MG Midget 1330 Sprint engine first time startup - Birth of a Racecar (Episode 51)

Capturing the journey of a MG Midget 1275 RWA from restoration project to participation in the 2022 MG Car Club speed series. This is MG Midget, the birth of a Racecar exploring the highs and lows of classic car restoration and bringing the car upto specification for sprinting, hill climbs and trackdays
In this episode we start the engine for the first time....Will it fire????

[@notwocdivad]

I have been a REAL Mini man for years and have never heard of the 20 minutes bed in time? Also built a pretty quick road car and found I preferred a single SU 1 1/2" to the twin 1 1/4" ! The engine seemed to stay in tune and was easier to tune! Maybe with a racing car you need the absolute last possible MPH that I didn't on the road? I have also timed a Mini the same as you, I thought it was odd when you said you had the no1 piston at TDC with BOTH THE VALVES OPEN, when they should be closed!! Never mind it started and yours is a great series well done and good luck! I'm trying hard not to skip forward but am watching all the episodes in turn!

[@mgmidget-thebirthofaraceca4349]

yep id love to go bigger carbs but the class regs demand std setup so 1-1/4 it is. thanks for the input and thanks for watching. enjoy the rest of the story

[@NatsWorkshop]

Sounds great!

[@mgmidget-thebirthofaraceca4349]

Thankyou! nearly there :-)

[@stephenhenion8304]

You do Really Good Work!!! That motor just wants to GO!🇺🇸🎩🇺🇸

[@mgmidget-thebirthofaraceca4349]

Thanks 👍

[@AnahiltMG]

You said everything is connected but you have not connected the vacuum pipe on the distributor to the carbs or the inlet manifold. The purpose of the vacuum is to alter the ignition timing with engine speed. If you connect it up with the correct vacuum tubing you might find the engine starts more easily and runs better. Most competition Midgets run with distributors that either have no vacuum advance mechanism or like the Aldon ones have the vacuum advance disabled. Non-vacuum distributors have extra advance built into the centrifugal advance mechanism instead. I hope this helps.

[@mgmidget-thebirthofaraceca4349]

Thank Stephen for the input. Im not looking to use the vacuum advance. Now its running ill be getting it on a rolling road and take the advice of the tuner. If i have to change the distributor then itll be done. Really looking forward to that session to unleash the potential of this setup

[@thomastice3475]

Wahooo congrats great to watch the progression. Vids are helping alot with my 1275 midget. Keep up the good work :)

[@mgmidget-thebirthofaraceca4349]

Thanks, will do!

[@cluelessmgmidgetrestoratio6990]

Fantastic my 1500 midget is turning over slowly thinking new battery then

[@mgmidget-thebirthofaraceca4349]

certainly does make a difference if your starter motor is in good condition.

[@jptoro2007]

I have been following your build. Step by step. I am in the same situation. I have one question regarding the 180 degrees distributor adjustment. It is a trap for sure. We are supposed to have the distributor drive in the correct position by positioning the large offset uppermost. I did that but the car is not cranking. When i cranked for the first time I had to install it upside down and it worked. Any thoughts on this ?

[@mgmidget-thebirthofaraceca4349]

Getting the HT leads right was a bit of a mind melt. once you work out which way the rotor arm is rotating though its much easier. as you say hard to get the dizzy wrong as the drive dog is offset so cannot be done wrong

[@jptoro2007]

@@mgmidget-thebirthofaraceca4349 thank you. I will work on it later in the day. I will let u know how it goes.