Mate of mine coming to the Wales oppomeet had the side-seals go on his RX8...

"BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires" (biturbo228)
03/08/2018 at 05:03 • Filed to: Europpomeet

So what does he buy? A 40-year old MG Midget that didn’t run either ;) got it going in half an hour though ;) dead battery and stretched choke cable. Needs some other bits and pieces, but it’s kickass little car :)

We did have a little bit of excitement on the way. 260-mile round trip with the Ranger and my home-made trailer. Went fine aside from the fact that we lost a ramp about 10 miles from home and didn’t realise until we got there :S managed to use some sort of bunk-bed stepladder thing the guy had to get it on the trailer, and managed to find the ramp on the way back :)

Better retaining system is required I think...

Worked out that the trailer’s finally starting paying for itself :) cost Ł534 to make all-in including the ‘salvaged’ caravan chassis. Currently saved 7 days of hire at Ł90 each so I’m Ł96 up!

tl;dr find an abandoned caravan, make a car trailer and start saving money after you’ve transported junker cars 6-7 times if you can find a caravan chassis for free...

DISCUSSION (25)

pip bip - choose Corrour > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
03/08/2018 at 05:10

better the RX8 conks out now than in Wales

arl > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
03/08/2018 at 06:15

I’ve always wanted an old MG. And a pile of cash to pay someone else to keep it running. Neat cars.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > pip bip - choose Corrour
03/08/2018 at 06:16

Absolutely :) it’s been gone for a little while but he’s only had it to get around so it’s not going to last long at all :S

Still a significant chance of this untested 40-year old car with a questionable ‘restoration’ conking out in Wales too, but it should be a lot easier to fix if it does ;)

bingham123 > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
03/08/2018 at 06:22

rotary swap the mg....

iv always wanted mazda powered mgb

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > bingham123
03/08/2018 at 06:28

That was a consideration ;)

However, he has a mate with a Rover V8 that’s going spare (maybe with gearbox?) that was rebuilt in the not-too-distant past, so that’s the eventual plan for this little thing :)

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
03/08/2018 at 08:37

I don’t think the Rover V8 is going to make that any more powerful or reliable ;-)

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
03/08/2018 at 08:55

Reliable perhaps not (although built well they’re fine, it’s usually your cheapskates that are drawn to them which impacts their reputation). Powerful definitely :) with your bog-standard injected 3.5 making 187bhp it’ll have the same power-to-weight as an E46 M3. Reasonably easy to get it up to a TVR-spec 280-odd bhp as well ;)

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
03/08/2018 at 09:01

To be fair it’s an excellent group to be around at oppomeet if we need to do some hasty repair work haha.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
03/08/2018 at 09:04

That’s what I was trying to explain to my mum who wants me to try and find breakdown cover for a 30-year-old modified Fiat. A: dead expensive if they’ll even cover it. B: if we can’t fix it, the AA can’t fix it either. C: I own a trailer.

And on the MG front, there’s a surprising number of companies that still stock MG bits over the counter. We’ve found on in Partridge Green not far from where we live :)

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
03/08/2018 at 13:42

That last point is a good one. As classic cars go these are popular and the part support is excellent compared to say... a 1986 Daihatsu.

davedave1111 > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
03/08/2018 at 13:56

You’d be amazed what breakdown cover you can get on classics. I think I paid an extra 72p on my MG insurance for breakdown assistance. IIRC normal RAC cover is personal, not vehicular, so it covers you in any vehicle.

I don’t think there’s a problem with the standard cover, is there?

https://www.rac.co.uk/pdfs/breakdown/310314-drive-uk-breakdown-terms-and-conditions

Doesn’t seem to exclude modified classic Fiats - but then, why would it? If you’re driving one of those, you won’t expect them to fix it by the side of the road unless it’s something trivial - and you’ll probably know what’s wrong, anyway. You’ll just be using them for a tow, maybe to borrow a few tools.

If you have a Tesco Clubcard or similar, you can use your clubcard vouchers to pay - I think you get the voucher value x4, but I can’t check their site from outside the UK.

davedave1111 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
03/08/2018 at 13:58

It’s just mean to start a sentence about an MG with ‘as classic cars go’, because they generally don’t.

Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
03/08/2018 at 14:28

Ha! Lost a ramp while getting the Safrane ob saturday. The sound it made was enough to make me stop immediately. I thought a wheel from the trailer had popped

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction
03/08/2018 at 15:53

Haha coincidence!

We didn’t even notice ours! Only realised when we got there...

davedave1111 > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
03/08/2018 at 19:18

Completely unrelated, but do you want one of these?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/No-Zero-Loss-Air-Nitrogen-Chuck-Stainless-Steel-Shock-Fill-Tool-Schrader/292227402060

It’s the expensive - with shipping to the UK - part of a DIY suspension pump for the MGF. The other part is a plumber’s pressure-test pump, which is ~Ł30.

I just realised my MIL is in the US at the moment, so if I want to get one with free shipping, now’s the time. I don’t think it’ll make much difference if I order two instead.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > davedave1111
03/09/2018 at 03:23

Oh awesome :) yes please! Shame you can’t send PMs on this place, but swing your details to simon_storey@btinternet.com and I’ll send the cash over :)

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > davedave1111
03/09/2018 at 07:51

Good point actually. Perhaps it was European cover that was tricky to get for older cars. I’ve got AA via my card so they will probably cover it.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > davedave1111
03/09/2018 at 07:51

Haha nice ;)

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
03/09/2018 at 08:03

Good point. I do like your idea for the Micra 1.0l swap. Would make for a very neat little car, with much better parts availability.

Was it just driveshafts that were the issue? Any way to bolt up your existing gearbox to the new engine, or would you prefer the 1.0l gearbox even if you could?

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
03/09/2018 at 16:15

I prefer to stick with the Micra box. I can cut and weld driveshafts myself if I really have to (would rather have it done properly though) whereas making a gearbox adaptor plate would be well beyond what I could DIY.

Im pretty familiar with the Micra wiring and I can make engine mounts, so driveshafts are the only questionable item really.

davedave1111 > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
03/09/2018 at 18:19

Cool, I’ll try and arrange it - have to make sure it’s going to be delivered before our courier flies back.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
03/10/2018 at 05:12

Yeah good point. I was just wondering if the blocks are the same so they’ll just bolt up (maybe with a mishmash clutch).

Is the issue that the Micra shafts are too long, or have the wrong splines on the end, or both?

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > davedave1111
03/10/2018 at 05:13

Thanks man :)

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
03/10/2018 at 10:24

To be honest it hasnt got past the idea stage yet so this is all to be worked out haha.

davedave1111 > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
03/10/2018 at 14:00

It’s nothing. Literally. All I had to do was change the number in the quantity box to 2.

Ordered now, hopefully they’ll arrive in time. If not it’s something like USD7 to return the pair of them to the seller for a refund, or, if I’ve read the ridiculously arcane USPS price-lists right, about USD14 to send them to the UK.