JustBritish

Yes, unfortunately, due to other projects and constraints I need to sell the MG Midget I bought to restore. Needless to say the hardtop sold quickly, but the rest of the car is still available. This includes a clear title in my name and all the goodies such as original SU carbs and air cleaners, gauges, etc…

Please take a look at my MG’s auction listing.

I just realized that I never published any story on the front page of JustBritish about my current projects. There are links to them over there on the right, but you may never have scanned down. Anyway, I am currently restoring a 1973 MG Midget and behind that waits a 1962 Triumph TR4. Both are pretty far gone and will take a good bit of work, although I personally believe they are not as bad as they look. My wife seems to differ with that opinion – as is normal.

My goal, whatever that is worth, is to have the Midget on the road before year’s end. It may not be perfect, but I would like to be able to drive it. After that, I need to start the slower and more expensive work on the TR4. The general hope is to have it ready to take to the road for its 50th birthday in 2012. This is a car that I really want right, so we will just have to see how that plan goes.

Please give me any input you may have on the cars and stay tuned for updates on the progress. And if you have car or restoration project that you would like me to feature here, drop me a line with the particulars!

Just got this note from a friend so I thought I would pass it along. Note that this car is not mine nor do I know anything more about it than what is listed here. Seems like a great deal to me though! If I didn’t already have two projects cars, plus our normal daily drivers, I would be keeping this one to myself.

It’s finally time! After going back & forth for quite a while, I have decided I have too many cars and not enough time, so I am putting my MG 1100 up for sale. The car is a 4-door 1964 US-spec. model in Connaught Green w/Dove Grey interior. I am the 3rd owner. The first owner used the car from new. The second owner bought it as a parts car for his 1100, then realized it was a much better car than his & stored it until I bought it in 1999.

This car is an excellent candidate for a daily driver, or for a rolling restoration.

The paint is really good. The body needs no structural repair, but has some dings and dents from storage, and does need some repair work on the front valence. The interior, with the exception of the A & B pillar and cantrail trim, which need replacing, is superb. Included in the sale are spare rear seat cushions and door cards. New carpets (from the UK) made to fit. The original green rubber floor mats (& what’s left of the rubber mats that covered the inner sills) are included in the sale.

- New Parts
- Tires (Dunlop – x5)
- Rear wheel cylinders
- Clutch master cylinder
- Clutch slave cylinder
- Fuel line
- Exhaust
- Carpet (dark green)
- Wiring harness (from Autosparks)
- Front brake pads

- Rebuilt parts
- Fuel tank professionally cleaned
- Radiator professionally tested – one small leak repaired
- Boot board and boot side liners (recovered)
- Parcel Shelf recovered
- Front brake calipers
- Wood dash stripped and re-varnished

The engine and gearbox run great, but are not the originals. The carbs are the original ones.

Pictures can be found by click on the image above or by going to the album here.

I’m looking for $2500 or best offer, and am willing to try to help out with delivery/collection arrangements.

I’m also selling my 1971 Rover 2000 TC (one of only 222 made). It’s in extremely good shape – runs well but needs a tune-up, no rust, etc. Not yet advertised because it needs a bath & pictures taken. It’s one of the 222 “Federal” TC’s imported by Rover right before they pulled out of the market in ’71.

The car is in Columbia, South Carolina. Contact Jim Cumberland at fjcumberland@gmail.com for more information.

If you are unfamiliar with the MG 1100, Austin America and other members of the ADO16 family, also known as the BMC 1100s, check out the MG 1100 site, the Austin America register, or the 1100 Club. These are really great cars and in many ways can be considered “grown up” Minis. They share basically the same engine, transmission, and suspension but are a bit bigger and often have a few more creature comforts.

I admit to being more susceptible to Triumph restoration stories these days, but this one is especially nice. What a beautiful TR3 Dennis Morrison has. The story in the Wakefield Wicked Local starts out this way…

Dennis Morrison of Wakefield developed a passion for British Triumph sports cars in high school, and they have been a part of his life ever since. While working at Metcalf & Eddy in Wakefield as the chief financial officer, a co-worker helped make his retirement dream come true. He was given a 1960 Triumph TR3A two years ago that was garaged for about 25 years in Concord. The beat-up car that endured New England winters in a garage that was partially opened became a first place winner last week at the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline.

