UPDATE: July 2009 - View page 4 for the latest on the turbo mod project!

2005 - This is my '73 Midget. It was my first car ever back when I was just a young buck freshly liscenced. I drove it all through High School before I garaged it in favor of some real american Muscle, a '66 Mustang. I have since parted ways with my 'Stang and have gotten sucked back into the Midget.  I have since made it a reliable daily driver basically by making it only a Midget in shape. Anything that could be replaced has been or will be. I started by putting the hood on pins at all four corners so it can be fully removed for all work. Anyone who has tried to do engine work on a Midget knows how painful it is to lean over the fender and under the hood of these cars!! Despite the stock A-series 1275cc engine I have added a Weber downdraft carb, an MSD ignition which fires through a Pertronix racing distributor, oil cooler, an aftermarket electric fuel pump, upgraded coil, Accel wires and plugs, removed the smog equipment and mated it up to a Datsun 5-speed tranny thanks to the kit by Morriservice. Other mods in the engine compartment include my own custom made carbon fiber battery tray with battery relocated to the trunk, Pheonix Gold circuit breaker, Rockford Fosgate power distribution block and a custom carbon fiber air cleaner cover for my K&N also made by me. If you look close, you'll notice that the passenger side headlight has been replaced by an air induction unit which is plumbed around the engine compartment which will serve as a ram-air once I finish the carbon fiber work on the new air box. At the other end of the drive train I have what horsepower the 1.3L makes multiplied by a 4.22:1 rear-end. The entire '73 suspension was swapped out for a '67's so I could run the center-locking wire wheels which are wrapped in super-wide low-profile Falkens that keep the car planted in any corner. The front rides on competition springs that are 3" shorter and take the spring rate from 271lbs to 520lbs. Braking is a breeze with the Brembo drilled and slotted rotors and racing comp brake pads/shoes all around. Inside the car I added a roll bar and got rid of all the infamously bad Smiths gauges in favor of Autometer Ultra-lites. I included a Tach, oil pressure, water temp, fuel level, and voltimeter and switched to a solid state voltage regulator and replaced all the senders to keep it all nicely accurate. (This was definitely more than cosmetic since they have already saved my engine twice! Once when the oil plug literally FELL OUT while driving and once when it had an air-lock in the cooling system and nearly boiled over.) Later I will add the matching speedo (need a special adapter) and I also have an air/fuel ratio meter but I still need to retro-fit an O2 sensor into the exhaust. The ultimate goal is to implant a turbocharger from an MG Metro Turbo that I had specially imported from England.  On the inside I stripped the cracked vinyl and foam on the dash and sanded the dash to bare metal before I gave it a coat of clear to keep the rust off. I deleted all the stock switches, covered the holes with blanking plates and wired everything up with toggles and led indicators. I installed carbon fiber pedal covers and I have a MOMO adapter on the way which will finish out the otherwise stripped bare interior nicely. The interior was all scrapped because I built my own custom plexiglass windscreen that is really not much more than a few inches tall and when the weather is nice, the hard top comes off. I had intended to leave the top off and drive it topless in the rain and that's the main reason for stripping the interior but it got to cold and wet. Later I will either pull the vinyl off the old interior panels and then laminate them in carbon fiber, or else I will fabricate the panels out of aluminum. I have already made the trunk seperator out of aluminum and it looks good. The seats are stock but I would like to replace those as well. Currently I have a set of 5" wide quick-release racing lap belts to keep me safe. On the body and exterior, I have shaved all of the bumpers and removed all of the wing vents and windows. I also used the older clear front turn signal lenses to give it that more "Euro" look as well as Piaa's for better viewing in light of the fact that I removed the passenger headlight. Things to come are an upgraded front sway bar and solid sway bar mounts.

Here is my MG minus three inches up front. Really closed up the fender well gappage wonderfully. Test drove it and everything checked out. Bottomed out coming out of the supermarket driveway. Have to remember to go one wheel at a time.