78 Midget brakes assessment

I look at the brakes on an MG Midget, the customer says it takes too muck pedal pressure to stop it and there's a little grinding noise

[@markmoffett6813]

New subscriber , just found you . Love the mechanics and metal work. Looking forward to seeing more , thanks Mark from Maryland

[@ericlawson1362]

Thanks so much! I have owned a 77midget for 30 years now and learned how to fix stuff like this over the years with help from professionals like yourself! Keep up the good work

[@omjolly]

Awesome Rob! This car is just like my 76 Midget. Just moved it from FL to NC. The hills in NC make braking performance or lack of so much more important. Your video was very helpful for a new MG owner / mechanic 8^) Thanks much!

[@mundanestuff]

Good video, thanks for the info and great cars you got there. I have a 77 Midget and will work on the brakes shortly, this video helps for sure.

[@GrahamCobb1]

Thanks Rob, this was super helpful. Finally got my '76 midget (in the same yellow as this one) running again only to find out I had almost zero brakes. Thankfully I was still in the neighborhood when I discovered this issue. Next I'm going to tune the engine and then solve the problem of unbolted seats and old seatbelts.

[@mgbgtguy]

Good to hear somebody is getting something from what I’m putting out here. Good luck on your project

[@santiagoescalambre4738]

@@mgbgtguy yes we always get good stuff from you ROB. WHERE YOU BUY YOUR MG MIDGET 1977 PARTS ANYWAY? thanks Rob

[@mgbgtguy]

@@santiagoescalambre4738 I am a Moss Motors distributor, so I get most of my parts from them

[@santiagoescalambre4738]

@@mgbgtguy correction i am SANTIAGO ESCALAMBRE and i am not MOSS MOTORS DISTRIBUTOR I'm only a Costumer....

[@ntsecrets]

this was neat. I'd say that it looked like a tiny amount of diff fluid was leaking in the rear - you can see some around the studs. May not be an issue, but on mine when I started seeing it, I replaced the seals and bearings all at once. It might just be the O ring that is leaking.

[@mgbgtguy]

It’s pretty rare to not have at least a little wetness on those, I don’t get worried about that little amount, I usually just make sure it’s topped off when doing a service

[@mikemoran8757]

I like this stuff!!

[@mgbgtguy]

I’m glad you like it. There’s a lot more in my back catalog of videos, and you can bet there will be a lot more coming in the future as well 👍🏻

[@leeshaw8923]

Just discovered your channel, it'd be great if you could do more on the Midgets.

[@mgbgtguy]

The number of Midget videos I do , depends on how many come through the shop as I don’t actually own a running example myself

[@leeshaw8923]

Ok Cheers. Great channel anyway.

[@trevorwj]

Nice overview. I do work like this as well. Regarding the rear brakes: I've serviced many cars that have had the rear brake hose swollen shut internally. After I replace it and start bleeding the system i find that the rear brake cylinder leaks. Since Midgets are notoriously cheap cars they often have MUCH neglected maintenance.

[@mgbgtguy]

I find me the rear brake hoses are commonly overlooked on all these old cars. Often I find what looks like the original one on the rear while the fronts have obviously been replaced. So common that I forgot myself to cover it in the video... duh

[@santiagoescalambre4738]

Rob where you get your MGs Parts? I have MG MIDGET 1977 Thanks Rob

[@mgbgtguy]

I get my parts from Moss Motors

[@mundanestuff]

Hi. I'm doing the rear pistons today and for the life of me can't figure out how to remove them. I can't see the edges of the clip and it looks like there isn't a C clip, it looks like the clip is the full way around the piston nub. I hit it with brake clean and a brush and still can't see how to remove it. I'm trying to avoid project creep (like your other video!) And remove the shaft and the bearings and the whole plate. Any clues?

[@mundanestuff]

Just figured out they're OEM. So not an E clip but a wavy washer and a retaining ring?

[@mgbgtguy]

Probably has snap rings on them, or as some refer to them retaining rings. Sometimes the ends aren’t real easy to see as they don’t stick out very far

[@mundanestuff]

@@mgbgtguy yup! You are correct. Looked all the way around , then scrubbed with a wire brush and brake clean and looked again, and there they were. Eye things on the snap ring. So I bought a snap ring pliers dropped them because I couldn't get them to fit, and used a screw driver to remove it, lol. Now just refitting. Trying to figure out this E clip. Should be done tomorrow. Not going to be able to drive the car at Watkins Glen opening day fun laps though.