Preparing the MG for the season
As well as trying to keep the Riley restoration moving I`ve been getting prepared for using my standard MG Midget 1500 in the MG Car Club Luffield speed championship. … This is a series of sprints & hillclimbs open to MG`s of all ages in various classes. Standard, roadgoing modified, fully modified, etc. My MG will compete in the standard car class, up to 1500cc, and be driven to and from events. … The events I intend doing are: Loton Park hillclimb, Curborough sprint, Anglesey sprint, Aintree sprint, Shelsley Walsh hillclimb, Wiscomb Park hillclimb, Harewood hillclimb, Castle Combe sprint.
The Midget is taxed & MOT`d and getting occassional use in these winter months. It will see much more use as the spring arrives. … It is running very well, with mildly tuned suspension & running gear but the engine is a little rattly on start-up and I doubt if it will stand up to competition use. …. As a result, I`m building a better engine ready to go in soon.
The engine in the 1500 midget does not have a good reputation amongst the MG fraternity! The same engine was fitted to later Triumph Spitfires. …. The regulations for the Luffield standard class allow very few modifications. (No gas-flowing, standard camshaft, standard valve size, etc, etc). So not much can be done to improve performance/BHP however, plenty can be done to improve reliability! … The two “must do” mods to help the engine stay in one piece are to fit an oil cooler and to baffle the sump. Keeping the oil temperature down helps with oil pressure, and fitting baffles in the sump prevents the oil surging away from the oil pump pick-up pipe resulting in momentary loss of lubrication on right hand bends. (Did you know that all uk motor racing circuits run clockwise direction? .. Lots of right handers!).
Today I have made a baffle plate in aluminium plate and fitted it to the sump/oil pan. I took the design from a well known tuning book and it is apparently tried & tested. … I have had to drill the sump to fix it into place. I have used a system of fibre washers and bolts with nyloc nuts, to ensure no oil can leak. I will monitor it to make sure it has worked! … If I had used a steel plate I could have spot welded it into place and not needed to drill holes. If I have oil leakage I will weld a plate into a spare sump I have.
The other things that fall within the regs are, fit a tuned, 4 into 2 into 1 exhaust manifold and a good, well set-up, pair of HS4 SU carbs, and good air filters. This should ensure much improved air-flow through the engine and improved power. Remove & blank off the mechanical fuel pump and fit a electric type. Use a cylinder head that gives a 9.5 :1 compression ratio, (some heads were 7.5 :1 compression).
There are a few other little mods/adjustments that fall within the rules. I will touch on these later.
crude looking baffle plate waiting to be fitted.
Baffle plate fitted
Baffled sump fitted
Now for head, etc
Trial fitting exhaust & carbs
Oil cooler kit
Getting back to the Riley, (and the MG Midget!)
I havn`t been completely inactive over the winter & christmas period, but havn`t done any significant pieces of work that inspired me to “blog”. … I have found myself wandering into the garage, (it is attached to the side of the house), and doing little jobs for an hour or so occassionally.
The one thing I have started to do is visualise/plan/experiment with bodywork ideas. I have decided that the project based on a Riley 9 chassis with 12/4 engine should be an “all rounder”. Capable of being used on the road, for trials, rallies & speed events. I want to avoid it being very low with short wheel base, like a racer. I have, therefore, started to “mock-up” a body with space behind the seats for luggage, tools, etc, with a slab tank and a rear mouted spare wheel. … I have found a nice slab tank that appears to fit the bill. However, I think I may need to move a chassis cross member forward so that the space between the back of the seats, (luggage space), is reduced and the spare wheel will be inside the rearmost chassis member rather than overhanging the rear of the chassis. … Everything inside the chassis frame should make for a far more “compact car” with better handling. A second spare wheel could be added so that there is more weight at the back for trialling.
