1971 MG Midget - 22 Year Build Slideshow

This is a collection of pictures of my build over a very long time. The earliest pictures were taken with an actual film camera.
It's not an exciting video, so only watch if you really like seeing this kind of stuff. There is some narration, but it's not polished.
The best part (as far as I'm concerned) is the first start of the engine. It's the first engine I have ever put together from the smallest part, so I'm proud that it didn't explode.
You will never get your 10 minutes back.
You have been warned.

[@zascars]

It's good to save another one ... we used to live near Abingdon.. and had a shop nearly on the birthplace of your car.... it looks great... we now have a 67 midget we are now restoring... we are only custodians... hopefully the generations that come after us will have the same passion..🙂

[@midgetmakeover]

Thanks for the kind words. I’m sure this car will be around for a long time to come! It’s a pile of fun to drive and work on. Good luck with your Midget.

[@mb56436]

I just sold my 73 midget to some folks who are going to take it to the next level It was the funnest car I’ve ever had! Ran like a top going down the road! I called it my 30/30 car Looks great going down the road at 30 miles an hour from 30 feet! It’s awesome that you took the time to document the journey of restoring your car Once you get to drive that thing, you will be smiling the whole time! The best thing you can do if you haven’t already is to install electronic ignition

[@jplacroix461]

She's a beauty. My 69 Midget was also a covid project. I'm also in Ontario. Nice work on your 71 Midget

[@midgetmakeover]

Very cool! I hope you enjoy your Midget.

[@ronsweeney5898]

Great video. I admire your fortitude. I am 81 and at your age pursued a similar project which took the same time. The essence of this project is the lack f funds to pay for everything. Doing it yourself is farm more rewarding. Well done. p.s. I had a sprite.

[@joeimbesi5361]

True Canadian, using hockey nets to support your wheels! Nice!

[@assetcondition3111]

I bought my 71 the same color after it sat in the garage for 43 years. The owner felt he was too old to work on it so he sold it to me for nearly nothing I dove into it very quickly. The car had no rust but needed Brake hoses and a clutch slave cylinder the previous owner had done everything else including a new tank. I had it up and running with a new head gasket and exhaust valves after five days. Since then, I have re-sprayed it and converted it to original spoke knock off wheels. New top I drive it every day I have put 5000 miles on it since October 23.

[@25view]

thank you for the video .such a beautiful thing to behold . bruce from south africa

[@renevanderlaarse2378]

Nice to see, and the dedication to finish it, i am also bussy with the restoration of a bugeye, also a long time, THXS for sharing your project

[@JohnSmith-tv5ep]

This video just came across my feed. Really spent alota time on it! The Midget looks great, probably wish you would have finished it long ago, so you could enjoy the ride, BUT, looks like you enjoyed the rebuild as well! Good stuff!

[@framerjohn64]

Great job! Fantastic looking car. I'm in early phases of restoring a 1966 Midget. Thanks for sharing your story. It's an inspiration.

[@midgetmakeover]

Thanks for the kind words. Have fun with your 66.

[@_madr]

Well done to you. I have had Midget, GT and BGT. Would love one now as a second car.

[@stevehill5637]

You have done a fantastic job. good on you!

[@midgetmakeover]

Thanks Steve.

[@jimkirby3659]

22 years - wow! I admire your dedication to see it through, and it's turning out great! At 74, I can't take that long to finish restoring my Midget, so if you'll excuse me, I gotta get back to my shop.

[@midgetmakeover]

There were years that saw no work on the car, but once I got past a certain point it was easy to keep going. Good luck with your project.

[@eggybreadplease]

Great to see a MG Midget story, thanks for sharing 👍 I have a 69 MKIII in need of restoration, thanks for the inspiration.

[@midgetmakeover]

It's nice to have a toy car to drive, but also enjoyable to have one that "will drive" sitting in the garage.

[@stephenhenion8304]

These "Little " cars can be a ton of work. You made the commitment!! Congratulations to you for seeing it to completion!

[@midgetmakeover]

A lot of work for sure. Also a great time working in the garage. It feels great to be driving it after so long as well.

