My first MG (sort of)

Well, the time has come. I'm finally getting rid of my '97 Honda Accord and moving onto bigger (smaller really) and better things. That being a MkI-III MG Midget. This is sort of my first Midget. A few years back, my dad decided he wanted a Midget and bought a fully disassembled '72 Midget. We got the body and ALL of the parts in many, many carboard boxes. Suprisingly, we put the car and parts into our 1 car garage and still had plenty of room! We planned on it being a summer/weekend restoration project, but my dad was just getting too old to be crawling under cars every weekend, and I didn't have a clue as to what i was doing, being I was about 12 years old.

But 6 years later, I'll be getting a new (to me) MG. My Honda will be paid off in July, and that will go to my brother. I'll have $5,000 to get any car (well...within reason. 18 + Porsche = awful insurance). I was considering a Nissan 240SX to modify, but I'd be spending most of the money in buying the car itself. So I decided i'll go with the Midget and still have money to fix it, if need be. It's small, convertable (which my girlfriend will love), can have a hardtop (for Virginia winters), and it's a classic.

So, my question to you is: Is there anything that I should seriously look out for? What are some common problems of the Midget that I should be aware of? I plan on getting the Hayes manual or the Chilton for the car, instead of having to run all over trying to find a compitent mechanic. Any help would be much appricated. Thanks a bunch!

-Andrew

rust, rust and more rust. it all depends on how much you want to spend on the car, look for a good southern car w/ no rust. if you don't have too much money, it would in my honest opinion, it would be best to look else where. British sports cars are massive money traps(especialy the older they get)

I've had a Midget for 35 years. Its acrued over 500,000 hard miles. I use Kendall MOtor Oil. All of my cars have reached the 400,000 mile mark save for my Subaru which only has 135,000. I have to atribute this longevity to the oil. Wiring and hydralics suck on the "Fidget!" Learn to work on it yourself. If the cars been kept out of the weather rust shouldn't be a big problem. Check the foot wells, rockers and trunk for rust. If it has wire wheels BEWARE!!!! They will leave the car if they are worn. This can be seen by checking the splines. If they are not straight then they will eventually cause trouble. They can't be swapped without changing hubs and rear axle. I love my "Fidget". It the most fun car I've ever had. That's why I still have it!