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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Sprigets are parts bin cars

I have now got the engine and box back in the Sprite. I know these cars are roughly based on Minors and A35s and I think this has resulted in a number of compromises which caused me a few problems. These are :-

The hole to access the clutch slave cylinder is virtually useless. To get to it you really need to remove the drivers seat and steering wheel.

The hole for the gear box filler plug needs to be an inch further forward.

Fitting the hose to the bottom of the radiator is a nightmare

The clearance between the crank pulley and the crossmember is just about adequate.

How on earth can you set the timing when the pulley and pointer can only be viewed with a car hoist.

I have owned Minors and A35s and the above were never an issue.

Cheers

Jan T
J Targosz

Yes we all know these are terrible bits of design. This is why I have made the following changes.

* Remote clutch bleed nipple. A spare piece of tube plumbed into the slave, brings the nipple up next to the engine. You can then bleed by pushing the master pushrod.

* Timing pointer - a piece of wire held by one of the timing cover screws, visible from above. Just needs an arrow marked on the pulley.

I use copper grease on the hoses to make them much easier to get on.

Nothing can be done about the crank pulley clearance - worse with a damper as you probably have.

Filling the gearbox has caused much bad language. A socket extension with universal joint helps.

Les Rose

Replacing the gearbox filler plug is easy. Just get a small child (or someone else with small hands) to start the plug in the hole, then tighten it (the plug, not the child) with a socket.

Alternatively, use chewing gum, Blu Tack, etc to hold the plug in the socket while you poke it through the access hole.

Jonathan Severn

When I still had the standard box, I would always fill it through the top where the shift lever goes in. Since you know how much it is supposed to hold, you just add that amount, re-install the shift lever and off you go. Of course this is assuming that the box has been drained. One plus with this is that as it flows down into the lower parts of the box you're lubricating the whole mechanism along the way. It sounds funny but it beats trying to get that filler plug back in, no children get hurt doing it this way.
Martin

All cars, and most of everything else of complex mechanical design, are "parts bin" assemblies. Its how things are developed. Standing on the shoulders of giants. You rarely start from scratch but utilise or adapt assemblies and components that are already in production.

Occasionally, and its often for financial reasons rather than just an engineering oversight, you get these sort of built-in issues, but along the way spridgets inherited all sorts of good design and it is what made for such a successful cheap sports car. As has been said, almost all of the more obviously awkward things can very readily be adapted and there are a number of other modifications that can improve things further. Its one aspect of owning these cars that just adds to the interest and is largely missing or not available to the owner of a 'modern'!
GuyW

Nobody forces anyone to own a Spridget. Or any old car where repairs and servicing aren't a doddle, for that matter.

Yep.loads of things, all of those and more than you describe, could have been better made or thought out. But that may well have made it more expensive to buy in the first place. And remember too, nobody expected people like us to still be farting around with them some 60 years later.

As said, they can be adapted and improved. BUT THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE.

None of the issues described are impossible or insurmountable, just a bit awkward, and most of us here have been there and done that. If 'easy' is desired, alter it. Or adapt yourself. 😁

anamnesis

The mk1 Frogeye Sprite was the world's first mass production "unitary" construction sports car, I believe. So, actually, it was quite innovative in that sense, despite borrowing attached parts from other BMC models.
Bill Bretherton

And, to the extent that they are a parts bin car, so what?

Demonstrably they are an exceptionally successful parts bin car. The proof is the large numbers still on the road, and the number of suppliers and parts still around. Oh how we wish the ORIGINAL parts were still in those bins.
anamnesis

Parts bin cars they maybe, but have been very successful.

And all the parts are still available, in varying degrees of quality, and inexpensive. Try restoring a Porsche 924, parts are much harder to come by, some are simply NLA, all are expensive.

Theres a lot going for our little cars :)
Chris Madge

I doubt ther are many cars that aren't at least part assembled from components from other models.This includes most modern cars. Perhaps nowadays with computer controlled systems, the problems that might occur like accessibility might be resolved to some extent although working on some modern cars you wouldn't think so!

That said, I wouldn't be critical of Jan for raising it. We've all had reason to curse some of the resulting conflicts! It's an interesting topic, at least if it leads on to the multitude of adaptations and fixes that can be done - if you wish.
GuyW

I agree Guy

I have been working on my daughter's X type Jaguar which is sort of based on the Ford Mondeo. The headlights stopped working and its taken 3 hours to find the fault and fix them. Access to some areas was ridiculous saved only by daughters smaller hands. I don't think there has been much learning over the years..........!
Bob Beaumont

Bob, I have been working on our Fiat Punto. Replacing the clutch slave. Talk about parts bin! The part number is listed for a whole host of cars. Not all Italian either! Confusingly, the items listed with the same part number don't all even look the same. I have eventually got the correct one but now having a lot of difficulty in bleeding it.

As with Spridgety ones, the inlet connection and the bleed nipple are very close together at the dead end of the cylinder. Multiple attempts at bleeding doesn't seem to be scavenging the main body of the cylinder itself - just as with the Sprite ones. Learning from that, I tried wedging the slave piston back up the bore and have got a bit of pedal now, but it's still not right.
GuyW

Another thing to remember is that cars like most things are designed to be assembled, not repaired and to a minimum, maintained. Once it's out of the factory it's not their problem.
Martin

In my experience, access varies a lot. I have an 05 Volvo V70 diesel, on which I can change the oil filter (replaceable element) in 10 minutes from a standing position whereas a headlight bulb can take up to an hour.

You often need special tools or some innovative workaround. Trim is one of the worst things - very easy to damage with improper techniques.
Bill Bretherton

Poor access to headlight bulbs is probably the biggest issue on the majority of moderns. There are several where one side is not bad but the other requires half the car to be dismantled first.

Trev
T Mason

Indeed! part of my 3 hours on the Jag was removing ancillaries on one side just to get the bulbs (which weren't blown!).
Bob Beaumont

This thread was discussed between 01/10/2022 and 08/10/2022

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