MG Midget - Am I being stupid in love?!

wingding

Hi All,

So I'm completely punch drunk in love with the mg midget. I really want to buy one but unfortunately apartment living means I don't have a garage. I also cannot afford 2 cars so would need to have it for daily use. I also know nothing about classic cars.

Am I being completely stupid considering buying one?

Would there be alot of costs involved running it. ie. petrol, parts if needed etc.?

Any opinions are greatly appreciated.:)

junkyard

Take one for a drive first, they really are very small. There's more room in a MGBGT.

cormac_byrne

wingding wrote:

Hi All,

So I'm completely punch drunk in love with the mg midget. I really want to buy one but unfortunately apartment living means I don't have a garage. I also cannot afford 2 cars so would need to have it for daily use. I also know nothing about classic cars.

Am I being completely stupid considering buying one?

Would there be alot of costs involved running it. ie. petrol, parts if needed etc.?

Any opinions are greatly appreciated.:)

Would suggest you need a hardtop, if it's not for occasional use and garaged.

You could argue daily use is better than leaving them idle and for bit to seize up etc...

So you know nothing now, but are you prepared to read the Haynes and get your hands dirty?

Join a club, the other members will be most helpful telling you what to do, where to get parts, what garage / mechanic they use

Problem with using only 1 classic as daily driver is that when something does go wrong you can be without car for ages (waitin for parts from UK etc...)

Can you live with being without the car from time to time?

Parts generally not expensive (especially when compared with modern car)
Whether the parts are available at all is the issue with classics.
Shouldn't be a prob with a Midget, there are lots of them in the UK and companies selling parts for them.

The Midget would share lots of parts with similar vintage cars from Austin/Rover/Triumph (BMC - Leyland or whatever)

Don't get one if you aren't prepared to learn how they work.

Many classics are easy to work on compared to modern cars

they have less parts to go wrong
comonents often easier to access
not many specialist tools required

If you don't know what you're doing don't buy a cheap car in need of lots of attention. Buy the one in best condition that you can afford.

Ideally get it looked over by someone who knows what's what, someone who knows classics, not just any mechanic.

If you don't overpay (and you shouldn't buying at this time of year) and you look after it, you can always sell it on if classic motoring is not for you.

Sell it at the start of the summer (more people thinking about them when the weather gets good)

I've driven nothing but classic Triumphs for the last 6 years or so and have no intention of buying a modern car (Road Tax, NCT - no thanks)

At the start my only mechanical knowledge I had was from watching my dad trying to keep various bangers running when I was a kid.

wingding

Thanks guys, I think I'll take the plunge:eek:

Anyone know what you'd expect to pay for a good one?

Little Green Ca

Wingding, I also fancied a Midget but on talking to people that know they heavily recommended an MG BGT to start with as you are getting a lot more car for your money. So I got a BGT, spent as much as I could on a good one (from UK specialist) and got to love it and the classic way of driving. Once I realised it was for me I got rid of the BGT (got back what I paid for it) and got myself a B Roadster.

Cost wise a BGT will not be that much more than a Midget but will be a better option if its not garaged. To start check out some cars here http://www.mgcars.org.uk/formerglory/range.htm This is where I got my two from and both have been excellent cars. He is now selling them through a dealer here as well but if you are serious I would recommend going to visit him in London to really get a good idea of the cars and try a few.

wingding

Thanks for that little green ca.

Is it not an awful lot of hassle getting the car over from the uk? I am planning on going to London soon to visit a friend so it would be an idea.

Also how much does a tank of petrol cost you and how many miles would you get out of it?

Little Green Ca

Wingding, you simply drive to the ferry and bring it over! The paperwork side of things is pretty simple too and it's €50 to bring in a classic car as long as it is over 30 years old.

I get about 150 miles on a 40 litre tank of petrol but this is non rush hour driving so if you were using it daily I don't know what it would be.

Eric318

Yes, get yourself a MGB GT to start with (I also have a MGB Roadster, but I think they are overpriced).

1- join a MG Club, TODAY, NOW!!! This will save you a lot of time and money
2- get the MGOC magazine (free if you join them): it is an absolute bible, with tons of ads (I can scan you some of the classifieds if you give me your email address)
3- dont buy a car before you have seen and tried at least 10 of them. I remember looking at GTs around the £3,000 mark and could not believe some of the rotten stuff dreamers were wanting to sell (I eventually got myself a Jag for £2,000 instead!!)
4- learn how we ALL disguise rust and problems before selling a car
5- get the BEST car you can afford, this is a wise investement for the future. Do NOT think, ah well, I can replace that door and those sills and that engine, eventually... BAD start The ideal car to buy is one that some mad-in-love fellow has just had reshelled, restored for 10 gran over 5 years and is now getting a divorce because his wife cant take it anymore (sounds familiar to any of us here?): you can get that at market price (£5,000 tops for a GT)
6- Have a chat with MG mechanic e.g. Tommy Sheridan in Donabate (he may even something for sale..)