My choice for body frame material is timber. … A series of bulkheads in high quality marine ply, with ash timbers connecting them in the traditional way. … The front bulkhead forms a firewall between engine and driver/passanger compartment, so must be aluminium covered. This will carry fuel pump, fuse box, cut-out, etc. The next bulkhead is where the rear of the bonnet sits, and then a bulkhead that will carry/support the dashboard. … A bulkhead forming the seat backs comes next, followed by a bulkhead that the slab tank sits against. … My pictures show some of these bulkheads cut from thin hardboard for patterns. Sitting these on the chassis allows me to get a picture of how the frame will look, and to take some “lines” through to get the shape before cutting the expensive marine ply.
I have now got as far as cutting two of the bulkheads, and cutting “bed timbers” for them to mount on. … I havn`t yet decided wether to have a doorless body, (skimpy, light & strong), or have small doors ala MG TC, HRG, etc.
Can you tell what it is yet??
Looks a bit like a car now!
Winter strikes. Work stops!
Progress has stalled on the Riley specials for the moment. We have had Christmas and New year festivities to contend with, and the weather has turned very nasty. … We currently have temperatures of 6 degrees below freezing, snow and ice. … Its so cold in the garage I can see my breath.
I`ve managed a few little jobs. .. Reconditioned the brake actuating parts on the Merlin back axle being prepared for the Sprite chassis. These are similar to the wheel cylinders you would find on a more modern car with hydraulic drum brakes. The difference being the Riley ones are mechanically operated by rods. … Reconning these was a matter of completely dismantling, cleaning all parts, greasing all moving parts and ensuring clearances were within reasonable tolerance, and that they operated as they should. Smoothly and without excessive play. … In fact the whole axle has now been cleaned, checked, painted, etc, etc. (Checking the differential and ensuring the right amount of backlash, checking half shafts, oil seals, etc, deserves more of a “write-up”, but mebe later).
Anyway, while I`m at a point of slow progress with the Rileys, I thought I would tell you about my motorsport plans for the 2010 season. (Rileys won`t be finished). …. I`m planning another season of hillclimbs and sprints in the MG Car Club, Luffield Speed Champonship. A great series of events offering the opportunity to compete at such venues as Prescott Hillclimb, Aintree sprint, Silverstone sprint, Harewood Hillclimb, Shelsley Walsh, Curborough Sprint, Loton Park Hillclimb, and many more great venues. …. I will be competing in the Standard car class in a MG Midget 1500, (rubber bumper model).
Now, Midget 1500`s are not a particularly sought after model by classic MG enthusiasts, but to my mind are a decent basis for a MG roadgoing competition car. … Consider this: They tend to be much cheaper than the more sought after chrome bumper 1275cc cars. In standard trim they out-performed the chrome bumper cars, (top speed 102mph against the 96mph CB cars, and acceleratedfaster to 60mph). … If you remove the huge metal girders that are lurking behind the rubber bumpers, power to weight ratio improves dramatically! Lower and stiffen the ride height in line with the earlier CB cars, add a 4 branch exhaust manifold, decent air filters, tune the twin su`s with decent jets and needles and you have a lively car that is within rules and regs for the standard car class. …. A lively competition car that can be used on the road in the summer months. … I try not to be too snobbish about vintage and classic cars. The MG Midget is a very humble car compared to the Rileys. …. But there is really no comparison, (they were built 40 years apart!). The Midget is great fun for little money!
There are a few other mods needed to satisfy scrutineers for competition. Fitting a fire exstinguisher, making sure the bulkhead between engine and driver is fireproof, (no holes, etc), roll bar, tow eyes, etc. But nothing difficult, and mainly sensible safety mods you would want even for general road use.
Anyway, from time to time I may put articles about the midget on this blog just to get away from the Rileys for a change!
MG Midget 1500
Midget 1500 (rubber bumper)
About the Author
Phil Smith is a vintage car enthusiast with many years experience of owning, restoring and using vintage, PVT and classic cars. A longstanding member of The Vintage Sports Car Club (VSCC), The Riley register and The MG Car Club. Makes he has owned include Alvis, Bentley, Lagonda, MG, Talbot and Riley, of course. Now retired, Phil satisfies his 'old motor urges' by competing in the MGCC Luffield Speed series in MG Midgets from the 60's and 70's. This blog will chart his return to vintage/PVT cars.
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E-mail: philsmith432[at]hotmail[dot]com