Moss Motors, Ltd

My father was crazy for British cars.  I grew up riding in the back of an Austin A40 with my three other siblings.  I can still vividly remember the smell of leather, burning oil and other odd smells.  We had other assorted Brit cars such as minis, other A40s, Morris Minors, and Mk1 and Mk2 Cortina GTs.

When I was 15, I used to babysit the neighbour's kids. Underneath a pile of crap in the garage was a '67 Midget.  I used to sit in it for hours (when the kids were in bed), and begged my Dad continuously to buy it for the $600 bucks the owner wanted.  Given the number of other vehicles requiring his attention, and the fact my mother would likely offer him the use of another household should he bring another car home - I never got the car.

Warp forward 20 years, and I met my wife.  Her father had two cars: an MGB for him and an '80 Midget he bought at an RCMP auction for his wife.  Luckily, despite putting boards under the seat and blocks on the pedals, Mother-in-Law could not comfortably drive the car.  She's not officially a "Little Person in a Big World", but she still was too small for the Midget....  Father-in-Law took to restoring the car, and handed it to his daughter as a gift.  I have been gradually destroying it ever since.  (Kidding).

The only beef I had with the car was its anemic performance and less than exciting handling.  I am part of the camp that cries at what happened to imports and domestic cars in the early and mid '70s.  That '67 was a surely a more exhilarating drive, so I am in the process of creating a '67-esque Midget. My kids love riding in the Midget, and I'm being bugged on a daily basis to get on with finishing the "Overhaulin'" episode before they get too much older.

Boy this brings back memory. Bought my 74 Midget for parts for a 65 Sprite I bought in GA after seeing a Bugeye he had. I didn't say this would be short. After buying the 74 it was  too  good for parts cars. Repaired it . Was cruising main street met a woman now my wife of 21 years. Local lady seen this car and left me a 75 Midget to fix for her had bad motor. I didn't know what to do with it then. She picked it up. And I forgot it. Was about to go to British Bash car show in Louisville in June and tree limb "approx 3 feet across" fell on garage and car. Well the 75 Midget lady showed up again and wanted to sell it for 500 I did not have. I made payments to her. Fixed the 74 back up. Then got 75 going and got rearended in the 74. Pulled it apart to restore. Met guy with a MG well I bought a 77 MGB got it running. It is now apart for a Ford 2.3 turbo transplant. The 75 is now restored, 77 MGB is in pieces, 74 waiting and not for sale, and 2 more in barn. An shed full of parts. And the nightmare continues now a 2.3 turbo mustang is in yard and second mustang and Jeep Remember only 2 of us and how many car?  

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75 MG Midget restored Original
77 MGB in progess complete rebuild 2.3 liter
turbo,c-4 auto, 7.5 limited slip rearend
89 Mustang wifes daily driver 2.3 turbo
learning on this car for MGB
74 MG Midget next after MGB

