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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Twin Cam anybody?

Has anybody played with one of these in a Spridget yet - www.twinkam.co.uk

I guess a K series conversion could be be cheaper, I have no idea, but this conversion has a lot more original bits in it - like the engine block.

The supercharged version would seem to be about half as crazy as the cars fitted with V8s!
John Prewer

John,
A regular contributor here at one time, Toby was doing just such a conversion, fitting a BMW head to an A series block. But he hasn't posted for a long while although he may still read stuff here from time to time. His project engine build was looking very special when he last posted photos. Maybe 3 years ago? It would be really good to hear from him again.
Guy Weller

I nearly did, then went K. I got as far as talking to the Specialist components guys about it, but decided I'd rather have a bulletproof 100 bhp rather than an expensive to build A series bottom end.

I recall it's very tall, so you need a bit of a bulge in the bonnet to get it to work. I think this car used to have one but is now K-powered

http://www.flickr.com/photos/34910348@N08/8090687607/in/set-72157631777328119

owned by a nice chap called Tim who sometimes pops in, I'm sure he'll have more details :)
Rob Armstrong

Yes - Tim's midget used to have a KAD, but he soon became fed-up with its unreliability and cost of rebuild. His 190-ish bhp 1.8K is a cheaper and more reliable option - plus of course the K has way more torque than an ASeries conversion would have.

Another thing... if you are going for a large increase in power for an A Series, you're likely to want a 5-spd box too.

I fitted my K in 4 days for the mechanicals and 2 weekends for the rest - so a KSeries conversion appears to be more straightforward than a TC head...

Anthony
Anthony Cutler

what are the most major alterations or biggest jobs in fitting a k series engine.


bob
bob taylor

Bob,

Visit the dark side and do a search in the 16V archives. I wanted more torque and some more bhp and I went K.

Heater tray needs to be trimmed back and the gearbox cross member needs a small section removing. All the other parts can be bought/made.

To my mind the biggest job would be wiring - but even that is now well tried/tested.

Picture attached is my engine bay prepared for the K.


Johnathan

I was very interested in the KAD conversion until I realised the maintenance and rebuild costs would be enormous.

Fitted a 1600 K series with an Emerald ECU instead, and love it. Very quick (0-60 about 6.5 secs, 125mph top speed). The bigger, higher tuned engines are significantly faster, but need better brakes, suspension, and cooling - all ads to the cost and fragility. Mine drives like a normal modern car until you hit the throttle.

2000 miles to the South of France last September, back via the Peripherique in Paris - never any problems.

50mpg cruising at 70-ish because we were travelling with an MGBGT.

Hugh Alison

the bigger engines not monstrously faster on the road ;) Especially if they can't keep their alternator belt off the crossmember or all the teeth on the gears in the diff.

(tee hee hee! :p ) (just wait for a massive implosion of the budgetmidget in Yorkshire now I've said that...)

A track would be a different matter though, and for some of the Wales trip I was just about flat out with my little 1.4.

Biggest jobs - depends on how you do it. As Jonathan says, some of the car has to be modified to get the thing in. Pretty much everything can be bought, or built. Biggest headache I had was wiring, exhaust manifold (which I could have bought) and the coolant rail & oil filter take off (again, could have bought) And here's the link that you've all seen before ;) www.robsmidget.co.uk

Rob Armstrong

I've done 27.5K in my KMidget since 2002; costs not including normal service items (oil, filter every year) over this period have been 2 clutch cables at ~£10 each, and with re-modelled attachment (after 3 months for first fail!) I expect around 10-years life from them.

I should mention also I replaced the cam-belt in situ after 8 years- cost around £30 or so.

To offset this, I average around 40-45 mpg... and that's with 0-60 time of under 6s (should I care to ever try this...); the in-gear acceleration is phenomenal... well, you need to be in a KMidget to really know what it's like; so I reckon I'm saving money vs. a conventional A Series tuned car.

Being fair to Rob, we all thought he did a great job staying up with us, since at certain points we were using a goodly amount of grunt (some of the Ks had 190+ bhp...). It should be said the 1.4, 1.6 and 1.8K in standard form aren't miles away in terms of peak power, it's more about torque from the bigger engines. So whilst I'm tooling along at 3 and 4K RPM, Rob was probably using 6K and more to stay with me (but the 1.4 is exdeptionally sweet at these revs).

To extract this kind of performance from the A Series, you're best going for a turbo conversion (ask Tamsin! - she's tried conventionally tuned and turbo A Series before she went for a K).

As an aside, it's a real pleasure to note that we don't rate our cars by their conversion cost or peak bhp... it's all about how much enjoyment we each have from using them.

Finally... I occasionally(!) harp on about the K... but I have a high appreciation for all things Midget, and enjoy seeing and hearing std and tuned A Series examples, plus their owners. For me though, the K was and continues to be a most pleasing upgrade...!

A
Anthony Cutler

If you want more power from an A-series a cheaper option is one of the 7 port heads.

google the ken elder 7 port as for now it seems that is the one to get when it is available.
Keep in mind that Graham Russell is usually not the one to make unfounded power claims......
Onno K

This thread was discussed between 28/02/2013 and 07/03/2013

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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