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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Seatbelts for GAN1 Midget +

Hi,

I'm the new owner of a 1961 Mk 1 midget and have a few questions:-

Firstly, a previous owner has fitted bright red racing harnesses which are a faff in a non-track car and don't look right. I wondered if 3 point inertia belts from a later sprite are suitable? Or would they have the wrong angle because of different metalwork? If suitable, has anyone a code number and recommended supplier please? Alternatively, has anyone found something suitable? If not I'll go to static

Secondly, the wipers don't seem to sweep as far as they should. I'm wondering if a motor (or geared cam) from another BMC car of the era was used and what the correct angle should be?

Finally (for now!) the dual function heater pull switch - to get air coming through the vents do you pull out or push in?

Previous owner said heater never worked for him. I've freed off the jammed push-pull function, got the electrical part working and closed the metal flaps in the footwells. Still no more than breathing coming out of the screen vents though.

Many thanks



P Peters

As far as your heater control it should be shut off when pulled out. Pushing in the control opens the air flap and rotating the control 1/4 turn clockwise should turn the blower on. That all depends on having connected up the control cable the correct way. If it's on wrong pushing the control will close the flap.
In any case if correct and you push the control in fully you will get hot air whether the blower is on or not. Air temperature is determined by the tap on the back of the block.

The wiper sweep is fixed and the same for all models but wear and dried out grease will affect the sweep speed and the sweep angle. The motor turns a big wheel which is connected to the wiper by a crank arrangement which causes the spiral wire to be moved back and forth. The wire engages with a cog at the bottom of each wiper spindle to cause the wipers to sweep. It is easy to dismantle but extremely fiddly to do.

I would recommend getting a Haynes manual. Ebay is a good source. I've seen them for £5 plus post for a copy suitable for garage use. I would also recommend getting a handbook for your model year, also from eBay. It contains 60+ pages of use and maintenance information that I find invaluable.
Robert
MG Moneypit

Hi

Seatbelt info on these early cars: https://gerardsgarage.com/Garage/Tech/SeatBeltWS.htm Note the two bolt mounting on the rear wheelarch for the upper belt mounting

Note you can get these type of static lap and strap belts make up by Quickfit Safety Belts: https://www.quickfitsbs.com/static_lap_diagonals_classic.php & https://www.quickfitsbs.com/components_colours.php Give them a call, they are very helpful.

Nice car!

Cheers
Mike

M Wood

For seatbelts, there are many suppliers like MOSS, MGBHive, AHSpares to name a few that will supply suitable seatbelts. There is an angled bracket that allows the seatbelt reel to sit at the correct angle on the attachment points on top of the rear wheel arches. There may be different brackets depending on year of shell you have.

I have a Mk2 Sprite also 1961 that has seatbelts from a Mini or Metro (don't know which really as they were fitted when I bought the car).
Mine has the reel on the floor behind the seat where the sill attachment point is. The end point is also attached here. The (middle) guide bracket is mounted on the rear wheel arch. The belt receptacle is attached to the transmission tunnel.
This configuration I find is a PITA as the belt positions are not very good, but it works.
Robert
MG Moneypit

Nice car! I’ve recently fitted inertia reel belts to my Mk1, they are the standard Securon type that most of the classic car places sell. They work fairly well but I needed to make a bracket to bolt to the two studs on top of the rear inner wheel arch. On my car, a 1962, there were no threaded inserts in the gearbox tunnel from new so I had to use a big washer and nut. Easy enough to install them, a few hours work. The only thing I don’t like about then is that they look a bit too modern, especially the click in stalk. I’m considering getting some classic style static ones at some point, like the ones Mike links to.

John Payne

Securon for me too. If you ring them, they will advise on the correct belts for your Sprite.

As Robert has said old, dried grease will definitely affect the wiper operation (remove and replace with fresh grease), as will worn cogs on the back of the wheel boxes (turn them round 90 degrees). Replacing the rack also helps. Mine went from a good imitation of Jacques Tati's film, Trafic, to as new, doing the above.

If your heater is not heating well, try cleaning out the matrix and definitely renew the foam seal around it; that will have you toasty!

