whats wrong. Worst case? Wedge it with a bit of paper until you can strip it down.

You said it failed it's MOT.

Right start there.

Fix the failures. Obviously the brakes. One guy on here has just posted that he can lock all 4 wheels on standard breaks (good pads) with 175 wide tyres. So making yours achieve an mot pass wont be difficult. New shoes/pads if worn out. Bleed it and adjust it. Job done.

Check the oil level. Check the water level. Make sure there is petrol in the thing, and then drive it.

Then look to improve it. IF you feel like it.

Unless you want to make it a show car, a personification of perfection, and you have loads of money to burn, then my advice to you is don't worry about every little bit of surface rust and dent and rattle.

You said "only i see every little bit wrong with it".

lol. Of course you do. We all do.

You are the owner of a 40+ year old car, it aint gonna be perfect, they NEVER were, even when they were new.

But it doesn't need to be either, for you to have fun in it. Even if you run the thing into the ground, and then fix it, and then do it again. Which in my oppinion is the best way to treat them. They are fun cars, but only if you have fun in them and dont spend all your time doing 6000 or 36000 mile services. :)

Over to you Nigel.

I absolutely know you will disagree with everything I just said lol.



Lawrence Slater

OK correction.

I broke down in Germany when the gearbox locked in 1st, and again on crete for the same reason, and before that in france when the head gasket blew.

NONE of these events would have been prevented by a 36000 mile service though.

And even if they could have been prevented, I had a ball fixing the car by the roadside. :)
Lawrence Slater

Lawrence,
we were young a very long time ago things have changed - my mates straping young lads couldn't change a wheel on a Daewoo Matiz when it got a punture, yes really

I'm not suggesting or expect all of the work needs doing in one go

a lot of problems new owners get are because of lack of previous full and proper servicing, maintainence and repair from previous owners

it's better to set the car up well as son as possible rather than keep bodging and having an unreliable car that then doesn't get used so starting the spiral

a lot of these cars will be driven only occasionally so need to be in good condition

I don't know about you but my first cars weren't 40 years old with 55+ year old technology

you have reminder me that I've not put about budgetting for service and repair work with the purchase budget - I'll add it to the list

many of these classics are running round in poor condition in one way or another because people think all classics are very poor compared to modern cars they don't drive enogh good example to know how good they should be

oh, I give up, classic cars do use loads of oil and leak a lot every where, the brakes are very poor, they break down often and are unreliable, the most important thing is to tune the engine, as long as there's loads of tread the tyres are fine, you do need to do a lot of bodge repairs and many of them at the roadside

people should be allowed to buy a classic as cheaply as possible (despite them being very expensive compared to a reliable s/h modern) and they shouldn't need to spend much if anything more once they've bought other than performace mods and cosmetics

think I'll just look on in future and think to myself that could have been prevented, or I told them so before but they wouldn't listen

I hand in my (red) Handbook Guruship, who needs the book anyway most of it you can get close to by guessing anyway
Nigel At

got books for the car and i dont mind getting hands dirty but i do feel some owners go over the top at times about how often doing things. i know thet you always go into first from second or another gear when standing still other wise you will get a crunch going from neutral. got the northwest midget and sprite club members that know a thing or two and a decent mot station near by (fm sports cars) one member of staff even raced midgets. had a look over and said its quite sound only it could do with a service which it will get. if ive got it wrong then tell me but as long as i look after it and do jobs when need comming up it should be good enough for me. its been round the clock once and on 45000 now so its not like its sat still all its life and yet still running stong touch wood.
D Sartain

oh and a point about customising or trying to make it original the most i have done is made a radio sitting with speakers to go behind the seats which makes a flat parcel shelf and i might remove the dash and repaint it. but anything else im trying to keep original and if lucky to have some money new original parts. im not one for big alloys or swapping an engine prefer it how it was.
D Sartain

if by book sfor the car you mean Haynes that's for repairs not servicing

a very few may go over the top about how often things need the big majority are quite slack about servicing leaving a small minority

first gear is not got synchromesh, so you need to be sat a standstill to engage (unless it's worn which it probably will be) or you need to double-declutch

the chap said it's quite sound but needs a service - a service is more than an oil change on these cars and they do need doing regularly, the services vary (see the owners Hanbook and supplement or get the DVD)

the 145,000 miles if correct may not have been done evenly, the car could possibly have been off the road during that time for a short or long while in the more recent years

it's your car you do with it as you want and enjoy it the way you want to

the people here will offer you advice and help and you can decide what is appropriate to you

enjoy your car, cheers
Nigel At

Lawrence, while I agree with you about old cars not being complicated and are easy to fix, I also agree with Nigel regarding comparing old and new cars. My son worked in a garage and they used to routinely do a 12000 mile service on a modern in 45 minutes. You would barely be started with a classic in that time.

