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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - What's the worst Job on a Spridget ?

Just a little light relief from the depressing times. What do you regard as the worst job on a Spridget. I have spent the whole afternoon trying to refit the radiator and the job still isn't finished. It is impossible to get the screws started and with the top ones you can only turn the spanner 1/6 of a turn. I suspect there are worse ones though.

Jan T
J Targosz

Jan, worst job is probably a full re-assembly of the door internals. Something to look forward to!

Both Anam and I have modified the radiator fitting. Slightly different arrangements, but basically the same. On mine I fitted studs to the bottom of the rad which locate in rubber bushed holes underneath, so once the top fixing is undone the rad and its cowl just lifts out. The top bolts that you struggle with are replaced with welded studs making the assembly of inner wing bracket, splash panel and rad much easier, and then the nuts are just spun on from the front with a long extension bar through the rad grill.

Hardest part is slackening the bottom hose clamp and pulling that pipe off as it's awkward to reach down to. That apart, radiator removal and refitting is measured in minutes, rather than swear words and pints of blood.
GuyW

For me the worst job is either the one that I'm working on at the time or the next job that I've never done before and it looks difficult! I was pleasantly surprised during my recent engine rebuild to find that some jobs that I was dreading were quite straightforward and satisfying.

Removing and replacing the radiator comes pretty close to the top of the list, you need a good selection of swear words available. My Sprite's radiator is vertical flow, is the cross flow any easier to fit?

Just to compound the annoyance, if you're fitting a new replacement radiator you'll probably find that the top and bottom captive nuts are different on the new rad: one pair is imperial (UNF) and the other is metric, I just can't remember which way round they are.
C Mee

Colin,
to answer your question - no, it's a pita too.
Jeremy MkIII

Mine has always been fitting the bottom radiator hose to the vertical flow rad. The last time I did this it took me over an hour just to slide that @#$%^&* hose onto the radiator.
Martin

Each time I have to refit the bottom hose I wonder how on earth they did it in the factory. I bet they didn't allow an hour per car but I can't see how it could be fitted before mounting the rad in the car or before the engine was installed. Could it have gone in before the suspension was fitted?
C Mee

Fit the hose to the rad before it goes in the car. Put the clip on but only tighten it up sufficient that the hose won't come off but will still twist around. Rotate the hose over to one side and feed it through under the rack and cross rail turning it as you do so and get the rad up into position. Then fit the engine ends of the hose and tighten the clips.

Sound simple? It is!
GuyW

Gents.
The worst job is repairing all the rust after x number of years of use, because in the factory it was fitted with rust traps in a multitude of places.🤣.

2nd worst is perhaps the original radiator fitting, but Guy has already explained how to make that a very simple 10 minute or less job. 😁
anamnesis

Door internals. Hateful things. In the factory they must have been fitted by assembly line fairies.
Chris Madge

Door internals was the first thing that sprung to my mind too.

I always dread setting the tappets, although it's only a 15 minute job, I always find it a chore.

The rest I think is pretty straight forward as long as nothing bites you in the ass. My car is apart so often that nothing has time to seize up!!

Rads on the 1500 are so easy, four bolts and lift it out with the shroud. Is it really that bad on the earlier cars?!

Malc.
Malcolm

Must have imoroved it for the 1500 then. Yep radiator removal/fit is a faff on the earlier cars.

How about removing the distributor drive? --- After you drop in into tbe sump? 🤣 . Get yerself long fingers, or a magnet 😉.
anamnesis

After much thought, I recall that welding the Frogeye's boot floor from the inside was something I would not volunteer to do again.

I am so glad I don't have those door internals that cause you guys such grief!

Les
L B Rose

Paying the bills?!
Stan Kowznofski

A simple job was securing the hood studs to the rear wing. The studs are threaded and you have to get the nut washer and spring washer fitted and the only method that worked for me was a blob of grease on my finger with the 3 components arranged accordingly. I think I lost at least 2 sets of nuts before I was successful the job taking over an hour to secure 1 stud.
Bob Beaumont

Any job I do not have the time, skills, or tools for, or good quality parts!

I agree radiator installation a pain. I also loosely fit the lower hose and jubilee clip to the radiator before refitting the radiator; still requires squashing and twisting this hose.

And dealing with rust.

Having no power or lights in my lockup a mile from home makes jobs more of a challenge.

