Fast Facts

• Best model: 1275 models
• Worst model: 1500 Midget
• Budget buy: Early 1098cc cars
• OK for unleaded?: Needs convert/additive
• Will it fit in the garage? (mm): L3490 x W1370
• Spares situation: As good as it gets
• DIY ease?: Morris Minor simplicity
• Club support: Superb
• Appreciating asset?: Yes, but taking time
• Good buy or good-bye?: Former as a starter sports

Cheeky looks have lasted very well but the car can rot like mad so check everywhere for rust and every money saving bodge around

Spartan cockpit is easy, cheap to resto. No sunvisors!

A-Series unit is so well known; Triumph unit is weaker

Ro-Style rims suit car well - don’t go overwide on tyres

Late 60s/early 70s cars are best of the bunch. Sprite name killed off in ‘71 and until recently carried no price premium but this appears to be changing now

Magazine Subscription

Subscribe to Classic Motoring Magazine and save over 20%

Subscribe NOW

Available at all good newsagents including WHSmith

Don’t let anyone tell you that this miniature MG isn’t a real sports car…

As with the Triumph Spitfi re, there are those who reckon the MG Midget (and the rarer Austin-Healey Sprite for that matter) aren’t real sports cars. They are pretend performance tools. And, while it’s true that the Spridget - a charming nickname to group Sprites and Midgets together – used nothing more exotic than Austin A35 hardware with Morris Minor steering, let’s not forget that Colin Chapman hardly used anything more glamorous when he cobbled up the legendary Lotus 7. Quite rightly, one magazine opinioned that if the car is a pretend sports car then it’s a ‘pretend Lotus’. And, without the acronym, and prices, that go with the Lotus badge, too!

History

The MG Midget came about partly because the existing ‘Frogeye’ Sprite was built at the MG factory in Abingdon anyway because wasn’t suitable for the Longbridge production line! It was therefore natural to build an MG version, which was launched in June 1961, alongside the MkII version of the Sprite. Simply a more sober update on the original fun-fi lled Frogeye, the new cars featured fi xed front wings with a separate bonnet, instead of the novel fl ip-up front end on the original Sprite, plus they also boasted a proper boot with its own lid at the stern. The engine was still BMC’s 948cc A-Series, with twin SUs and better breathing, while underneath coil and wishbone type front suspension was employed, along with quarterelliptic leaf springs at the rear. These springs were mounted to the underside of the bodyshell, just behind the front seats, putting quite a strain on the body, with only old-hat lever-arm dampers for company. The new cars still featured the very precise rack-and-pinion steering, though. The next major change came as early as 1962, when the more powerful 1098cc engine was adopted for both models, together with an improved baulk-ring synchromesh gearbox and front disc brakes, to rein in the 56bhp. Enthusiasts dub these models the MK1 1/2 Midget and MK2 1/2 Sprite. The next official mark change didn’t come until the 1964 MkII Midgets and MKIII Sprites. These cars featured worthwhile ‘luxuries’ such as an improved hood, winding windows no less and a revised dashboard. The engine remained the 1098cc unit, but this was strengthened with wider diameter main bearings for a longer service life. The rear suspension saw the original quarter elliptic leaf springs replaced by semis, to improve the coarse ride (sort of), although purists reckon the handling suffered as a result. In 1966, the MKIII Midget and MKIIII Sprites were launched, with a detuned 1275cc version of the Cooper S engine slotted in, jacking up the power considerably to 65bhp. An improved hood design and a bigger cockpit aperture also featured on the Mk3. Arguably, these are now the pick of the crop because you get the classic Midget interior with old-style toggle switches (not the naff plastic ones from the early 70s), plus you’ve got a good hood and the best engine. The 1275cc models were slowly improved during the 60s, with a higher-geared differential from October 1968 on, for more relaxed motorway cruising – well, again, sort of! From October 1969, a new black front grille replaced the more stylish chrome affair (another reason to choose the ‘66-‘68 models instead), plus there were some interior trim changes. In January 1971 the agreement with Healey expired and the Austin Healey Sprite was just called the Austin Sprite, being killed off altogether in July. Thankfully, Midget continued and the ’72 range featured round wheelarches, instead of the previous squared-off type. The advantagehere was that wider wheels could be fi tted to customise the cars if desired. However, this only lasted for a couple of years, before the most radical change to the design occurred, in October 1974. The old-style square arches returned because they made the car better protected against rear impact, as dictated by US legislations, apparantly. But that’s not all, because, as we know, 1974 also marked the ruination of this great little sports car, when horrid rubber bumpers were grafted on front and rear, again for US crash legislation regs, plus the ride height was also increased for the same reason – albeit as crudely and as cheaply as cash-strapped MG could get away with. Big brother MGB also fell foul of the changes, which had a correspondingly negative effect on the handling, although the Midget didn’t suffer as bad as the MGB. But we’re not fi nished yet! Worst
of all, the trusty A-Series was ditched in favour of arch rival Triumph’s 1493cc unit, as fi tted in the Spitfi re, to meet US emission standards. However, it gave slightly less power than in the Spitfi re, due to its installation – just to compound matters and rankle MG devotees perhaps? Finally, Leyland then added a wider ratio Morris Marina gearbox into the mix. It was an MG Midget Jim, but not as we know it, as a certain Mr Spock might say. The Midget always lacked continual development and improvements its in-house rival rom Triumph seemed to have lavished on it, but matters improved a bit when head restraints, inertial seat belts, two speed wipers and a radio console were introduced in 1977, with dual-circuit braking the following year. The last Midget rolled off the production line a year later, in December 1979, a shadow of its former self. Uglier and heavier than the lean and mean eager little sportster of the start of the decade, it was a sad ending to a great little car.

