1966 MG Midget Engine Removal

Today I remove the engine from a 1966 MG Midget to tear it down and find out what might have broke inside it.
Don't forget to visit my website for more updates: www.thisweekwithcars.com
This Week With Cars - Episode 0191
#ClassicCars #MGMidget #MG

[@RichardRuggirello-xr6zo]

My 1979Midget is running rough after sitting all winter. I took this time to change the oil & filter, grease it, bleed the slave cyl. replaced a leaking brake hose and bled them. Gave it a tune up but still runs rough with a slapping noise in or out of gear. This video was a help. Wish me luck.

[@daveshongkongchinachannel]

That's a real teaser to finish there and make us wait for the next part!

[@mundanestuff]

Absolutely. Steve rebuilt an A series engine in one video, made it look like a walk in the park, but in this video, we have to suffer delayed gratification, LOL.

[@FergusPol]

The dent in the sump is there to provide a ledge for the dipstick to rest on.

[@bertiewooster3326]

Leaking oil was a built in feature by the MG company to help prevent rusting in the chassis so don't worry about it oil is cheap.

[@colinritchie1757]

I envy you working on a Midget that's so clean and rust free , unlike the rusty wrecks I worked on in the past , oh and I did that exact same job in the street outside my parents house , in the rain many many years ago!

[@mundanestuff]

I can remember my dad and his racing buddies doing this with Spridgets in the 70s, break something, two guys, a handfull of tools, a steel bar or tree branch, yank the engine in about 15 minutes flat, no one even had to talk, they just set to doing it and before you knew it, you were being yelled at to get out of the way or help lift. Then they would set the engine down in the grass and rebuild it, pop it back in before the sun set and be back to racing the next morning.

[@colinritchie1757]

@@mundanestuff sounds like some of the reprobates I hung around with as well, happy days.. Sniff!

[@nathanchristopher6121]

Boy, me too. My dad had a thing for old fiats and used to drag some sorry POS wrecks from our local junkyard.

[@bertiewooster3326]

@@mundanestuff Yes and then they went to a bar bought 20 drinks for $ 5 then had money left over to take 2 chicks out for a meal and still enough money left to fill the tank and drive home ....those were the days........

[@awboat]

The first time I removed a motor from a Midget was my girlfriends 71. I did it with a friend a 2x4 and a chain.

[@richardparkersmith4810]

God, that brought back some memories! It is 50 years since I took an A series and transmission out. It was from the Spridgets mama, the Austin A35. 948cc out 1098cc in. Woohoo!

[@421CentralIowa]

"You can do this job in about 2 hours." Speak for yourself, ha! Most people take 50 years, get too old, and then you have to go drag their spridget out of a barn.

[@421CentralIowa]

Also my guess is that based on the oil leaking out of the adapter that the orange Fram filter blew up inside, leading to catastrophe. If I'm right, you should make a pledge to use Wix filters forever :)

[@cdjhyoung]

luketrash - the voice of experience I assume? In my youth (about ~19 or so) I bought one of these engines off of a guy. My brother and I carried the engine, intact, from the back of the guy's barn and put it in the trunk of my Dodge Demon. We weren't very big, or bright, but we were pretty strong. As a side note, we're in our late 60's now and we both have bad backs. Can't imagine why.

[@awboat]

One time I was with a friend at Watkins Glen for the 50th Collier Cup and his new wife's Midget blew out her clutch on Saturday's qualifying. They got married Saturday night. The next morning, we replaced the clutch and put it back together. Started it up, and it stalled when pushing the clutch in. ARRRRGGG. So we took the motor out AGAIN and found the clutch given to us by another racer was stamped wrong. SO we flipped it and put it back together and she was able to race the second all-MG race. It took us a little over 2 hours (hung over as shit) to take the motor/tranny out twice. It was kinda of cool since on Sunday morning we were like the only people working on a car like that. We were rock stars. Or something. Worst thing, she never thanked the guy leading the rebuild or me. She got to run the 50th Collier Cup.

[@cjktoo]

First time viewer -- excellent! Not a bunch of filler -- straight to the point. Consider me subscribed!

[@stephenricketts7764]

Ah those were the days, pulling the engine out! You've got me thinking already. It will be interesting to see what the problem is. As someone has already said those engines are quite robust, we shall see. Thanks Steve. 👍

[@bobm2331]

Steve, PLEASE continue with engine diagnosis. Every episode is a day in car school.