Read the complete story in “Victory for a Triumph: Classic restored car receives accolades“.

This story from the San Francisco Chronicle….

Richard Haas is a marketing consultant based in the Peninsula. A Bay Area native, he was brought up in the United States, South America and Europe.

I grew up with British motorcycles and cars – BSAs, Triumphs and MGs. My first motorcycle was a 650 side valve BSA with sidecar I bought with an older friend. I remember my Mom’s black MGA fondly, and my first college car was a Sunbeam Alpine.

One day in 1996, my future wife and I were driving past a gas station on Camden Avenue in San Jose when we spotted a green MG Midget with a “for sale” sign. We called the guy who had left it there – it was a repo (thanks to too many traffic tickets), and he wanted $1,600 for it. It looked pretty ratty, but it was all there, down to the tonneau cover and ripped ragtop. He took $1,500 and we drove away in it.

The MG Midget is a classic British sports car that developed a cult following due to its unique styling, small size and association with the “mod” fashions of England in the 1960s. The model was first introduced in 1961 and managed to stay alive until the last few cars trickled off the assembly line in 1980. Despite the cool look of these two-seaters, the Midget was plagued with the mechanical problems that affected so many British cars of the era. In fact, devotees of British cars and motorcycles refer to Joseph Lucas as the “Prince of Darkness,” because of the shoddy electronic components made for the U.K. car industry by the company he founded.

The first thing I noticed was that none of the gauges worked. I popped the hood and started looking around and could see that it had been repainted cheaply in a sort of imitation British Racing Green, with a worn metallic accent to it. I saw a partially painted-over original sticker that read “Negative Earth.” I also looked at the battery, which had been hooked up backwards by some backyard mechanic. I hooked it up properly, and, voila, the gauges all worked again. Other than that, the Midget ran pretty well, despite smoky and noisy exhaust, drippy SU carbs, suspect electrics, hard tires and no brakes.

We took our first extended trip down Highway 1 to Carmel with it and had no problems at all, except for an obvious lack of speed. On the day of our wedding we drove around with a cardboard “just married” sign taped to the luggage rack. A Mexican couple outside of City Hall gave us a rosary for good luck. We hung it from the rearview mirror, and it brings us good mojo to this day.

The Midget has let us down a few times, of course. Several times with my wife driving, it couldn’t make it past Volvo corner in Palo Alto. There was a curse there: We had to have it exorcised by a Swedish priest. Another time Prince of Darkness Joseph Lucas tried to end my days on 237 by igniting the wiring harness. I nearly suffocated with the top up! Luckily, I made it to the side of the road and called AAA after yanking out what was left of the wiring.

My brother and I replaced the motor with a fresher one in an afternoon – gotta love the simplicity of these old vehicles. Another time my brother helped me troubleshoot a cracked distributor cap by phone from San Diego. And I recently stopped by Kragen for some oil, got back in the car, started it, heard a “snap.” I knew right away the original 40-year-old throttle cable had just given up.

The Midget is an ideal vehicle for local trips, because it’s small, economical and I can park it anywhere. It’s not so good for those yard sales, or those long boring trips up and down Interstate 5. It’s best to belong to AAA, and know good nearby car mechanics who specialize in British cars. I don’t think we’ll ever sell it – the car is way too much fun, and we probably wouldn’t get much for it anyway!

Just noticed on Craigslist this morning that there is a 1974 Triumph Spitfire being offered for a good price. I know nothing about this car and have no interest in its sale, so please use the contact info in the ad! The ad says the car is in Charleston, SC, but I have no idea where that phone number goes….

This car is a great fixxer upper. Needs paint and body work has 95% of the parts this is a steal at 800.00 If interested call 1-423-277-9273. Needs some mechanic work. Basically needs to be put together.