The Great MG Project

The car as it appeared when it arrived in
the garage in October of 2006

The car starts!! After six years of work I am pleased to report that the 1967 MG Midget has actually started. The body welding is completed, the engine has been rebuilt and installed, and the "new" 1999 Mazda Miata seats are installed.

Here's the most recent steps in the series of events that have led up this point. The completion of the engine rebuild was in late winter or early spring of 2008. Further work progressed and it was installed back in the car in August of the same year. More details were completed and on October 12 we tried to start the engine for the first time.

Unfortunately, there were a number or problems, and the despite best efforts the engine did not start. It turned out that the majority of problems were associated with the electrical and ignition systems. Problem sorting continued until October 26 when we tried to start the engine again.

The previous two weeks work paid off and on October 26, 2008 we tried it again. The timing was off, but a little twisting of the distributor convinced the car to start, and with some pops, puffs, and a couple of wheezes the engine came to life for the first time.

There was a great deal of assembly lube in the engine, and it took several minutes to burn off. But once that happened the machine ran smoothly.

On November 1 I ran the car for the second time. It started nicely once I had enough gas in the tank, and idled well even though it was a bit fast. Carb adjustments will be next.

The video below is from November 1. Unfortunately, in the excitement of starting the car on October 26 we forgot to get the camera, so visitors to the site will surely settle for the "second big day."

When you touch the image a control panel will appear. Click the play button to watch the video.