As I have told my son, the list of things to service on a classic that do not exist on a modern, is longer than the complete service list for a modern. That doesn't mean complicated or expensive,just more time consuming.

I also think we should encourage the younger generation and help them as much as possible, otherwise there will be no classics in the future when we all disappear from the planet. In fact this point is made in the editorial of Septembers Practical Classics.

Despite what you say Lawrence, I suspect that like most of us when we were young, most of your spare time was taken up with driving cars, working on them and girls, probably in that order most of the time!

Trev
T Mason

Hi Dan. If you are in the car on Wednesday at the meeting I'll have a look to see what I can find. I had the same problem with mine and if you do need to get the quaterlight out there is a piecemeal procedure to go through, but don't worry, it's not too hard. I'll bring with me a copy of the door build up, posted by the great Norm Kerr who is a regular contributor on here.
See you Wednesday.

Bernie.

b higginson

sorry I can't resist

Trev you put it a lot better than me, thank you

I've been on about encouraging the youngster to classics for 15 years or so

now they are coming to the classics, a lot because of insurance costs, but they will mostly be buying the middle to lower end cars

being young tinkering with the engine and dealing with sexy bits like shocks and tyre patterns is what they be interested in - plus they simply don't know about classic servicing and it's boring and mundane anyway

it's not just the young though all new to classics need to know about the servicing and maintenance

I suspect many classic cars are sold by the last previous owners because of the need for or lack of sevicing and maintenance

if the cars get progressively worse they'll disappear a lot quicker

the more owners that have bad experiences of classic car ownership for whatever reasons the fewer owners there will be

years ago there were less and less individual classic MG owners with more cars each so the individual cars got used less each

and remember the MGF and MX-5 are classic or old (depending on your terminology) the MX-5 certainly represents much better value and a lot less hassle than a Spridget

if the quality of cars and owners knowledge is not improved both will disappear in the future
Nigel At

Nigel, the insurance angle is definately starting to kick in I think, but it never ceases to amaze me how many of my sons mates (some of whom have hot hatches)love to have a look at my Midget and ask questions about it and are genuinely interested in what you are currently doing to it.

Like you I also suspect some owners lose interest when they come across something fairly major that has been neglected or bodged, as it then makes you wonder what other dark secrets it may have.

With youngsters it helps to tap into their inquisitive minds as early as possible. My 4 year old grandaughter loves to help clean the car or pass me spanners, probably because she then gets the chance to sit on my lap and help "drive" it into the garage afterwards (and get some money for sweets). I guess I secretly hope that she may keep it going after I have gone!

Trev
T Mason

Thanks bernie. and about first gear i would try going into first while moving in a modern car but in neutral their are parts actually moving in the gearbox so to reduce the risk put it into second that then stops the gearbox completly. (northwest midget and sprite talk on gearbox).
D Sartain

sorry i ment wouldnt try in a modern car but thanks for that and have got mots back to 1990 and it has been sorn in the time from 1990 to now but it think only twice (file not to hand) and only for a year on both occations it would seem that early 90s it was used as an every day car as the mileage went up quite quickly year on year. as for the brakes they were the same before the mot as when we got it with the mileage at 42000 ish and at the mot it was in the low 42000 so i dont really see how it passed that one but apart from that i love the old girl her bday is on the calender for her 45th next month and not bad early bday treat round silverstone even up to 50mph on wellington straight.
D Sartain

T mason,

Actually no. Most of my time was taken, picking up girls and driving them around. I had quite a bit of success taking girl friends from blokes who played with their cars too much, instead of driving them.