MGBs are great daily drivers (look at me), but GET IT RUST PROOFED (Waxoil, Dinitrol) as soon as you get it. There is a one year old full restoration MGB Roadster on my car park, splendid, the kind that costs £12,000 where everything is new. It is sitting in the rain and it is NOT enjoying it: no trace of rustproofing, what a waste.

One last thing, if you are in love with the car, you WILL make a mistake when you buy it (sounds familiar?). Use your HEAD, not your heart or your d**k to make a purchase

Hey, if you are anywhere near Malahide and you want to chat MGBs (and have a spin) give me a shout, I will happily show you around the car this week end, serious.

I repeat, use your HEAD!

wingding

Thanks for all that Eric. It's nice to see people being so friendly and helpful. I was talking to a cousin who lives in the UK and her boyf is a mechanic and into classics. I think I might get him to look round abit for me and go over and try a few there.

Oh and I won't be using my d**k, as I don't have one, so I should be alright on that front!!:D

Gel

I was in the same dilemma a while back. I took a few midgets for a spin.
I was put off by the fact that they're so light. I hit a pot hole and the car practically bounced onto the other side of the road! Dangerous! So I think you have to question the practicalities of such a small car nowadays with all the massive trucks and 4x4s on the roads not to mention those boy racer idiots. Also there is so much junk out there you need to be very careful. Most of the serious rust issues are not visable on the surface.
Also you have to consider the weather. The hoods on these cars can't deal with the wind and rain we get over here. They're really just dry weather cars. (ever considered a beetle?) I eventually bought an MGB. It's a lovely car has cost me alot of money over 10K and still needs a few bits done. The idea of a classic being a major saving is flawed. For a start, to get a good one you have to pay good money. You would probably get a good 01 or 02 car for the same and what you save in tax and insurance you'll spend on more regular garage bills. I'm on my second classic now and it's cost me not saved me money!
Having said all that I still do love older cars and am glad of the experience.
But if you do buy, buy the very best you can afford. You'll enjoy it more.
Best of Luck!

Eric318

Wingding, humble apologies for assuming that you were a boy

I'd say that if you want to get into Classics and enjoy that, you need to:

- buy a well sorted car, hence pay good money
- OR do most the time consuming yet simple mechanics yourself
- OR have a boyfriend who can do it all for you...

On the money front, I dont quite agree with Gel. A modern car depreciates very quickly: this is the real cost of car ownership. A classic car does not depreciate providing it was bought for the right money AND it is maintained properly.

When I arrived in ireland, I decided to ship with me my 2 1975 Classics instead of buying a car here, simply to save on the road tax...

One added advantage of a Classic is that when (not if) you break down, you dont wait more than 5 minutes before you get help from some keen passerby...

In the meantime, have a look at these ads for lust and drool :

http://www.mgcars.org.uk/cgi-bin/gen5?runprog=mgoc&a=&p=class/index.html

Ideally, you would want to get a post-75 (with Rubber Bumpers) that has been converted to Chrome Bumpers: you get the best of both worlds: an unleaded-ready engine and the classic looks. There is a 1979 in that list that looks pretty good to me...

Have you joined that club yet?

Have fun

Chaz

Did this thread just lose some posts?

wingding

Yeah, I posted something on the 31st which has disappeared. Anyway to summarize I'll probably buy a pretty well sorted car.

I'm actually not too bad at all the boy stuff, although you wouldn't think it to look at me! I don't mind getting my hands dirty (once I can wash them after), in fact I imagine I'd quite enjoy it. Although if there's any guys out there that fancy a girlfriend and would be willing to do it all for me....:p

I'm holding off joining the club until I'm 100% sure I'm gonna go for it. I'm only 95% sure at the moment!

One more thing, do you think I would definately need to get a hard top if it's not gonna be garaged?

cormac_byrne

wingding wrote:

One more thing, do you think I would definately need to get a hard top if it's not gonna be garaged?

I would say yes unless the car will always be parked in a secure location.

Car will be colder and noisier with softop on, particularly at higher speeds and in windy conditions.

Softtop is bound to leak (even hardtop may leak a bit or water may blow over top of windows)

Bit of water from summer showers not to bad, but if car left out in the rain all winter with softtop, the footwells will most likely get soggy etc...

Basing this on experience of Triumph Spitfire, expect Midget to be similar.

Also remember that if you want to take off the hardtop on good days, you need a place to store it. (hallway or shed?)

A fibreglass hardtop will be much lighter to carry than a metal one, important if you need to carry it up steps, fitting a metal hardtop may be a two person job, easier for 1 person to do a fibreglass one.

galwaytt

an early MX-5 would be an infinately better car.........and it doesn't leak. You could pick up a cheap MX for 3500-5000. A 3500 -5000 MG, oth, would be a ball of ****e.............

