MIDGIE'S WEB SITE

Midgie was born September of 1973 making her a 1974 model. From what I can tell she's been a Southern girl all her life. Unfortunately, she's had a hard life the last few years. At some point in time a mishap occurred and damaged the driver side door. Time took it's toll on the hood and the edge started to rust along with the battery tray. She was born Damask Red with a black interior. Somewhere along the way she was painted yellow with what looks like a paint roller.

One day while pulling away from a stop sign the number four connecting rod bottom fell off. The connecting rod disengaged from the crankshaft journal and jammed between the cylinder wall and the crankshaft locking the motor. It was sometime after this tragedy occurred that she was sold.

The next owner purchased her on the intent of restoring her. A little car like a Midget is a deceiving thing. When one starts pulling parts off a Midget the space needed grows to a tremendous amount. This owner took the engine and transmisson out and dismantled the engine for a look at the damage. The number four connecting rod big end looks like it was put in a vice.

The bottom end of the connecting rod fell off into the oil pan untouched. The crankshaft showed signs of overheating and number four crank journal is badly scored. A replacement was purchased, along with another connecting rod.

The previous owner decided he couldn't stand looking at the yellow paint any longer and started working on the body. A replacement driver door and bonnet were fitted, as well as a good used trunk lid. The body was sanded down to bare metal and sprayed in gray primer. It was sometime after this that the previous owner decided to let her go. I guess she was taking up too much space in the garage, outbuilding, and everywhere else Midget parts could go.

When I originally saw the advertisement it was listed as a parts car. After all the junk I'd see for a few thousand dollars more I was really expecting a scrapyard candidate. A call to the owner was the typical floors are good, everything's good, just needs putting back together. I've heard this one before. The owner though was true to his word. I couldn't believe how straight the car looked. Body panels looked smooth, rockers were in good shape, and floor pans looked good too. A pass with a magnet revealed that it was solid. The engine was still in pieces and the rest of the car was on shelves or an outbuilding. I agreed to buy the car that night.

Karen and I returned that weekend with our trailer and loaded her on. There were quite a number of parts that we had to put in boxes to haul home. Somehow though we managed to get everything home without a mishap. I sat around the car for the next week looking over the body. I was pleased with my purchase. It was a good starting point compared to the other cars I'd looked at for the past year. Now it was time to put her back together.

My goal with Midgie is to make her better than new. A new paint job, new modern sound deadening materials, engine rebuild, and a five speed transmision conversion. I could have purchased a Miata and been done with it I suppose. I've owned one in my lifetime. There's just something about owning a MG. It has a character (and sometimes a mind) all it's own.