Their girl friends got bored, so whilst they wasted their time servicing their cars, I serviced their girl friends. :)

Au contraire. I stand by what I said. Advising new owners to carry out a loooooooooooooooooong list of irrelevant service items, when all they ask is how to fix a rattle, is likely to be off putting at the least, and not at all encourage new ownership in the slightest.

Not that I consider it my duty to encourage youngsters to keep classics preserved for future generations anyway. Actually that seems patronising and condescending, which is also how nigels advice comes across sometimes. IMO.

Nigel,
When I bought my sprite, and my first car (Austin Mmetropolitan), it was from a breakers yard(s). Both were wrecks. Both had holes in the floor ala fred flintstone. The last thing I was interested in was servicing them. All I wanted to do was drive them. Even at the age of 17 or 18 or whatever it was, I was not so stupid that I did not realise the importance of certain aspects of maintenance.

I don't subscribe to the view that todays 17/18/19 year olds are any less able or intelligent than myself at that age.

If when I ask a question about how to replace the broken halfshaft(Metropolitan after dropping clutch once too often), I was given the answer, "have you got the owners manual, have a good read, and don't forget to do the 36000 mile service"; My reply would have been something along the lines of; "yeah right, now do you know or not, if not, I'll ask someone who does." But not as politely as that.

I have never read let alone owned the owners user manual for my sprite, and yet after all these years and hundreds of thousands of miles, my car is still on the road. I'm sure it is a very worthy publication, and no doubt I would have found it interesting, but somehow I managed extremely without it.

"If you clean the whole of the coolant system and also renew the seals and foam around the heater matrix you will find the heaters can get very hot"
No really? Fx#$%$%$%$K me. I would neve have guessed that in million years. lol.

"Do not do any cosmetic or improvement work for at least 12 months of regular use, unless you need to replace parts or components, as you may need to use the money elsewhere on the car" How do you know how much money I have at my disposal? 12 Months? What not even wash it? bigger LOL.

"Be aware that brand new parts can sometimes be faulty, especially electrical bits (see just above) so don’t discount them when problem solving just because they are new, buy good quality parts"

Nigel just how dumb do you consider people to be?

No, it's me that gives up.

If people here think that this kind of drivel is good advice for a new owner of any car, let alone a simple low tech car when compared to todays cars, then clearly I am out of sync with everybody. Either that, or I am a complete genius who never needed any advice from anybody, because I know all the answers even before I ask a question. Neither of which is true.

So please Nigel, you just keep on ad nauseum with your advice to new owners. :)



Lawrence Slater

Dontcha think this 5 min edit limit is bloody annoying?

Guess I'll have to ms word it in future.:)
Lawrence Slater

I do think some common sense has gone from some younger people but surely these idiots that think a ford fiesta is worth spending money of with body kits and an exaust that makes a bit of noise and i gues big radios must surely have some know how shame they dont have the taste that goes with it. seen a fiesta the other day from 1995 ish with horrid black alloys scratched red paint work locks that looked like could use a screw driver on scruffy interior missing trim bits and a big exaust.
D Sartain

It's your first car - there's not much better to learn in :) everything else will seem terribly dull now though :)

I'm afraid I subscribe to the drive it till it's broken camp - servicing normally but not doing things like flushing the coolant system (unless it ain't working)

If summink breaks on it then it gets fixed, there's normally a month or 2 running in period after a resto where all the things that are going to break do just that.

the main thing is to enjoy it! sounds like you have a decent one there Dan: what you said here

"as long as i look after it and do jobs when need comming up" is exactly how I run mine. apart from I've got the modifying bug. So bad that it passed its first MOT and then instantly had its exhaust changed...

is the rattle fixed yet? :p

Rob Armstrong

" "as long as i look after it and do jobs when need comming up" is exactly how I run mine. ----- "

Ditto that. :)

Amen :):)
Lawrence Slater

Lawrence,
you (and others) are quite right about my usual advice, I’ve bolted on so many additional bits to try to cover more things that it’s got overloaded and I’ve not stressed enough that the items can be staged whilst still driving and enjoying the car

(of course if you put things off too long they do tend not to get done)

I’ve made mistakes and haven’t put them right and if enough people say they it’s wrong then I must accept that at the very least it needed review

I do think what you and some others forget is that not everyone has the mechanical aptitude or confidence that you possess plus they have not grown up with classic cars so lack the knowledge and experience you have