[@jameswelsh5672]

Fantastic job and well done for sticking at it for all that time. I am just about to start restoring my 1972 midget. I hope to take only 15 months but will wait and see. Thanks for the video as I need the inspiration to keep going on cold dark nights in the garage although not as cold here in Edinburgh at 5°c. Fabby 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@midgetmakeover]

My car should have been about 15 months. I just spread that out over two decades. The last few months were the most fun as it all went back together.

[@roselh1]

Your car looks very nice. Well done after all these years. I bought my big healey in 1971 while in college. After driving it for about a year and a half it was stored away until 2002 when I finally retrieved it from storage and totally rebuilt it - so I can identify with your experience! Great job.

[@midgetmakeover]

Thank you, It is good to be mostly done, and driving the car.

[@bskopper1]

Great video! I’m on the 4th year with a 76 midget and know exactly what you went through.

[@debbiemorrisson60]

Well done , easy to watch and an interesting story...(njohn)..(Australia).

[@midgetmakeover]

Thank you.

[@martinhibbert1428]

Your rebuild story is so similar to my own journey with my Midget. Bought mine in the early 90’s and driven as my daily driver while I was a student. After a few years I decided the car needed rebuilding, the plan being to replace the body shell with a new Heritage shell, they were cheap back then at less the £2000 bought and painted. Anyway the car was stripped to parts and that’s as far as it got. To cut a very long story short I finally got the car reassembled last year, just missing a few parts to finish off. Planning my first drive this spring.

[@midgetmakeover]

A Heritage shell is only a dream here. It was more a case of cutting off all the rotten metal and replacing with new panels. Also looking forward to the spring. It's -20C here right now, so no driving 50 year old cars at the moment.

[@martinhibbert1428]

@@midgetmakeover That’s cold ! By the time I got around to restoring my car heritage shells were really expensive, so I restored my shell by cutting out the rust and replacing with new panels, then tackled the respray myself. Mild in the UK at the moment +12C. Almost midget driving weather.

[@dcmflydude6320]

Great job

[@Hunter1st]

That is awesome.

[@raedshomegarage1064]

great job

[@AnAmericanCouple]

Ours came from a very similar place. didn't restore it just made it drivable. We have put 40K miles all over the US in our little 73. we started a travel blog about our adventures in it. We recently built a micro teardrop camper to pull behind it instead of tent camping. It's a lot of fun but the 69HP just doesn't cut it in the mountains. We just took it all apart and are converting it to a Miata drivetrain. it has not been easy but hopefully worth it in the long run. See you on the road! Glenn and Jane An American Couple on KZbin

[@midgetmakeover]

Sounds like fun. Mine will likely never see more than a few thousand miles. Good luck with your project.

[@sierrafoxtrotgolf3638]

Great video, thanks for sharing! What a cool little MG. I'm curious, if you were traveling a long distance, how fast could you comfortably run her on the freeways? Thanks in advance. (BTW, the black rockers were a great touch)

[@midgetmakeover]

Thanks for the kind words. It’s most fun to drive on winding back roads. 80 km/hr is about the top speed that I find it to be enjoyable. It will do more than 100km/hr but the engine is screaming at that. Also driving next to a transport truck at 120 is not much fun.

[@JerryMotorsport]

Crikey those A-arm mounts were pretty bad. Pretty scarey when I dicovered our car had a cracked A-arm. Nice restoration and well done for getting it finished during Covid.

[@midgetmakeover]

They were totally shot! I'm sure someone could have rebuilt them, but new ones were reasonably priced. With new bushings, kingpins, and bearings things up front are nice and tight.

[@altraspirit4593]

So what did you do about the rust spots? I just bought a 1971 MG midget from the Ontario area and naturally it’s a little rusty.

[@midgetmakeover]

The rust was replaced with new metal. Either replacement panels from Moss, or fabricated smaller parts. Good luck with your project. You will enjoy driving the car.

[@AndrewLale]

Er… we don’t get to see it driving?

[@midgetmakeover]

That’s fair. There is a bit in the next video, but I’ll post a longer drive/walk-around video when the weather gets warm. Thanks for watching.

[@bufferbrown]

That colour has gone out of fashion now!

[@stephenhenion8304]

Sorry buddy, ur incorrect

[@jeffhildreth9244]

Not with discerning folks.