Driving

If you want to savour sports car motoring how it used to be in its most basic form back in the 1960s, then it has to be with a Midget or Sprite. Comparisons with its deadliest rival – the dreaded Triumph Spitfi re – are inevitable, but really it all came down to image and the Midget was generally considered more manly than the sissy Spitfi re! The Canley roadster was the more sophisticated and luxurious. With an Austin- Healey Sprite or the MG Midget you just got the bare essentials, like it or lump it. As compensation you got one of the most fun-fi lled sports car, irrespective of price. ‘What it lacks in ride and comforts, it makes up with outstanding agility and responsive handling’, said Motor when commenting the now unloved 1500 model back in 1975. Whether or not it was because the engine was a Triumph by gad, or those horrid rubber bumpers, but the 1500 was never the best Midget. To this day it remains the cheapest model but, the added torque of the larger engine over the A-Series (it was quoted as the same 65bhp) is noteworthy and gives the MG nippy, if noisy, performance. The recorded 0-60mph in 11.9 seconds was as fast the MGB. Certainly, the Midget suffered less from the raised ride height and de-toxed engine to meet US laws than the MGB and still handled tidily and predictably. So, you want one, but will you fi t in one? The Midget truly lives up to its name in this respect and anybody who is remotely burly built or approaching six foot tall will fi nd it exceedingly cramped in there (you’ll probably to have the seat right back and reclined slightly, to get comfortable, though there is plenty of leg room under the dash). And, make no mistake, the Midget is very noisy; the old gearbox on A-Series models wails like a banshee, while engine and wind din makes the legal limit a test of endurance on all models – but at least you’ll be kept legal!

Prices

The very best, mint condition non Frogeye Sprite or Midget (the AH name is starting to carry some weight on this car) would have to be something special to be worth over £10,000, with most top examples selling for nearer half this. At this price, it’s arguable that restoration of
a basket-case isn’t economically viable, especially if you’re considering a re-shell – unless the car is particularly special to you or like working on classics as much as driving them! Logic would dictate that you buy the best example you can fi nd for around £5000 and just try to keep it that way. Anything under £2000 is likely to be more body fi ller than steel, since rust is the worst enemy of these cars. Like-for-like, thecheapest buys are the post -74 re-engined rubber bumper models. The bumpers look even more ungainly on the Midget than the well sculptured type found on the MGB but, at least the driving experience remained much the same. A good one will be just as much fun as a late ‘60s 1275 model, the most desired and the costliest.

Improvements

There’s heaps you can do to a Spridget and, best of all, there are plenty of cars out there on sale that already have been tuned and improved over the years saving you the time and hassle.The A-Series is super-tunable in the time honoured way and a good 1275cc unit can hit 100bhp reliably, although around 80bhp is more tractable and cheaper to obtain – and more than enough to put a smile on your face. That said, a good number of owners now go another power route and install the later K-Series Rover engine or even a Fiat twin cam, both of which dedicated kits are available. Don’t both trying to fi t a B-Series as the unit is physically larger - some have done it by butchering the rear bulkhead or even by extending the snout. As the Spridget never came with an overdrive option (and that includes the 1500 where the Spitfi re offered it) perhaps the most desirablemod is fitting the five-speed unit from a Ford Sierra, which gives a long legged overdrive gait and more effective intermediate ratios. It costs around £1500 including the ‘box from specialists but is money well spent. The A35-derived chassis can be improved immensely with telescopic dampers at the rear, replacing the old lever-arms, along with an axletramp kit to present the assembly joining you in the passenger seat under power! Don’t go mad on tyre choice though; even MG tuners say that5.5 rims are more than okay for road use with good quality 165/175 tyres. If you intend to keep the car standard, consider investing in an uprated radiator on the 1500, where the reduced rubber bumper ‘mouth’ can lead to cooling problems. If the cabin needs a retrim then you can go all upmarket but we reckon it should be left pure and simple!

Three Of A Kind

Triumph Spitfire

Arch rival to the Spridget, the Triumph Spitfi re outlived it by a couple of years and outsold it in every year they competed, except in 1969. A more refi ned, civilised and arguably prettier car than the Spridget, although not half as macho looking or performing. Most folks will like the more controllable feel against the more skittish Spitfi re. Spares and support is equally excellent and they represent similar top value for money and economy of running, especially with overdrive.

Fiat X/19

What the Spridget (and the Spitfi re) should have evolved in to; mid-engine, exotic design, targo topped. Small wonder that the lovely little Fiat X/19 was dubbed a baby Ferrari. Launched in 1972, it still sets standards for handling and poise and while pace isn’t great it’s more than adequate plus the ‘1500’ cars boast fi ve-speed transmissions. Rot like mad and the hydraulics often play up. And this Italian isn’t as simple, sleep-peasy or as cheap to keep as a Spridget.

MGF

With prices starting from just a couple of grand a later MGF is a far more modern alternative as a starter classic. As modern as the Spridget is dated, the mid-engined, gas-suspended MGF is a really good, underrated car with strong performance and precise yet very userfriendly handling – unusual for a mid-engined design. Cheap to buy but can be a money drainer to keep, while the K-Series engine is notorious for popping head gaskets at £700 a time.