Good luck with your new Sprite.

Jeremy MkIII

Wiper boxes can be from wrong car, can wear as noted, connecting tubes can also fracture or work loose from mountings if the spindles get stiff, all results in lost motion.

On my car wipers were reluctant after an extended lay up and I managed to remove the steering wheel cowl then release the dash mountings and lower it down enough to get access and see what was going on. Disconnect battery first in case any dash wiring comes loose during your investigations.

Before doing that, remove the wiper motor cover, disconnect the end of the rack and see whether you can move the wipers smoothly by hand across full travel.
AdrianR

The standard sweep of the wipers is narrow assuming you have the standard fitting including wiper arms and blades. Don't quote me on the exact figures but say the wiper motor drive cog is for 105 degrees for the later wiper motor at least you can get say a 110 degrees cog as the wiper motor is parts bin stuff.

For the heater air volume the motor and fan/impellor have to be correct, complete and going in the correct direction for full volume movement, best that the heater box and matrix seals are present and in reasonable condition.

The air inlet hose needs to be secured at the front of the car and at the fan housing.

The standard fan motors are pretty robust, but replacements who knows.

After all being in good condition - you still don't get much air to the windscreen from the fan.

But the heater should at least give you hot air (too hot sometimes) subject to your cooling/heating system being clean and in good condition.

Even in winter it's best to have the heater flap knob pushed fully to the dashboard (so flap fully open if cabled correctly) as that will get you the most hot air in my about 18 years experience of driving in the winter, often with the hood down (until the last piss-poor Don Hood).

And another vote for Securon belts.






Nigel Atkins

Many thanks all. Much to digest
P Peters

Just to add--
Full harness seatbelts in a convertible car with no rollover bar is a definite no no
IF it happens to invert itself-and it happens, the harness holds your head where it can't escape serious results.
William Revit

Willy, that's my reason for not using a HANS device.

At the track I use most, I reckon I'm more likely to get sideways and roll than hit something hard head-on. I've got the roll-over bar and four point harness but the top of my head is still close to the top of the bar and I feel that without the HANS I've got a bit of flexibility that would reduce the impact on my head. A HANS device would hold my head in a more vulnerable position.

I would think differently if I had a full cage.

Others disagree with me but I hope it's an argument that is never actually tested.
C Mee

I'm not planning to race my MG. Also I'm undecided about a roll cage - not sure if they make them for GAN1s and not sure if it would work well with a tonneau.

I like the look of the static belts but suspect they would be as fiddly as the harness; falling into the door gaps and getting caught under the seat.

Do the static belts clip up out of the way after use?

P Peters

My '66 GAN4 has static Kangol belts...and these little clips for the hook. Mentioned in Horler's book but I've not seen them on any other car. They're not much good, I have to say, but an original fitting...
Dave





David Cox

I have the Kangols (Although I didn't know that's what they were until now, thanks) without the clips, but then my 1970 car arrived in a dismantled state some 30 years ago so may have gone astray. I quite like them as they are easily fastenable and seem to hold you in place well - never tested in an actual collision fortunately.
AdrianR

I have the Securon inertia belts in the Frogeye and like them. However, I've found their orientation to be critical or they lock when unreeling.
Bill Bretherton

I've got the static kangols in my '66 mk4 Sprite, and the original clips too. I used to use the clips, I thought they were quite good. But since you have to wear a belt by law anyway, the clips wouldn't see much use.

Plus with mgf seats in my Sprite now, it's not so easy to reach my clips anymore.





anamnesis

My 1967 Sprite has static belts and they are an absolute pain. I know 1500s have inertia belts and I hope to examine one at the NEC on Friday. My concern is do the belts fully retract when unfastened. If the do, at my age, it will be difficult to reach them, especially wih the hood down. Is it possible to put a stop on the belt to stop it retracting all the way or put a guide at the top corner of the door post as on modern cars.

Jan T
J Targosz

Another vote for Securon. Quite easy to install but as Bill says,orientation of the reel is important.
Roger D

This thread was discussed between 07/11/2022 and 10/11/2022

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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