1973 MG Midget Body and metal work

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MG Midget Body and metal work

AS PURCHASED:still sitting in front of the P.O.'s house,
where it hasn't moved for two years. Doesn't look to bad
does it. A true '10 footer'. (a visual rule of measurement)

AS PURCHASED: you can see my '78 Spitfire in the background.
Doesn't look like the roof fits too well either. (PPssst! ..it's shrunk
really Badly!) Passenger mirror definitely can't be seen by the
driver.

AS PURCHASED:rear window is fogged over and very sun dried. There
is a seam rip at the drivers side lower edge of the window. (Hhhmmm...
how much rain have we had around here over the last two years....) and
you can't turn the boot handle enough to get it to lock. The license
plate bracket is a rusty hulk, as are the rear bumper brackets.

AS PURCHASED:front marker light needs replacement, Heck, all four
running lights need replacement! The driver's door mirror to low to
be of any use.

AS PURCHASED: The bumpers are pretty grazed. (squiggly lines corroded
throughout the chrome surface) The front license plate bracket is rusted
solid to the bolts that mount it and the bumper is twisted and bent
right behind the plate. The grill is a little bent but should be correctable.

Well I've gutted everything. Finally get to look at the BACK of everything. Oh man,
A-pillars = no rust, fenders = fronts OK, bummer = backs are bubbled. Oh man...Look at this.. the crap laying in the grooves in the trunk... all rusted from the inside, behind that nice new paint. DPO'ed again!

Well.... the paint job is the only thing in REALLY good condition. Its going to be a cold winter working on this one.

Ripping into it

For a reasonable price (for the quality of the chrome) I acquired a nice front bumper on EBay. The guy even sold me a matching condition (better than what was here) set of bumpers.

The old driver's side bumperette was loose. The bolt holding it on is stripped meaning I'll have to cut through it.	The passenger side bumperette is bent and you an see where the body work has been pressed in ever so slightly.
and the new ones	and the new ones
The old front bumper was bent behind the license plate bracket as if some one had tried to straighten the plate by just bending the plate. Again, this plate was rusted in place.	After stripping down all the hardware, sanding it all, mixing and match original and the new Ebay stuff I picked the best of all the brackets and hardware and painted it all black.
the new one is nice and clean.	The little bumperettes (over riders) will get new trim rubber at a latter date.
The newer bumpers went on after the mounts were stripped,sanded and repainted black. I toyed with painting all the mount hardware the same as the body color but I like the contrast and I believe stock they were all black. Well while I was there, I reworked the grill area. I stripped out all the wiring, degreased and cleaned the oil cooler, masked everything off, and repainted everything up in the mouth to match the body work. The front also got new headlamp chrome retainment and trim rings. All new running/turn signal rubber gaskets, and four new complete side running light assemblies.

winshield_tapeongasket1.jpg (11869 bytes)
You're looking at the right side, lower corner of the windshield frame. If you were a Spridget Fuse Block, this is the view of the windshield you would have. The new seals lip likes to almost point in the reverse direction from where it needs to be when installed. The tape gave ma a bigger edge to grab (safely with pliers as well) to pull it out to where it should be when installed.

TECH TIP!
.... I didn't know where
else to put this.

I found an easy way to get the bottom lip of the windshield-frame- to-body gasket pulled out while re-installing the windshield frame.

I ran a piece of duct-tape down the length of the lip, stuck to the under side of the lip ( that is the side that would make contact with the paint when down in place). The width of the duct tape (dark brown in the photo at left) afforded me a 'handle' on which to pull to get the lip turned around and pulled out into position as the frame was lowered into place. Once bolted down the tape pulled off easily by folding it back on itself and pulling it away. The installation turned into a one man job in less than 20 minutes, I had it all in position and bolted down.

While the windshield and dashboard were out, I was able to paint the top of the dash to match the rest of the car. The area between the windshield wiper arms and the edge of the dashboard was still the original Limeflower. Hhmm... without those door quarter windows, put the tonneau cover on, and add a pair of Brooks windscreens ... hhmmm.

The windshield frame was pulled so I could replace the glass to frame seal, as well as the frame post to body seals. Every piece of rubber, leather, cork, and plastic, neoprene, nylon, whatever, has all been replaced on this car.

*Lil' Greenee - 1973 RWA MG Midget*
Greenee's Home	Engine	Interior	Trunk	Suspension		100's of MG Links
Electrical shelf	Exterior	Interior2	Carbs	Item replaced	Spridget specific Links

Lil' Greenee - 1973 RWA MG Midget

MG Midget Body and metal work

Ripping into it

TECH TIP! .... I didn't know where else to put this.

TECH TIP!
.... I didn't know where
else to put this.