Think of things like a choke, points, turning a tap under the bonnet to turn the heater on !

in fact because I am a similar age to you and have had classic cars since I started driving I find it difficult to find differences because they are the norm for me too and so familar

The same way you find some of my ideas silly I too find some of your views cavalier, we disagree on some things nothing wrong with that

Rob,
you’ve got the skills and knowledge to drive until somethings breaks others struggle to get plastic cowls off or clean out rubber hoses – at the start at least – so they lack the knowledge of what can be left and what will cause an expensive repair

as regards flushing the coolant system I think it’s a good idea on a very old car that you don’t know about, how many times do you hear of silted up rads, corrosion on parts of the cooling system, without X-ray eyes how do you check for muck in the system – how many times do you hear of classics overheating or on the over side that the heaters are useless, admittedly a lot of that is to do with draughts in the cabin, old seals, poor hood, holes in metal :)

I think the less you know about your car and mechanics the more you need the additional margins that full servicing can give you from getting problems – not everybody wants to or is able to be tinkering with their car, prevention is better than cure I’ve found

A lot of owners just want to drive their cars, me for one, but we know that these cars do need attention so I think get as much out of the way at the start and this will reduce additional unexpected and unwanted work when it’s not convenient

Servicing and maintenance work can be planned breakdowns and some repairs can’t

And what's wrong with having your car running as good as it can as soon as possible, I’d have thought you wouldn’t want to have to take things a bit easy because something's not working quite right

As a non-mechanic I believe what I put is the best way to reduce hassle and greater expense but then I do use my cars and hate breaking down or tinkering with them at home or the roadside or on holiday and when I use my car ever now and again I want to give it a good blast knowing it is fully up to it and wont need additional attention after

BTW at 19 I had a “classic car", or as they were then just an old car, I failed to maintain it fully and I can’t remember doing much servicing of any sort on it

It got dented where I ‘knew’ as a 19 year old that I had right of way over a fully loaded artic – to this day my wife worries about lorries on roundabouts

There was a dent in one of the door’s from where my mate used to own it and got into a dispute with some kids on a moped who kicked it and then they were retaliated against – we were from rough council estates

Towards the end of our time together the passenger door would fly open on a serve bend and it would jump out of second gear which made things very interesting if I was by myself on the sharp S bend approach to a roundabout near where I lived

I didn’t have to worry about girls as I already had a fantastic girlfriend

I’ve not lost my good looks and charm – or slim figure :)
Nigel At

"Towards the end of our time together the passenger door would fly open on a serve bend and it would jump out of second gear which made things very interesting if I was by myself on the sharp S bend approach to a roundabout near where I lived".

LOLOLOLOLOL Now my ar*e is on the floor, I've laughed so much.

That's more like it Nigel. How many other reckless and cavalier ways have you driven in the past?

I practically fell out of the back of my Brothers MkII sprite in holland when he went round a roundabout a bit quick. ------ btw, I was sitting up on the back, because there were a couple of girls in the passenger seat and the small space behind. lol. Only my mate sitting next to me stopped me from coming right out. I had one hand on the rear bumper and Len my mate had the other. Wish I had a picture of that. 5 up in a sprite. Those were the days.

Lawrence Slater

"5 up in a sprite"

Is that by Enid Blyton?
I Ball

Nigel. Give the lad a chance. At nineteen I new naff all about cars, but I eventually went on to earn my living repairing them, body, paint and mechanical. I very recently retired and definitely still don't know it all. So. Dan has only just started to learn and will make many mistakes along the way, but could end up being an F1 mechanic. He's already asking lots of questions and I've no doubt absorbing lots of new knowledge. At this point he doesn't need his mind clogging up with irrevelant stuff. He appears to be solving problems one at a time then moving on to the next, gaining experience, which in my book is worth much more than anything else when it comes to cars.

bernie.
b higginson

No Jackanoree. :)

Here's a pic of 1976 holland, long haired lay about style.

My brother shouldn't have sold the MkII. It had no rust whatsoever, great car.

Plate was 43 or 49 HYN. I Wonder if it's still alive?





Lawrence Slater

To be fair - Nigel DID offer to help if Dan lived near Northampton and wanted it - as did Bernie - so I'm sure that he'll be lead in the correct direction!

