'Mitzi the Midget'
The end of an era - 'Mitzi' the MG Midget was sold on 12th April 2022 - she is going to a good home in Glasgow and I am delighted that she is staying in Scotland.
Mitzi is a MG Midget Mk1 and was 'born' in 1963. This is the very rare disc braked model. She has only has covered just over 40000 miles (documented). In 2007 she had a ground up restoration where every nut and bolt was stripped off. Sadly some panels were too badly rusted to be saved and were replaced with new - most notably the bonnet which was made on an 'English Wheel' proof that quality British craftsmanship is still alive and kicking! Notice that there are no door locks or exterior handles - the world was a gentler place then !!! She is no 'garage queen' or collectors investment - she is driven regularly and driven hard - that's what she was made for!!
The car comes complete with custom made tonneau cover that fits around the roll bar struts, full soft top fits over the roll bar, side screens, bumpers, all over garage cover, trickle charger and various other spares.
She is fast, noisy, thirsty and desperately uncomfortable on a long journey - but GREAT FUN !!!
The photos below were taken at Cuil Bay near Oban.
The eagle eyed enthusiasts will spot that the bumpers are missing - they are in the garage! The wheels are Minilites as the originals were too badly rusted to be saved. She has a Tonneau cover for protecting the red leather from UV damage and a full soft roof which just clears the roll bar but she is never taken out in the rain!!
The photos below were taken at Ganavan Sands near Oban a few years before the ones above - she still had the original wheels and the real experts will notice that the wipers park to the 'wrong' side! The roll bar had been removed for powder coating.
There are many changes from standard -
The original engine was a 948cc with twin inch and a quarter SU carbs.
She now has......
1275cc overbored 'A' series engine - totally rebuilt and runs strong and reliably.
Well tweaked head and a fast road cam shaft - blueprinted and tuftrided crank and shotpeened and hardened conrods. Competition pistons and lightly skimmed block.
Single inch and three quarter SU carb for daily use and a single Weber 45 DCOE (which I never managed to tune to my satisfaction)
LCB manifold and straight through stainless steel exhaust (sounds wonderful!)
Gearbox is standard ratio and was rebuilt will all new bearings and shims - a semi race/heavy clutch feeds the power through.
Brakes are discs at the front and drums at the back all with hard racing pads and shoes - very effective but squeal like a stuck pig!
4 point safety harnesses fitted for driver and passenger along with electrical kill switch and fire extinguisher
Dynamo changed in favour of a 75amp alternator
Bigger radiator fitted and high performance water pump
High volume electrical fuel pump fitted.
She has passed every MOT in the last 10 years - first time !! (She is now MOT exempt)
Performance of the original car - 0-60 if you are lucky with a tail wind - 25 seconds.
Performance now - 0 - 60 takes about 8 seconds. Despite all the tuning the engine still produces good torque, revs freely and is easy to drive.
Miles per gallon - about 25 !!!
Smiles per gallon - millions !!!!