[@professortruszkowski]

I can't even describe how thrilled I am to have found this video. I have owned my 77 Midget for 28 years, and for at least the last 10 or so, never once watched such a clear and concise removal of any MG engine. Thanks so much for this! If you ever decided to do the clutch on a Midget, you'd have my eternal gratitude.

[@JBils41]

It’s a different engine on the 77…

[@professortruszkowski]

@@JBils41 yes thanks, I know. I stand by my comment that this is the best MG Midget engine removal video on KZbin. If you have any special tips or insights on the 1500 engine, I’d love to hear them. Thanks again.

[@JBils41]

@@professortruszkowski Ah OK… the process of removing the engine is similar on later cars… but of course some bits are on the other side, and the gearbox and prop shaft fixings are different. I was reacting to your comment about clutches, because the 1500 has a different gearbox, clutch and clutch release system to an A Series car… but there is lots of info out there on these cars, and the Workshop manual is readily available 😊👍

[@vinyl_soul9292]

I would enjoy watching you open the engine and find out what is wrong with it.

[@4418CARLOU]

Great video. More like this.

[@oleukeman]

Looking forward to finding out the problem. Thanks.

[@stephenhenion8304]

The First Rule of King Lucas... if it's not Leaking, it needs Filling. Ty Steve

[@mickduffy]

Brilliant Channel Steve! Thank you.

[@stcorcor]

You are inspiring me to tackle the brake master replacement on my '78 over the winter..thank you for all the great videos!

[@michaelscott4766]

Oh no another cliffhanger.. Great love it..

[@roadlizardcu8664]

Pretty straight forward.

[@QBRX]

Can't wait for next episode.

[@bobmanzi7712]

can not wait to see what it is ,great stuff Steve, thanks

[@MikeAarset]

Your sprite vids are so helpful. Awesome details on taking the engine out. Thanks so much for doing this vid. Can’t wait to see what happened to the engine. Hope it’s not too serious.

[@graemelliott3942]

Thank you Steve! Looks like the spin on oil filter adapter was oily and had drips on it!

[@cdjhyoung]

I'm surprised Steve never mentioned pulling the dip stick to see how much oil he had left, or if he could see any stray metal in the oil.

[@andrewbaird509]

Great stuff Steve 👍

[@oldtanker4860]

Looking forward to seeing the internals. I like seeing rebuilds done and I hope your block and crank are still serviceable.

[@boldorboy08]

look forward to the strip-down. 👍

[@mikehamilton3833]

Anxiously awaiting teardown. Great video, Steve.

[@johnclayden1670]

Damn, Steve, you make it all look so bloody easy! I had one a '66 Midget back in the 60's and could barley change the plugs! I even had to buy the tool for that.

[@AnthonyMolyneux]

Great start Steve. Looking forward now to seeing the outcome. Best wishes from Anthony in England.

[@frankhodges6734]

Regarding my comment on your Midget engine video with regard to silicone grease. You can use the stuff on your hoses too to keep them from sticking and rubbing silicone grease on the aluminium parts that water hoses fit to will stop the ally from rotting.

[@gryfandjane]

So far, so good! I’m looking forward to Part 2. I’m a Midget owner myself, and will probably have to do this some day.

[@rayfunk5659]

Fram filter looks mighty suspicious!

[@mikego18753]

Thumbs up Steve.Two hours. Thanks.

[@TahoeRealm]

Can’t wait for next one - great video!

[@TheFurriestOne]

Not only did the pin for the clutch look worn, I think I saw considerable wear on the eye of the slave-cylinder!

[@mickspencer4171]

Aw Steve, cliff hanger or what mate lol.

[@martinandellie]

love it thx for a great video, brings back many memories

[@alancribb3817]

Really enjoying the video's thank you, sadly I have to pull the engine out of one next week as the gearbox that was sold as 'reconditioned' clearly wasn't :(

[@JBLewis]

That is a monstrous engine hoist! Love it!

[@damiandelapp5490]

What we used to do for a major preventative maintenance was to remove the engine and transmission entirely tie a rope around them and use them as a boat anchors then install Toyota motors and trans or even the little V6’s out of the Caprice’s they never ran better ohh and go through all the electrical…after that they had plenty of power and became reliable,

[@fransterhorst3694]

I found out owning an engine hoist is a very good idea when you have a spridget. it is almost a must. i am very curious about what went wrong with the engine, normally they are quite robust. good luck!

[@dandodds1926]

Fingers crossed that it isnt too badly damaged.

[@tomk4199]

Looking forward to finding out what happened in there!

[@tonysheerness2427]

You have done that before and have got it down to a fine art. The clutch pin is not the only weak link in the clutch, the carbon thrust bearing was also a pain.