Cheers
Mike
M Wood

"Having no power or lights in my lockup a mile from home makes jobs more of a challenge."

Yep definitely. I think "challenge" is an understatenent.

Even with modern cordless tools, no power or lights, and being a mile from home is a real bore, and makes things harder and take far longer than they should. I well remember when I had the same situation years ago. Freezing winter days, condensation, no quick snack, can't see properly. I quit the lockup and found it far better in the road outside my house, with an extension lead running down from my bedroom window (1st floor), across the front garden and pavement. Then I moved onto the garden on scaffold boards to stop it sinking.

Now I've got a small garage attatched to my house. My dream would be a BIG garage with a car lift and full workshop facilities. Imagine how much easier even the 'hardest' jobs would be.

Oh, and getting old (or rather, getting age related problems), makes even the simple jobs,-- hard jobs. 🤣
anamnesis

I am about to reassemble both doors in the next week or so....waiting on a box from Moss. I know it is a pain, especially after being apart for ..8? years?

For me I do not enjoy reattaching the driveshaft to the engine...
Steven Conant

I have now found out why fitting the radiator was such a difficult job. The securing nuts should be be fitted to the radiator bracket in small "cages" which allow some movement. At one time these cages had been wrenched off, possibly due to rusted threads and replaced with brazed on nuts. These gave me no latitude for aligning with the bolts. Eventually I drilled out the nuts on the rad and pushed bolts through from the engine side, with nuts under the wheel arches.

To compound my problems though someone in the past had fitted the two angle brackets under the wings to the wrong sides. The one at the drivers' side is bent to allow space for the heater duct. OK a simple job, simply unscrew 3 bolts for each and swop over. That's fine unless you have a Front Line telescopic kit and screws so long they butt up against the Front Line, Poly Bush pivot and stop you removing them.


Cheers to all


Jan T
J Targosz

I have the doors to do in the next month done them before but a real pain.
mark heyworth

There is a magic sequence that makes the whole job a lot easier. The problem is I can never remember exactly what it is. You only get 2 doors to practice on so by the time one has worked it out the job is finished and blood and swear words all used up!
GuyW

Steven, perhaps it would be easier if you attached it to the gearbox instead of the engine (snicker, snicker, I just couldn't resist)! Actually I've never had an issue with that. If the engine / gearbox unit is going in I reach in thru the shifter hole and slide it on before it's all the way back, if I am doing rearend work I just unbolt it and slide it into the tunnel & prop it up with a piece of wood. The only time I remove it is for u-joint replacement but that is very rare.
Stan Kowznofski

One can also lie under the car, hold the propshaft by the front yolk with one hand and reach in at arms length to fit it into the rear of the gearbox. Similar to a vet assisting a cow giving birth - if you are familiar with doing that process!
GuyW

Ok, wrong sort of yoke! Blame predictive text plus no spellchecker alert!

The other difference with the vet process is you don't get a filthy tail flicking you in the face as you do it. Well, not with my Sprite anyway!
GuyW

That's how I do it too Guy. But I've never tried it on acow. Lol
anamnesis

found this may help a little
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o6soNvP-Hw
mark heyworth

My favourite is threading the nuts onto the tailgate adjuster. A simple 30 second job. So one would think. They are directly behind a bracket. Short of grinding my fingers down to fit I can't think of any tool which would work. I'm sure they fitted the nuts onto the studs and then welded the bracket on 🙄😁
B M Le Page

What do you mean, tailgate adjuster?
anamnesis

Probably the boot lock handle, Anam. Two tiny nuts onto studs in the handle base. They are a bit fiddly to assemble. A blob of grease in a small ring spanner does it, and a ratcheting ring is even better!
GuyW

Hi

I should have taken a photo in the first place.

Poor photo but I've arrowed one of the pair of nuts between the bracket for the tailgate adjuster and the body work which hold on the number plate light.

I've literally spent more than an hour on this

You can hold the nut with long nose pliers but then you can't turn it. You can grease the nut into a flat spanner but then you still can't get enough rotation to engage the threads.

Still it gives me an excuse to drink a lot of tea before I use a sledge hammer.



B M Le Page

Ah, there. I can't say I remember having a problem there. I'll have to have a look on mine now to satisfy my curiosity.
anamnesis

Please let me know if you know a way of doing it. The car is a rolling restoration and it will get a temporary Respray because the previous job looks like it was sprayed over grease. The mechanics are great so the Respray will make it acceptable before the tear down to repair the shell properly next summer .