In 1986 I was a young soldier based at the Canadian Army base in Chilliwack, BC, about an hour east of Vancouver.  My girlfriend at the time was driving my brand new Nissan truck (of course) and I was looking at a "commuter" car with a budget of around 3 grand.  After looking at one clapped out Honda Civic after the other, I spied a gorgeous freshly-painted red MG Midget on the "Deal Of The Week" ramp at the local Nissan/Datsun dealership that I passed each day on the way to the base.  Coincidentally, the postman had just delivered my copy of Road&Track that contained the multi-page article "Sportscar Deals Under $2500". The Midget was prominently featured (then again, so was the X1/9) and the ball was in play. A couple of days later I was holding the keys to my 1971 MG Midget, a car that was to own me for the next 21 years!  A few years later, the Army sent me and my Midget to Germany and I drove the car all over the southern portion of the Black Forest for the next six years.  All, of course, on secondary roads.  A four-speed Midget with 4.22 gears on the Autobahn is ludicrious at best. Plus the fun of downshifting on narrow cobblestone streets in German villages was way too much fun.  I did stop driving the car long enough over there to have the body restored at a tiny German shop that specialized in British cars.  In 1994 upon release from the military, I took my Midget to Ontario where I drove it for the next three summers and falls.  When it was time to move back to the west coast, the major truck rental company (no names mentioned!) had a car trailer I could add to the truck rental.  Of course, the Midget was too narrow for the ramps on the trailer, so with the addtiton of a 12' x 2" plank next to the aluminum ramp, the Midget drove right up into the back of the truck. With the help of a floor jack to raise first the front and then the back tire over the truck's wheel well, the car was in the front passenger side of the truck box and I built a 3/4" plywood box over it.  The Midget travelled the entire way with furniture and boxes stacked on and around it. After unloading the truck, off came the box and out came the car no worse for wear.  In 99, I had a mechanic friend re-build a 1275 from a wrecked 72 Midget and added silicon bronze valve guides and hardened valve seats.  The engine still runs strong, but after a two-year hiatus in my covered car port, the slave cylinder had seized so currently re-building all of the clutch hydraulics.  Just added an electronic SU fuel pump (I highly recommend it...ticking remains!) and will be fitting the new hood (top) with header rail attached.  Did I mention I've been a very happy Moss customer for 21 years?  I even ordered from them during my years overseas and have always been impressed with the service and the quality of parts. Some things my Midget has taught me are that Moss Motors and aerosol Liquid Wrench are your best friends!  Honestly, I've had more fun with my Midget than all of my other vehicles that I've owned combined.  

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Dave H
1971 MG Midget

I bought a 68 sprite in 1975 out of the paper as my FIRST car because it was all I could afford. In 1977, I  traded it in for $300 on a Mazda GLC and have been kicking myself ever since. Two years ago, "Click and Clack" on public radio were talking about Hemmings Motor News. I went on line and found the another 68 sprite for $2000 in Ohio (850 miles from me).  I called a buddy with a flatbed and we drove out Friday after work, By 2:00AM Sunday, it was in my garage. The picture shows it after the 2 year rebuild...It's a beautiful thing!  Now if I can only get my high school girlfriend back!

 

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On their death bed, nobody ever said, "Gee I wish I'd spent more time at work!"

'68 Sprite 1275
'76 Midget 1500

Working in a parts store and a coworker tells me there is 'this little car' at the trailer park where he lives. The guy that runs the TP says "you can have that li'l piece of s*** if you get rid of the other two - a Fiat 124 and another I can't remember - they went to the local crooked wreckers and I got the Midget - 15 years ago! I have photos I need to scan

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Rob Klyver

Actually... it was the very Midget I've now owned for 13 years that got me in to the Brit sports cars!

A friend of the family at the time was moving from California to Oklahoma and decided he couldn't take the car with him, so my folks bought the car on my behalf (I was only 16 at the time, though had the money for it from summer jobs) for $1500. The rest, as they say, is history.

It had its share of issues, of course... parking brake cable partly seized and stretched beyond usability, inoperative rear brakes, front suspension bushings worn out, top was almost rags, and so on. I drove it through most of the rest of high school, when it finally developed a pretty severe piston-slap problem and a bit of rod-knock to boot. Wound up garaging it and driving my '66 Oldsmobile F-85 for the remainder of my senior year, enabling me to remove the engine and do a complete overhaul on the engine and transmission (first gear synchro was in bad shape and the layshaft was worn). Unfortunately, money was tight, so what was supposed to be a winter project turned into a four-year ordeal of trying to make enough money to finish it. It wasn't until I joined the Air Force in 1999 I had enough money to pay the machine shop for their service and finally reinstall the motor in my little maroon MG. The car sat in my mom's garage for another six years, as I couldn't bring a second car to my first station, and certainly didn't want to take it to my second station in Alaska. Didn't have a garage there, anyway.

Finally, after sitting and collecting dust for almost seven years, I dragged it out of storage and trailered it to Idaho, where I'm stationed now. After a few disabling issues, like a bit of trash lodging itself in the #4 crankpin bearing and the original Z-S carb calling it quits, it finally ran again. Now it serves as a daily driver for my 14-mile commute from my little 3-bed house to base every day, foul weather or good. Most everything is fixed now and it gets splendid mileage, especially compared to the behemoth SUVs I have to dodge on highway 51! Certainly gets is fair share of looks, too!

