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MG MGB Technical - MGB or Midget?

Can someone tell me how to distinguish between an MGB and a midget? I just bought one and had assumed it was a midget but after I looked at pics of MGB's it looks like them too. It's a 1977 roadster and has a 110 cubic inch engine. Thanks!
Layne

Are you kiddin, the Midget wasn't named that for nothing.
One distinctive mark is the fact that the sills on a Midget run upward towards the front of the car. On an MGB the sills disappear behind the front fenders. look closely on the prictures and spot the differences.

C. J. Gaasbeek

Hey, guess what it was right there on the sticker in the door jamb. I have an MGB. So the midget is a lot smaller? As you'll see I know nothing about MG's I just bought this one on a whim, I'm loving it so far! Now I have to order another Hayne's manual, darn.
Layne

If you had a Midget, you'd have the dashboard in your face when you sat behind the wheel . . . B's are the "big" cars!
Kim de B

I would guess Midgets are rare in Texas ....nobody over 5'8" or with inside leg length or waist 28" can fit comfortably in the driving seat of a Midget.

Mike (who moved from Midget to MGB for this reason, no prizes for guessing which measurement exceeded spec.)
Michael barnfather

Layne - Don't you get some kind of registration or title document with the car giving the model? Just as an aside, if you can find your chassis number, you can get a "Heritage Certificate" that will tell you the exact date your car was built and all its manufacturing details. And welcome to the MG world!
Ian R

A '77 Midget would be proudly displaying its name in chrome letters on both sides of the sills.

T.K.

The front is completely different. Does it have a roof? does it say MGB anywhere?

If in doubt look for pictures on the internet under 'midget' and 'MGB'.
Ben Mitchell

The engine size is also an indicator. 110 Cu In = 1800 CC, the size of an MGB engine. Midgets of that year had 1500 CC engines or 91 Cu In. Either way, welcome.
Bill Boorse

Mike Barnfather, I made a new friend at Silverstone. He is from N.Ireland and drives a Midget which he and his wife had driven over to the meeting. I swear he is not less than 6ft 5inches and says he is perfectly comfortable in the car!!!
Mike H
Mike Howlett

midgets got smaller and smaller throughout the production.....the original sprite and mk2 and midget mk1 didn't even and door trims to give more (about 3" more, which in percentage terms is lots) elbow room.
the last of the line had thicker higher seats as well...Mr Healey was apparently very disappointed with the models 'development'....
rob

To the 2 Mikes:

The 1st Mike does have a point, however, I do remember as a kid in Northern Ireland, these four 6' cops came round one day in a Mini and as they Contorted their way out of the back seat,I asked if they were ok and they said that they were "perfectly comfortable"! So maybe it is just guys from N. Ireland who like confined spaces. By the way, the were in the village because to competing Ice Cream Vans, Barry's Ices and Billy's Ices had drawn their Vans up to each other and where broadsiding each other with 99's over a turf war. As a kid that was they most exciting thing I had ever seen! Only in Ulster!
Kevin Beegle

This thread was discussed on 25/07/2003

MG MGB Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGB Technical BBS is active now.