So I'll probably end up leaving it on and masking it.
B M Le Page

Do you mean the number plate light or the adjustabke boot lid retaining catch?

Must confess I don't have a problem with either. The retaining catch bracket has captive nuts behind it. If they are loose on yours, either they have broken free, or in the distant past I may have welded mine in place and forgotten in the last 40 plus years that I did it.

And the number plate light nuts are pretty easy to get to too.

Is your bracket perhaps pushed in too far to the bodywork?





anamnesis

You can just see the captive nut behind my bracket in this picture, taken with the aid of a mirror.


anamnesis

Are you referring to the two Philips head machine screws holding the adjuster bracket whi h in my car go into captive nuts and they were fine.

I'm probably not describing this well, but if it makes things clearer I looked on p66 of the Moss catalogue they are 55, 57 and 58. I abandoned the nyloc because that was impossible and used an ordinary nut.

I'll try to clean it up take the car outside and use the mirror technique to get a better picture a bit later.

B M Le Page

Haha. I was asking which *you* were referring too. Lol

Right. If the philips screws are held by captive nuts, then you must mean the number plate retaining nuts.

No, no problem doing those up on mine.

The bracket that extends vertically from the boot floor, holds the boot lid retaining catch. If it's too close to the bodywork, I can see you would have a problem doing up the nuts that hold the number plate lights. Mine is far enough away to easily get a spanner and my fingers in there. Yours could be bent.

anamnesis

Hah.
My fingers are not bent.
😁

If the bracket is as you say I may need a sledge hammer after all

Next time Im at a show or a meeting I'll look at some others and see why mine were so fiendishly hidden.

Thanks for all the info!
B M Le Page

Brendon,
I've only a hazy memory of such stuff but I have, only, a feeling yours might not be as factory standard, but I might be wrong.

Don't take Moss as gospel (and Haynes or even the factory Workshop Manual) as we all know there's only one good book!
Nigel Atkins

Just remembered another for the list: welding in the footwell area, both internal and external.

I guess it might be OK if the car's up high on a rotisserie, but when it's only up on axle stands it requires a level of contortability that I lost years ago.
C Mee

I did a lot of the internal footwell welding reaching down through the pedal box slot but it was difficult to see what I was actually welding. Grinding off the resulting surplus weld was even worse though!
GuyW

If it gets much more difficult than turning the ignition key these days the job goes on my 'worst job' list.

Took me two hours to refit the stereo box this morning and to fit the stereo wired up with the aerial.

Old age is not my friend.
Bill sdgpM

Is old age friend to anyone?

Time waits for no one.

So don't wait for time.
anamnesis

Plus points for my notebook.

Car still runs beautifully.

Stereo works well.

I'm too deaf to hear the transmission noises I used to 'wonder about' in France.

Especially with the above. :)



And old age beats the alternative hands down.

I intend to have a diagnostics session re: noises 'deep down there' soon and I have a volunteer helper to tackle any such jobs in future, being in a club is a huge boon.


(not a very big Michael Elphick)
Bill sdgpM

"old age beats the alternative hands down"

A good one! Useful to remember that, Bill.
GuyW

"(not a very big Michael Elphick)" Haha Bill.

Where does getting in and out of the car feature on the list?

Jeremy MkIII

Are Michael Elphick and John Thomas related per chance? 😉
anamnesis

As the Spice girls sang, 2 become 1.

Eventually so do old age and the alternative.🤔.

At what old age does that cease to be undesirable? I'm not sure if I really want to be 100+. But at 99, I may have changed my mind. Assuming it still functions as my mind.😅
anamnesis

"At what old age does that cease to be undesirable? I'm not sure if I really want to be 100+. But at 99, I may have changed my mind. Assuming it still functions as my mind.😅"

At that age I will be quite happy to borrow someone else's, just intend to have and enjoy as much of it as I can.

"Where does getting in and out of the car feature on the list?"

I hope to continue sliding up the back of the seat and pushing down on the top corner of the screen to brace my back as I rise gracefully up out of my seat...


maybe

Using the screen requires exact location of the load, push down not pull back'ards.


Ah yer all correct, it ain't not easy...
Bill sdgpM

Not as bad as welding in the footwells but I found a new one today: Getting the nut on a new handbrake cable inside the back end of the transmission tunnel.

