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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - fibreglass rear clams

Hi all,

Some of you may have read that I'm currently restoring a 1978 midget to get it back on the road. I'm in a bit of a pickle regarding my rear end though...

Both rear wings were rotten, as is the rear valance and the rear scuttle panel if you were. So I'm going to need to replace all of them, either with new metal or fibreglass.

I'd like to fit a complete fibreglass rear end if I could, as it would save time and save a bit of weight. But the issue I have is that I have a square arch model, but all the rear ends that I can see are round arch. Will this be a problem?

If anyone has a fibreglass rear could you please let me know who made it and your opinion of fit & finish.

Many Thanks


Daniel
D R S Elias

We have a 'Smith & Deakin' lightweight one piece glass rear end on the racer.

Finish was superb but fitting did take a certain amount of 'jiggery pokery' to get it bonded in place (and the devious use of 4 coach bolts).

It was a lot of work glassing it in so I'm not sure it would be the ideal answer on a road car.
Deborah Evans

I have a one piece glass Peter may rear end on my 1500, took a bit of the same jiggery pokery as Debs (but minus the coach bolts!!) but it is a road car and has been on for 3 years now with no issues.

The round wheel arches are a godsend if you have wider than standard tyres and drive with a bit of vigour!!

Here's a pic after the outer panels were removed (takes a bit of time to split the back end spot welds from the upper rim of the chassis!)


D Prince

Fibre glass backend in place, with a new door skin. You may also notice the hole for the numberplate, this is not standard on the Peter May rear end I added this as I have an LED backlit numberplate. I also decided to shorten the fuel filler pipe and keep it inside the boot so I didn't need to cut a new hole in my pristine new back end. I personally think it looks better!


D Prince

Finally all fitted and painted up :)

Hope this helps with your decision making!


D Prince

Does the FB back end affect the strength of the car much? I'd guess that steel panels will be stronger, but does it have much impact on a 1500 shell?
S Overy

The steel panels are most definately stronger, however in my experience the torsional ridgidity has not been affected too much.

Having said that I wouldn't want a heavy rear end impact, I am currently looking at running two roll cage bars from halfway up the roll bar on either side to the chassis rails to which the bumpers were mounted. This will hopefully add some extra strength and protection as it is a road car.
D Prince

So that is a one-piece front tilt bonnet as well? Interesting venting holes. How are they working out for you?
David "mr curiosity" Lieb
David Lieb

I'm pretty much 100% there now on going for the fibreglass panel. I'm just seeing what my contact at SC can get on price before I decide where to order.

Just got to get the rest of the shell solid enough to mount to...

Many Thanks


Daniel
D R S Elias

The inner rear arches are different on RWA and SWA cars - you lose a good deal of the strength of the rear of the car if you butcher the SWA inner arches (the formed lip provides stiffness) When I built my first race car I welded new RWA inner arches onto the shell before I bonded on the one one piece fibre glass rear - I recall they weren't cheap...
James B

Well the rear end on mine is going to need new inner wings on both sides (the edge that joins the outer wing has gone on both) the rest of the inner arches are alright, and will probably strip back & seam seal before fitting the fibreglass.

Having it as a project means I can cut the panels one weekend, prep in the evenings during the week and then carry on the fitting the following weekend.
D R S Elias

James - you are correct about the rear inner arches mine were strengthend by additional bracing plates being welded in specific locations, unfortunately I don't have images of these.

David - You are also correct about the 1 piece front end, the ventilation holes have helped with footwell temperatures mainly, keeping the temperatures down in the cabin area when the hardtop is in place! The tuned engine I had in place previously never had any overheating issues I hope the new engine won't. I should find out in a couple of weeks when the conversion is complete, I just require to fabricate an exhaust header and it should be good to go!


D Prince

This thread was discussed between 18/04/2011 and 24/04/2011

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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