Roof repair looks tidy, hopefully will get you through that eventual SRV Texas Flood that always happens when you go out for a run.

Front suspension and brake work looks good, the upper control arm rubber bushes look a bit worn and cracked, are they on the list since you have it all apart, presume there is a lower ball joint that's on a future list or do they look good, since it's been sitting a bit, rubber parts tend to get hard and crack.

Like the Greys you could go in trend with the flat non metallic grey that Toyota et al are using. My choice would be White, car looks a bit bigger in white, reflects the heat, and, doesn't show body imperfections as bad as the darker colors do, so, you don't have to be as super anal about body work

I quite like it in a vintage white, with some clean driving lights up front.
Wife isn't a fan.

I'll have to give the bushes/ball joints another look next time I'm up there. She'll be tight as a drum by the time all of it gets replaced.

Itching to get her on the road.

First drive, only about 10 miles, but she's running well.
Still a few things to sort out before I bring it home
https://photos.app.goo.gl/6QHwrgTdmYG53sM7A

Longer version of the above video
Need to figure out a more secure phone mount
https://photos.app.goo.gl/VJg3BvpDrHrXbgVX9

Got a lot done on Saturday.
Diff fluid drain/fill.
Had to make a special tool for it. Grinded down a 1/2" ratchet extension to fit in the square head female drain & fill bolts.

Trans drain/fill.
Really glad we towed it home when we bought it. Only got a few ounces of fluid out of it. Fill bolt was only finger tight
Topped her up with Redline MT90.

Brakes bled & rear drums adjusted. They were way out of adjustment.
Between the brakes needing bled, rears out of adjustment, and new front calipers it has much improved pedal feel to when we test drove it.

New ignition coil installed, good strong idle now, though it took some effort to get it started after sitting for a couple weeks.
Added about 1/2 tank of gas from my dad's shop supply for his 4-stroke stuff (treated), got her started & took about a 10 mile drive.

It's quicker than I expected it to be. It's not fast, but has no problem accelerating to 70, though it's howling along at about 4k RPM
Steering effort is minimal with the manual rack, nice to find. Definitely want to get a smaller steering wheel for it.
Speedometer is pretty close. Waze checked at 50mph indicated, Waze shows 53
Braking is good, but definitely a bit more pedal effort than a modern/boosted car, but not bad at all.
Need to find a better phone mount solution. The mount I had the phone in is the one we have in both of our cars, and the magnet is sufficient there, clearly not going to work in the Midge.

Have a bit of oil seepage on the driver's side of the oil pan gasket. Need to look into the R&R process on that. Hopefully it's not an engine out job.
My dad is going to drive her to work & see if it'll fit on their alignment rack & get that done.

Excited to get her home & start putting miles on it.
Our town is having a July 4th parade & car show, might enter it. Should be able to get her home by then.

The day started well. Took a warm up run to shake her down a bit.


Loaded up & hit the road


About 30 miles in, stopped at a light & tenp shot up, started bucking when we got a green. Pulled over & was dropping coolant


Going to trailer her the rest of the way. Thinking it's the fan clutch. Good opportunity to go electric.

And, back on the trailer, hopefully for the last time
She was running great otherwise.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: P250UA5,

You going to 86 the rubber bumpers and put the chrome ones on? They were universally detested when the government decreed low impacts were required to protect the stupid pedestrians.

Most definitely. The rear is easy, the front requires recounting the turn signals.

And, after an extremely long day, she's home in a partially enclosed 'garage'

Got the cover on just in time. We got a 10 minute moderate shower. Water beads right off the cover

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Thinking it's the fan clutch. Good opportunity to go electric.

Well, in some potential news here. Seems the contemporary Spitfire & the UK-spec Midget 1500 ran a clutchless fan.
Looked around & going that route is actually the cheapest & least amount of work to do.
Worst case, could add an electric fan on the front in a pusher config.

Just need to do some research & get the proper parts ordered.
Getting rid of the rubber bumpers (curious to weigh them & see how much lighter the car is), guessing that'll cut 50-60 lbs off the car, and open up some of the grille blockage & get some more air into the radiator.

Took the Midget out for a brief spin today, route with no stops other than 2 stop signs in my neighborhood.
Held around 180-190 at a steady 40-50mph cruise.
Temp climbed in the brief stop to back into the driveway.

Fan had no resistance when hot.
Parts are already on the way for a clutchless conversion. Then on to the next thing that needs fixin'.

8yr old came with, her first ride in a convertible, she had a blast, despite the mid 90s heat.

Also glad to see that she cranked up easily after sitting for a week.

The Spridgets are a lot of fun, and easy to work on! I've had a bunch of them, but if I ever decide to again jump into 4-wheel British tomfoolery it will be another bugeye.

2 steps forward, 1 step back.
New water pump & clutchless fan installed, fresh coolant.
Also got the rubber bumpers [shockingly heavy] and grille removed.

Temps were holding in the 175-180 range in stop/go driving, big improvement.





My wife took her first drive in it & after a stop [engine off] the starter didn't disengage [dash interference with the key held it in the start position but it wasn't engaging the flywheel after the engine started].
Maybe a half mile like that & it wouldn't restart, nothing from the starter. Had to bump start it to get it home. Was running fine, but now the starter does nothing from the key.

Going to let it fully cool & see if it is maybe just overheated.

Lucas, the Prince of darkness.

But first, let us get the jokes out of the way to clear out our system for the knowledge to come.

The Lucas corporate motto: “Get home before dark.”
If Lucas made guns, wars would not start.
Lucas holds the patent for the short circuit.
Lucas – Inventor of the intermittent wiper.
Lucas – Inventor of the self-dimming headlamp.
The three position Lucas switch – Dim, Flicker and Off
The Original Anti-Theft Device – Lucas Electrics.
Lucas is an acronym for Loose Unsoldered Connections and Splices

A good history of the firm. And the jokes.

https://mossmotoring.com/princ...rkness-joseph-lucas/

I went through the British car phase of my like a few decades ago so I can sit back and enjoy.

Lol

Need to get the dash interference fixed so the key won't hold on the start position.

Guy on the Midget forum said to try jumping the starter solenoid to see if that triggers the starter.

Went ahead & ordered a starter.
Guy on the MG forum saved me $100 & pointed me to Orielly where they had it for $50

Rubber bumper delete nearly complete, just need to source an earlier year grille
Was able to cobble together a solution to retain the original blinkers & mount them in the holes left behind in the fenders.

It looks cool without the bumpers, and the weight savings has got to be a huge plus! Thanks for the updates, please keep them coming...I'm enjoying watching the progress!

Thanks, I'm chasing an electrical gremlin right now. Otherwise, I'd have driven her to work today.

Replaced the starter & ignition solenoid over the weekend & still not getting it to crank.
I get a solid click from the solenoid, but nada from the starter.

LOL it's like a SF version of Roadkill.....


Car looks good without the DOT bumpers, electrical problems can be daunting, I start at the end and work backwards until I can find power and thus the culprit.