Moss Motors, Ltd

Purchased a '72 Midget. Did not run. No compression in #2 or #3 cylinders. Guessed it was a blown head gasket. Guessed right! Replaced head gasket. Started on first crank!

Now the problems: 1) Idles too fast - 1500-2000 rpm's. Fixed a vacuum leak and rpm's down to 1000-1500 rpm's (still too fast), 2) I want to do a tune up - should I buy the distributor cap that matches what's on now (side entry wires) or can I buy the one with the top entry for the wires? 3) no turn signals, 4) vibration and rattle in first gear at high rpm's (2nd 3rd and 4th are fine).

 Any help is appreciated.

 

 

Good luck with your car and good job on the gasket! 

You reall want to buy a manual for that car. It will be the best investment you can make.

It will tell you how to adjust the carbs (idle speed & mixture), It will have the schematic for finding the directional problem, and it will have the specs for dwell & timing. As far as the first gear vibration, heck....just don't use it! (just kidding).

Get the manual, you'll be very glad that you did!

 

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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

Hi There,

Glad You got the old girl up and running! As for the rpm 1000-1500 is not bad especially in cold weather. Unless You replace the throttle shafts and throttle plates the rpm won't be spot on. Take it from Me I rebuild My SU's five years ago and never had a "set" idle. Because I didn't replace the rear SU throttle plate. At the time I knew the was a very small gap between the rear opening of the Su and the plate. Anyway, the most common leak is around the shafts right by the float bowls. Luckily I have a small air leak that cause my rpm to change at idle stops. Although the SUs do have air leaks (vacuum leaks) she is not overheating or misfiring at high rpms but, If I try to set the rpm below 950 the engine starts to weaken and almost cut out.

 I am to lazy to fix the problem so in the winter I set the Sus at 1200-1400 and in the summer 975-1150. You want higher rpms in the winter because of the thick cold 20w50 oil to warm up and the engine to run at a stable speed.

 On to the side entry cap the only reason I can see why 1275cc engine in Midget had side entry caps maybe because the distributor cap is so close to the inner finder wall. A top entry cap might rub the wires and the wires would not fit right. The side entry cap is a bit time consuming and it is best to remove the cap and wires form the car(marke the wires). You will need a very small flat head screw driver and cut the SMALL end off the three wires NOT the coil wire. The new cap should come with new needle like wire hold screws. If not You can use some light sand paper to remove any light rust on the treads.

Ok Mg's are not the high rpm racing type spots car. And shifting a four cylinder is not that lengthy. Pre 74 midget had no synchromesh of the first and reverse gear so You will get some vibration and whining noise from first gear. First and second gear in a midget is not your speed gears third is Your "Catch up to the old lady in the crown Vic" gear and fourth is just fourth LOL. Well enough said You will enjoy the old girl these cars bring smiles to every one's face and they are like nothing else on the road! hope this helps.....

 

James

 

 

 

  

Thanks for all the info. Sounds like I'm not too far away from getting this one on the road... at least as far as my brother's house. He promised me that if I can get it there, he will paint it for me........yeah I can see it now - Brit racing green? Fire engine red? Where's my Moss catalog!?

 

 

Another reason for the side-entry caps is that on the home market RHD models the steering column is RIGHT there.

 

First gear is ONLY to get moving. You should NEVER be doing high RPM in first.

 

WD40 or similar sprayed around the intake system is useful for finding stray vacuum leaks.

 

Turn signals have several gotchas. The relay is under the bonnet, the one in the console is for the flashers.

The circuits go through the flasher switch, so if the flasher switch is not making a good contact, the signals will not function. Work the hazard switch back and forth a few times. The switch can be disassembled and re-furbished, but be sure to take a picture before you disconnect the wires and as soon as the switch is open; you will not regret it, especially since there were three or four "standards" for this in a three-year period. Do the flashers function? If so, it is probably one of these two issues. If the flashers do not work, it is probably a bullet connector at the righthand end of the dash where the dash wiring loom meets the rear wiring loom and the front wiring loom. There are many bullet connectors right up under the dash (yes, inside the glove box). Your car (like mine) is of a vintage when Lucas seemed to be experimenting with alloys used in the sleeve portion of the connector and they tend to be very brittle. It would be worth your while to buy a dozen or two of the 4-wire connectors and replace any that seem suspect. If the wire just slips in, replace it!

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David Lieb

So much good information - gets my blood racing! That's good! That's what keeps me going out to the garage and working on my new "interest". I won't call it my new "toy" (men don't have toys!)........but it sure is alot of fun!

 

 

 

Good work on the head gasket and the rest of the car!  I use a top-entry cap and silicone wires and have no problem with clearance and my car has a generator versus an alternator.  If you go this route, remember to compare the two caps and wire placement before swapping or your firing order may be off.  Davey is absolultely correct...get a shop manual.  I've been using a Haynes for two decades on my Midget but am going to take Motorbill's advice (from elsewhere on this forum) and get a copy of the Bentley re-print of the original Factory Shop Manual.  Regarding transmission, mine is original and still going strong but I heed the advice from earlier in this thread regarding the "nicities" of first gear. I also don't add ANYTHING to the transmission other than Castrol 20-W-50.  I keep my SU's set at 1000 rpm all year long here in Canada as per the manual, but would suggest you read up on tuning prodecdure in the manual, in an SU-specific publication and/or elsewhere in this forum or in the MGB/C forum for ideas.  Trust me, there are tons of opinions regarding "correct" procedure. Something that helped me was replacing all three of the linkage springs that connect to the bottom of the heatshield as well as keeping the linkages well lubricated.  Congratulations on getting your car running.

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Dave H
1971 MG Midget

Speaking of firing order, do NOT forget that these dizzies turn anti-clockwisae, not clockwise like that small-block Chevy you used to tune. The difference comes down to swapping the wires for cylinders 2 and 3 and having your car go  putt bang putt splat. Don't worry, most of us have made this mistake and lived to laugh at ourselves for it.

I agree that the Bentley manual is a tad more authoritative than the Haynes, but the Haynes is still the first line of defense. In the house I read the Haynes, consult the Bentley for a second opinion, then use my Haynes out in the garage to get the job done. The MG-oriented Haynes manuals are far better than many of the later additions like the Miata book. 

 

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David Lieb