It's probably OK if the car's on a lift and you can do it standing up with two hands. Trying to do it lying on the floor with the car on axle stands took me the at least half-an-hour but I got there in the end.

Perhaps it doesn't qualify as a Worst but it's definitely a contender for a Really Annoying!

Picking up on the thread drift: if I had the flexibility I had forty years ago it would probably have taken me only a couple of minutes.
C Mee

Getting the lower trunnion pin out. In the end I part exchanged the wishbone and kingpin together. Not easy getting the wishbone bushes out either. I set fire to them in the end. I protected the carbs with wet rags - very dodgy if not down right dangerous. The frailties of youth.
Paul Hollingworth

" had the flexibility I had forty years ago it would probably have taken me only a couple of minutes."
Had to laugh - just getting the damn thing up in the air (an axle stands), crawling underneath then realising you've forgotten something, takes up half the afternoon. And most of the energy/will to live.
Jeremy MkIII

Anything to do with the dash. Lying on your back trying to get your arms round the steering wheel and up to do any work. And that god damn stupid dual gauge with capillary tube!
John Payne

So so true Jeremy.

It took several days of procrastination to get as far as I did. I've no idea how many times I set off for the garage with the intention of going down under only to spend the time 'working' on something on the bench! At least it should get a bit less awkward now that job's done and I can concentrate on the rear brakes in a more comfortable position.

Thank goodness I'm retired and it's my hobby car and not my daily driver that I need for commuting. It's amazing how easy it is to be busy all day without ever actually accomplishing the job you spent the previous evening planning when it involves lying on the floor underneath the car - or is it just me?
C Mee

Thank goodness I'm retired and it's my hobby car and not my daily driver that I need for commuting. It's amazing how easy it is to be busy all day without ever actually accomplishing the job you spent the previous evening planning when it involves lying on the floor underneath the car - or is it just me?

Yak-shaving to a tee....welcome to my world
David Cox

I think a lot of it is due to gradual waning of the can do attitude of youth. I remember getting home late from work having my tea and then at 9pm deciding I would change the clutch on my Austin 1100 which I needed to get to a 9 am meeting the next morning. What could possibly go wrong! I think I finished about 4am and still got a good night's sleep in before a coffee and off on the 50 mile drive to my meeting.

Now I would spend 3 months thinking about it and wondering if it could be adjusted, 2 months getting the parts, 1 month waiting for the right weather conditions (for an indoor job) and then would need a clear week without interruptions in case something went wrong.
GuyW

Agree with John, under the dash. I'm 5'7" and your arm span is supposed to equal your height. Well, I was blessed with long arms and have a 6 foot span. Handy most of the time except when under the dash. I have to get under there because I loosened one of my tach wires when I was trying to plug in the light for the tach which I loosened when I replaced my ignition/light switch. And at 74 I'm nowhere near as flexible as I used to be. Maybe later today. Or not.
Martin

Guy, your experience with your 1100 clutch took me back.
Come home, eat, out to the car - an Alfa Sud, remove front bumper and grille, find more rust, cut rust out, weld in new metal, replace grille and bumper, go to bed.
Get up in the morning, car doesn't start, push into road, push down road (slight incline fortunately), jump in, drop the clutch and away.
Go to work, come home...
Just remembering it makes me tired.
Jeremy MkIII

Most jobs on the car cost a lot of time as working on cars isnt my daily job.
And being a perfectionist doesnt help either... :)

But a real pita job to me is refitting the windscreen to the bulkhead after replacing the glass.
Problem with this is the the new (quality) rubber between body and screen doesnt realy help... :(
I hate it!!!!
A de Best

That's a good summation Guy. 🙂

These days I plan the jobs (any jobs, not just car related) like a campaign, and expect it to take double the time I plan for. Then it almost always takes me longer lol.

Partly though it's because I no longer deem things to be so urgent, as I always used to.

But when a job really is urgent, I surprise myself, and discover that can do attitude of youth you mention.

anamnesis

Guys post made me laugh. This year one of our 19 year old members decided the night before our organised drive at 0930 to replace the rear springs on his midget starting at 10pm. He then got up early, took the car for an MOT at 0830 and just made it for the 0930 meet !
Chris Madge

This thread was discussed between 29/06/2021 and 10/11/2021

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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