Guess you can call it a labor of love! I managed to obtain a good 1275 engine for a measly $75 and will be installing it, along with a Rivergate 5-speed conversion and supercharger kit from Moss, in the next few months. Wonder if anyone else has ditched the Triumph 1500 engine for the BMC unit?
 

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It's cold, damp, dark, and drafty with the top up and headlights on... British motoring at its best!

I had always been interested in british cars growing up on my dad's story's about his MGA, then on new years day 2006 my neighbour was over for coffee commenting that a guy down the road wanted to sell his "little red sports car", That was all I needed to find out a bit more about this "little red sports car" - Car had a major overhaul in the mid 90's & has been well cared for, far from perfect, but a solid runner - I got "Midge" a 67 Midget that June & have put over 1800 miles on for the 2006 season and over 3500 miles this past 2007 season - Just rebuilt the clutch master & slave cylinder... and currently trying to figure out the exact mounting location for the new luggage rack.... hopefully an oil cooler for christmas :-)

Jeremy

 

 

 

 

It was 1998, I had just separated from my wife of 25 years and was looking for a way to be young again. I had passed up a damaged Midget in 1974 and always regretted it. I started looking around and found a '72 for sale, rusty in the rockers and on the bonnet, interior shot, not running. A guy from Virginia brought it up to RI to attend the Naval War College in Newport, went off to sea and left it behind. It sat in a garage for a while then went outside. I paid $1200 for it and haven't looked back. I did a very amateur restoration and a MAACO $500 paint job, but she is going well. My sons and I rebuilt the engine 2 years ago and we still enjoy it. They are both in the Marines and looking for project cars of their own. I bought a '74 in 2000,  paid $2000 for it, running, and in much better shape. Made a huge mistake and sold it after restoring it. Looking for a Bugeye now. 

Some people seem to have liked the calendar I finally pulled together, so I am now interested in pulling together a collection of stories about how you came to be involved with Spridgets, about your first Spridget, about a memorable trip in your Spridget, or anything else to do with your Spridget(s). No, I have no plans to make my fortune publishing Spridget books... If it didn't work for Tom C, it wouldn't work for me ;-) I just wanted to do this for the fun of it. Yes, my Google works just fine, but I would prefer to have you post your story here or email it to me, so that there are no issues with permissions and intentions. Pictures to accompany your tale are most welcome, too. I seem to recall having some of the infamous "Spraiku" poems stashed away somewhere, so I will probably include those... plus any new Spridget poems that might be burning their way out of your psyche. Be creative!

Deadline will be about the end of April, but the sooner the better. I will come back and post a link to the final collection and all are welcome to read it, print it, and do anything else but make money off of it. I will be bringing a copy or three to the June celebration in the Ozarks, but I hope to have it available in time for the 50th celebration in England as well as the one in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

I reserve the right to repair spelling errors and egregious grammatical misdeeds, but that is as much as I intend to do to them. If you want me to hack and slash, say so.

 If I can avail myself of the stories in this thread, just let me know. I don't want anyone thinking I stole their material ;)

David "spridget.calendar@gmail.com" Lieb

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David Lieb

Haha thats cool. I got mine at the same age also. My grandfather gave me a 1975 MG Midget "Special". Since then I have been working in my car. Currently I am 16 years old.

A friend talked me into joining the local Brit car club that he is a member of because it is the most active classic sports car club in the area. He has a 79 Midget. I was restoring a 1970 Opel GT (now finished). My daughter came home and said a friend of hers had an old sports car he wanted to sell or scrap. I went and looked at it and decided that although it wasn't a complete car the body was in decent shape for its age and the car was restorable. I offered him $50 and he took it. Knew it was an early Midget but didn't know anything else and the P.O. didn't either as it was given to him for payment in that condition. I researched the VIN and found out that it's a 1963 Midget that someone in the past tried to make look like a 69 Midget. I ended up with my next project before I was ready but couldn't pass it up. I wanted my next project after the Opel to be a Brit car and decided that it would be whatever the best deal at the time was. Figured it would be a B or a Spit but ended up with a Midget. Getting ready to start the resto on it now as the Opel is finished.