However, what's more likely to put him off ownership is that every thread seems to end up in an argument about what you all did when they had just invented the wheel ..... nothing more boring to the average youth than hearing oldies talk about "what we did when we were young" :P

Dan - I hope that you've got your quarterlight sorted by now - nothing worse than ruddy rattling going on all the time ...., if not - then I hope that the Wednesday is tomorrow - and you don't drown too much in the rain :)!!!
rachmacb

So why are you so wedded to driving a car that was invented just after they invented the wheel then rach?

And from what I can tell, I had, and still have, more fun than some much younger than I.

I would welcome hearing about more up to date exploits. :)

Oldie or not, I'm not afraind of enjoying my old banger, stone age or not, and don't spend every waking minute thinking about what might go wrong with it.

Lawrence Slater

"I'm not afraind of enjoying my old banger, stone age or not"

Lawrence, thats not a very nice way to talk about your wife like that... LOL!!!!!!!


Great picture of you and your brother in Holland in 1976(2 years after I was born so we cant be related) ;)
Was it the cultural history and the museums that drew you to this magnificent country? :)

First car at the age of 19, co-owned with my mate, was a mini.
First car of my own was my midget at the age of 20, and its still with me, alive and kicking!

Rach, believe me, lads of young age do enjoy good car-stories of old blokes as long as it involves braking the law with your car and girls(chicks when I was younger and I believe b*tches nowadays) :)
Arie de Best

very quickly

Bernie,
my last post wasn't having a go at Dan and I wish I knew about repair cars now let alone when I was 19

advice can be ignored or dealt with when appropriate, Dan’s already decided on his present course, which is fine

as rach put I did offered my materials which Dan could have had without my help or advice – he’d certainly only go for the materials now!

I’ve posted small parts to people and donate parts to clubs, people can have my help without suffering me or my advice

I like to help but I’m not mummy or daddy so I expect people I help to also help themselves a bit

Lawrence,
you picked up on my past foolishness which I used to illustrate than I was too young and had a different attitude than now, I grew up and now know I was wrong despite my age

I noticed you missed the fact that I also put about arguing with the artic where my passenger(s) could have been hurt due to my stupidity and even more than 30 later the effect remain with my wife

I wasn’t being boastful I was showing my recklessness could have harmed others more a case of learn by my mistake

ETA: go on then which one was you in that photo
Nigel At

Arie - do you ever wonder ...?!!!!

As for cars - well I have unlimited insurance mileage on ALL of my classics and use it - as well as using and abusing the MGA I'm allowed to drive - so I don't feel I have to justify anything and am more than capable of getting a broken one home.

If anyone asks me what I did when younger - I'll tell them - otherwise I let my driving talk - and the last kid I took out in the A wanted to know how he could get one that fast .....
rachmacb

Thanks for all the advice and hopfully not upset people. If i could id get it restored but im 19 so theirs the reason lol but i do hope to keep it in as best conditon as possible. quaterlight isnt yet fixed hoping to see bernie about it on wednesday but not looking forward to it in the rain so not sure yet see which car my dad thinks is best to go in. be nice to be in f1 but unlikely haha but you never know. love lawrence's pic does actually look quite comfy on the bonnet but i wouldnt allow it. Also a member of the sefton morris minor club (family realtions reason) and a young lad was with his dad he used to be in go karting and after that bought an old moggie now in uni and not only got a girlfriend but convinced her to get an austin a35 bit different. but thanks to all advise. lot easier talking here than in person.
D Sartain

Dan - don't worry - don't think that you upset anyone - and those two are just argumentative!!!! :)

I also wouldn't let anyone sit anywhere near on my bonnet - no matter what the situation - and courting is not anywhere near that important ...

It's actually alot easier to discuss things in person, especially with your car - it's fine for people to opine on things on here, but, since we can't see or hear the car, then, whatever anyone says is only surmising, and having the chance to speak to people who have worked with them is so much easier and quicker - and correct.

If you can get it over, I gather that the rain might have cleared by this evening in the NW, then do try to, and then at least Bernie can help you sort it out.