[@michaelmadsen4741]

Looking forward to the next episod

[@cdjhyoung]

I'm betting on the oil filter adapter being the source of the oil leak. There were no signs of leaks from either the front or rear seals. No holes in the block or pan. Internal engine damage could be bad if it ran out of oil. Hoping for the best for you that you haven't wiped a bearing or worse.

[@tonybowker2430]

There seems to be an oily bolt hole just above the distributor or am I seeing things?

[@Poundingsand]

From my recollection, there is no need to remove the driveshaft, as the splined end at the trans will simply pull out when you move the engine forward. On reinstallation, I've wrapped a cable around the shaft from the shifter access hole in the tunnel and slipped it back into the trans flange, then pulled the cable out once everything was in place.

[@ThisWeekWithCars]

That is true but I find that doing it the way I am doing it to be easier when reassembling it.

[@Poundingsand]

@@ThisWeekWithCars I may have to try it your way next time! I probably got lucky with my refit, but it seemed to go easily enough, as I recall. At any rate, I'm really curious to see what is causing your leak. Mine (67 Sprite) has the usual oil drip from the rear "seal", and a small dribble from the front. Yours looks to be something else, since the entire pan is soaked...On the other hand, as they say about British cars, "If it ain't leaking oil, it's probably just out of oil." :)

[@awboat]

@@Poundingsand I think of the leaks as rust prevention undercoating

[@ChewyToeNails]

Awesome stuff sir, except that the way you speak reminds me of Colin Robinson (the energy vampire from what we do in the shadows).

[@paulhall170]

Can't wait for part two; at least there isn't a hole in the block!!!

[@wilson42cc]

You should try one of those conversion electric kits ,,we have been hearing about in Australia, they say you can get them for as low as 5,000 au , I was wondering if you had them over there, as they are for the exact situation you have with that car , too keep older restored cars on the road and up to date ,, I really don’t know anything more about them but have been led to believe they are rising in popularity,, keep the videos coming love them,,

[@johna1160]

Engine, trans, and bolt ons looked like they had about twelve miles on them since last overhaul. Curious to see what failed.

[@ChrisWilliams808]

Hi Steve, a 1966 BRG MG Midget was my first car and I worked on it with my dad. My car had clear front turn signal lenses instead of orange on your car, and a front grill that was vertical chrome ribs. Was your car a late '66 perhaps?

[@mundanestuff]

That Midget is gorgeous. A really clean restoration. I have a 77 with the 1500 engine, do you have any that you've removed the emissions from? I have to plug the header where the EGR valve used to go. Previous owner got around to removing the EGR but not to plugging that hole.

[@andrewsnoozy]

More videos like this !! Please

[@wilson42cc]

Do you prefer motors that come out the top , or drop out underneath, I like the top ones myself,

[@strokenumber3]

Something with that oil filter conversion maybe? Bated breath here.

[@Dancing_Alone_wRentals]

Jealous of all the room around that engine. Signed 1967 Mini owner

[@ThisWeekWithCars]

These are much easier to work on.

[@johndavey72]

Hi Steve . You have a little jewel of a Midget there . Did you buy this as is or have you restored it ? You love these !

[@ThisWeekWithCars]

Restored it, you can see what it used to look like when I talk about it in the first Cold Start video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJXTlqymndB3ibM

[@michailokeefeMooMoo]

Is there a part 2. For this car ?

[@johnmoruzzi7236]

Shame you had a failure... hopefully you have the parts to fix it with simple swaps...

[@cartman668222]

lets hope it wasnt just the oil filter loose as thats what I was thinking but Im sure you checked that?

[@ianatkinson8464]

😎👍

[@thomaswebb9705]

I have a Spridget too, Steve - but WHERE OH WHERE is the XJ6 update????

[@ThisWeekWithCars]

Waiting for parts

[@thomaswebb9705]

I live in Illinois - I'll be right there to help! LOL

[@thomaswebb9705]

@@ThisWeekWithCars I have a series 1 XJ6 as well. Bought as a non-runner - so anxious to see how you go. Can't wait formore updates!!!

[@LordSandwichII]

Don't worry too much about it. British cars like to "mark their territory."

[@dougm2745]

Fram filter! They suck! What are you thinking!

[@breezeone3514]

Can you sell me one of those cars

[@jamesdearman814]

more vids

[@majormojo]

Oil on the underside “doesn’t look abnormal for these cars”. :) British cars: can’t keep the oil in, can’t keep the water out…. Cheers

[@cdjhyoung]

Trouble is, the water always ends up in the distributor and shorts everything out.