r/MorrisGarages

Hello everyone, I am helping a family friend fix up his 77 MG midget with a 1.5L. The car has been sitting partially taken apart for 4 years. The guy they had repairing this car disappeared. So I was asked to pick up the pieces. I was told it ran and drove fine 4 years ago. Everything I replaced was because it was damaged or missing. I will list it all below what I had to replace. Now I got it running but it wont rev up (gas pedal does nothing). And it feels, sounds, and smokes like its misfiring. Fuel is indeed reaching the carb (visble throught the clear filter installed. Any help would be appreciated.

List of parts I had to replace:

-spark plugs

-spark plug wires

- cap/rotor

- new battery

- oil change

- carburetor clean/gasket kit

(copied with the author's kind permission from here)

Steering wheel upgrade

After doing so much to make the interior look good I felt that one of the main things that I will look at and feel as I drive the car was looking a bit tired. The steering wheel was the original bakerlite and had chipped paint on the central hub.

I started by stripping off the remaining paint on the central aluminium hub. A quick rub down with some wet and dry and it was ready to by resprayed. 2 Coates of primer and 3 Coates of top coat black gloss and it was looking almost new.

I was looking through a magazine and noticed that MGC steering wheels were covered in leather. These steering wheels were identical to my early three spoke MGB steering wheels.

So after falling down a rabbit hole I realised that I could get a DIY kit to upgrade my steering wheel even though it was only supposed to be for MGCs. When it arrived I was a little apprehensive as it was just a strip of leather, some strong thread and a needle. Oh well here goes nothing and after several hours of head scratching, YouTube video watching and many many knot unpicking I was happy with my new upgrade.

After refitting and a quick drive a found that those MGC owners have been keeping a good secret. It felt so much better and easier to grip.

Easier start

I was beginning to get picky and noticed that my MG was sounding rather sluggish on starting, especially after sitting for a few weeks, even though it was plugged into a trickle charger.

Several evenings later I decided to change the battery from 2 6Vs to a single 12V. Upgrade the starter motor (still the original one) to a high torque starter motor and upgrade the dynamo (still the original one) to an alternator.

MGOC Spares sells a complete kit for the battery conversion so that didn’t end up being as daunting as I originally thought. Although it did take the best part of 3hrs.

The starter motor I got from power spark and was a simple 2 bolt plug and play. To be honest I was worried I must have done it wrong it was that easy. The new one is about ⅔rds the size and half the weight, with twice as much start up speed.

The dynamo conversion to alternator I also got from power spark as they do an alternator in an original dynamo case so the it kept its original look, at first glance. The original dynamo when new would have produced about 22amps, on a good day. The new alternator produces 45amps which would now allow me to run better and maybe support a radio. I also had to change the pulley wheel to get the correct ratio for the alternator to work to its best and change out the voltage regulator to make it all work correctly.

Music On The Go

After upgrading to an alternator I thought it would give me enough power on the go to put in a radio, so that those longer journeys would be a little easier. The big question was which radio. After being anal enough to want to keep it looking original-ish under the bonnet I didn’t want to mess it up and put a modern radio in.

Whilst researching how to do other things a came across a company called Reluxe. They were a new start up producing retro looking radios for older cars but with all the aspects that you find in a new car. It has DAB+/FM radio, Bluetooth connectivity, full Apple & Android CarPlay, usb-a & usb-c charging and can take and make phone calls.

With all that going on I was then left wondering how I could fit speakers that would allow me to hear all that whilst not cutting big holes in any of the internal panels. After a deep dive into how classic car speakers I came across a website called CEN that sold a single 5”x7” speaker that could do the job (RetroSound Premium Single Triax Speaker 5x7 Inch with Bracket RS-UB1KT 60w RMS). This would give me stereo sound through one speaker, which would allow me to put it in the central console in front of the gear stick, which is where a speaker was originally designed to go in the 60s if it ever had one fitted.

As much as I have dabbled in the car’s electrics before, I considered this beyond my abilities, so I got this all fitted by a professional.

As my MG had never had a radio fitted before, this meant that it didn’t have an aerial either. With all the work put in so far and the fact that it had had a new paint job, I was reluctant to go drilling holes in the bodywork. I then discovered a simple DAB/DAB+ aerial at Halfords that was magnet. So I threaded it under the carpets from just in front of the boots (for best signal and to protect it from the wind when I was driving). Who would have thought that a £11.99 magnet aerial would pick up better than a panel fitted or wind screen fitted one (accorded to the fitter).

https://www.reluxedesign.com/index?gad_source=1&ga

Overdrive

Up until the 1970s overdrive was an optional extra along with a heater and several other things on MGBs, one which the original owner of my car never purchased. However, about 2 years ago I managed to track down and buy an original 3 synchro gear box with overdrive for a secondhand MG specialist in Hampshire (Andy Jennings). It then sat in my garage with great intention of swapping it out with my original non-overdrive gear if or when it broke or the clutch needed changing. As time went by I became less and patient for this to happen.

So in June 2026 I bit the bullet and being a great lover of the TV car restoration programme Car SOS, I enquired where they took there gearboxes for restoration and maybe fitting. This lead me to Harding Engineering in Leatherhead. Not knowing the condition of the overdrive gearbox I asked Hardings to work their magic and completely rebuild it and make it like new. Due to it being over the summer holiday period it was 6 weeks before I got the call to bring my car up to have the gearboxes swapped over. This was not a job I had the courage, space, knowledge or skill to do, no matter how many YouTube videos I watched. I asked them to change the clutch and engine and gearbox rubber bush mountings too while they had the engine and gearbox out. It now runs a lot quieter with less revs on long journeys.

https://www.hardyengineering.co.uk/

24-105 f/4 L

i get a good little puddle of gear oil whenever i park my b, only from the tranny tho other than this spot that looks like it’s leaking pretty good what other spots do these tranny leak from?

Clichés de Pinterest.

En miniatures la production de l’usine…superbes autos…

F. Gordon Crosby, the premier motoring artist of The Autocar, was among Cecil Kimber's closest allies when M.G. was gaining strength, and the two had a strong personal friendship as well as a close professional partnership. Indeed, one look into the Abingdon boardroom would make that perfectly clear, as commissioned paintings by Crosby had pride of place on its walls.

Kimber often invited Crosby's opinion into the styling realm too, where Kimber was known to have considerable sway. Abingdon's loyal workforce called him "the boss," after all, something that ruffled William Morris to no end, as he held all the company shares.

In any event Crosby delighted in his ownership of an an exclusive 1930 MG 18/80 Mark II Six, and thought a special bronze tiger radiator mascot would be just the ticket. He had one made in France in chrome plated bronze by Casimir Brau and presented it to Kimber, set on a wooden plinth.

No Jaguar, but a Tigress, you see, and it predated Jag's own now-famous leaping cat by well-nigh nearly a decade.

Publiées sur Pinterest

I'm wondering.. if you're an MG fan, you probably know exactly what this is... but maybe not? Without googling it, how much can you say about this beauty....

Spotted in Oakland, Ca

With decent doors, I could install the outer sills and set the door-sill gaps.

The story--> https://bullfire.net/MGA/MGA-76/MGA-76.html