Hmmmmm moggie minor - not sure that I'd go for a lad in one of them ..................!
rachmacb

its not for me but thanks and well put upset cos i wasnt sure what else to put and he went from go karts so he must have some know how but yes rather have a much more sporty sprite or migdet. and would of reccomended something better than an a35.
D Sartain

Dan
A mate of mine had beast of a Moggie. Wasn't a 1000 by the time he finished with it. They have bigger engine bays and you can get big motors in them too. I can't remember exactly what he shoe horned in there, but it went like the clappers and he had no shortage of girls wanting a ride. They liked the moggie too. :)

Really, don't think twice about if you've caused any upset. You didn't, it's all too trivial and irrelevant.

Besides, upsetting people on bbs is a modern form of dueling. Just as entertaining, but nobody gets hurt, other than getting their feathers ruffled a bit LOL :)

Arie,
I can see you must have met my wife then LOL.
No really, my currrent is a peach. :):)

Yep, I'm sure no relation, but a girl in a town near Oss(Vehgel? I think), was almost the mother of my offspring. What a babe she was. I used to call her wilma, coz I couldn't pronounce her name, or understand her properly either. She was one of the very few I met that couldn't speak fluent English. And you know how lousy some of us english are about "foreign" languages :) ---- But we "communicated" very well anyway lol.

If you look in my left hand, you will see I'm holding something. A pouch of Samson halfzware as I recall. Within that pouch was also one of the reasons I absented myself from the UK. 30 grammes of the finest, for personal use it used to be lol.

There you go Nigel, that gives you my ID :)

Actually though, even at the tender age of 22 as I was then, I was interested in the stories of old men. I toured the areas around Arnhem to see the places I read about as a kid, and hear first hand stories from an unhappy but recent history. And the British were still well received as visitors back then. So it wasn't all sex drugs and rock and roll, even for me lol.

My mate on the right on his mini, was a computer programmer on contract for a big drug co in the town of Oss. So I went to visit him for a weekend, --- and stayed for 6 months.

Nigel,
Yes of course I deliberately ignored the point of your post. However, as much as you protest that you are now wiser, repsectable, and better behaved, I (and you) know, that thin veneer of wisdom and respectability is only barely able to keep in check that caged beast of youth within. LOL.

You should excercise it once in a while.

As regards the bonnet being comfortable. Well I too would probably hit someone with a 2 by 4, if they did that on mine. But then again, my brother stretched out on the bonnet, probably wasn't that conscious of it at the time. In fact, I'm not sure he was conscious at all. :)

Which in part, goes towards explaining how I came to almost fall out of the sprite in the first place.

There you have it then.
An extremely poor example to set youth today, and I should be ashamed of myself for doing it.
Even more ashamed of admitting it. AND, ----

EVEN MORE ashamed of laughing about it.

Guess what. I'm not. :)




Lawrence Slater

So what's wrong with A35s?

Sprite and Midgets were based on their running gear, after all.


Dave O'Neill 2

true well ok mabye something more sporty is what I should of put. An a35 van like wallace and gromit id let you off though. (bit of a wallace and gromit fan) or a mini in green with black bonnet and padlock on the drivers side or a 3 wheel van with trotters independent traders on it id be happy with.
D Sartain

A35 van – good enough for a F1 World Champion driver

‘Chris interviewed James about his car shortly before he died, and well remembers how much James enjoyed driving the A35, including the cars ability to ‘slide’ and take on much faster sports cars around London’

http://www.silverstoneauctions.com/1967-austin-a-35-van---ex-james-hunt
Nigel At

Yeah Dan,
Get yourself a robin reliant, they really are a hoot to drive.
Lawrence Slater

Bond Bug
Nigel At

"Besides, upsetting people on bbs is a modern form of dueling. Just as entertaining......"

I suppose that people are entitled to their opinions, it's just that some have more than their fair share of them.

That's my opinion.

Ian
I Ball

Ian, sounds like you have a few opinions of your own too dude. :)

Nigel, did you ever have a Bond bug?

I wouldn't have minded one of those.
Lawrence Slater

I'm too young to have had a Bond Bug :)

But I did select a scuffy Bond Bug and a few other interesting cars for the Car of the Show when I was asked to do it one year

probably 5-600 mostly very shiney cars at the show - I was never asked again
Nigel At

This thread was discussed between 07/08/2011 and 12/08/2011

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG Midget and Sprite Technical BBS is active now.