At least the MX has power steering, (real) brakes, excellent heater, etc. And you can use it every day, no probs. Seeing as you live in an apartment, with no garage, keeping a classic running, and maintaining it at the side of the street, is simply not on.............oh, and they're right about the MG leaks..........

cormac_byrne

galwaytt wrote:

an early MX-5 would be an infinately better car.........and it doesn't leak.

I'm sure what you meant to say was that it will leak less that the MG ;-) ALL softtops leak at some point.

The MX-5 would still need to have a hardtop as it would be an even greater target for the scumbag with the stanley knife than an old MG

galwaytt wrote:

At least the MX has power steering, (real) brakes

power steering and servo brakes are for wusses, use the engine for breaking!
(does make sense to at least have discs on the front though)

Wingding I assume you're not going to go mad and try to drive it like a performance car. These can spin out of control if not driven with respect (speaking from experience here)

Presume you have at least got off street parking (preferably behind gates)

I've had to make do with on street and off street (but no gate) and it's always been a worry. Various problems with kids from neighbouring Corpo estates. (of course new cars aren't immune to this problem, but if you drive anything that attracts attention, you can be a target)

Little Green Ca

Wingding, not sure if by hardtop you meant a removable roof that you can take on or off as described by Cormac or just a normal solid roof car like the MGB GT we are all suggesting you go for!!

I don't have a hardtop for the convertible as all feedback I got was that they are not worth the effort and will leak anyway.

I would still suggest that you go for an MGB GT and maybe look for one with a full length Webasto sunroof which gives (so I am told) the feel of open top driving. I hear they are meant to leak a bit too but no where near as badly as a true softtop would left out all the time.

One last place you should look at for your homework is a site like http://www.mgcars.org.uk/ Register with the site (for free) and you get access to the bulletin board and the archives where pretty much all the your questions have already been asked and answered.

Finally, you sound like ideal girlfriend material what with your classic car passion but as much as I would like to take you up on the offer, I'm not too sure my wife would approve!

Keep hunting and feel free to drop me a line if you have any more questions.

Eric318

I would not bother with the hard top. I also assume (hopefully we have managed to get you to look away from the Midget which is only a toy car really) that you are now looking at a MGB GT as opposed to a MGB Roadster, the latter being more expensive and less practical as an everyday car.

As for keeping a roaster as a daily driver, a good weatherproof cover works well except in extreme winds: I was VERY surprised to find my car "naked" a few times. I still cannot comprehend how wind managed to remove that tight cover several times over.

I never found thieves to be a problem though, with 2 steering locks and a hidden switch. One of the times I had parked the car with the hood down over night, some looser stole my cap, That is all I ever lost to the scums. I just dont leave anything in the car and the radio is 30 years old so nobody bothers.

cormac_byrne

Hey Wingding, I'm not going to jump on the bandwagon and suggest a MGB-GT (my choice would be a Triumph GT6 if it was to be a coupe)

It occurs to me that if you decide the vintage maintenance is too much,
or the hardtop / softtop issue is too mush hassle,
either for weather or security...

...then what you need is a retractable hardtop in a modernish car (1990s)that looks like a classic. Also even has rear seats (if you have small friends)

ie. the Nissan Figaro
http://cars.rte.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=Search&MakeID=20&ModelID=504&Year=1991

afaik it uses mostly Micra parts

Here's some particularly girlie ones




Or as an alternative to a MX-5 (with the usual hardtop Vs softtop prob)
here's car with roof panels than can be stored in the boot and a proper solid rear window. (N.B. not much boot space when roof is in there)

The Suzuki Cappuccino

apart from Roadster you can set it to Targa, T-Bar or full roof configuration
http://www.suzuki-cappuccino.com/a_information/a_cappuccino/cappo_roof_anim.html

Or ignore all of the above and go for a Midget / Sprite, MGB Roadster, Triumph Spitfire, Triumph TR etc... you will get wet, just get used to it and it will break down so join the AA

280Ew123

Wingding,
You're right to be in love with the Midget. They are an absolutely fantastic car. I've had an MGB GT and there's no comparison. The MG is the type of car that makes you excited about driving even if it's only down to the shops.
Generally they are easy to maintain and don't give too much trouble, if they were prone to rotting and breaking down the way people would lead you to believe there wouldn't be so many of them running today.
The one thing I would say about it is to test drive one first, I have a 1970 mark III which I was swapping for a 4 door classic (Kids!!!) the guy was all set to do the deal, had the car checked over etc. He took it for a test drive and freaked out when a he realised someone in a new Mini was looking down at him.
I did use the Midget as my everyday car until I got my hands on an old gas guzzling Merc 280E