MG Midget Cars

MG Midget J-type Parts 1

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MG Midget Cars

MG Midget Cars MG J-type

MG Midget Cars Parts 1

Used MG Midget Cars Models MG F-type Midget Cars Parts 2

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MG Midget Cars

MG Midget Cars MG F-type

MG Midget Cars Parts 1

Used MG Midget Cars Models MG F-type Midget Cars Parts 1

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MG Midget Cars

MG Midget Cars MG F-type

MG Midget Cars Parts 1

Used MG Midget Cars Models MG D-type Midget Cars Parts 1

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MG Midget Cars

MG Midget Cars MG D-type

MG Midget Cars Parts 1

Used MG Midget Cars Models MG C-type Parts 1

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MG Midget Cars

MG Midget Cars C-Type

MG Midget Cars Parts 1

MG M-type Midget Cars

The MG Midget is a small two seat sports car produced by MG division of the British Motor Corporation from 1961 to 1979. It re-used a famous pre-war name used on MG M-type, MG D-type, MG J-type and so on.



Early bodies were fabric covered using a wood frame, this changed to all metal in 1931. Most cars had bodies made by Carbodies of Coventry and fitted by MG in either open two seat or closed two door "Sportsmans" coup? versions but some chassis were supplied to external coachbuilders such as Jarvis. The factory even made a van version as a service vehicle. The car could reach 65 mph (105 km/h) and return 40 miles per gallon. The open version cost ?175 at launch, soon rising to ?185, and the coup? cost ?245. The 1932 supercharged car cost ?250.




The M-type had considerable sporting success both privately and with official teams winning gold medals in the 1929 Land's End Trial and class wins in the 1930 "Double Twelve" race at Brooklands. An entry was also made in the 1930 Le Mans 24 hour but neither of the two cars finished.

MG M-type Midget Cars

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The MG M-type was produced by the MG Car company from April 1929 to 1932. It was sometimes referred to as the 8/33. Launched at the 1928 London Motor Show when the sales of the larger MG saloons was faultering because of the economic climate, the small car brought MG ownership to a new sector of the market and probably saved the company. Early cars were made in the Cowley factory, but from 1930 production had transferred to Abingdon.

This 2 door sports car used an updated version of the four-cylinder bevel-gear driven overhead camshaft engine used in the 1928 Morris Minor and Wolseley 10 with a single SU carburettor giving 20 bhp (15 kW) at 4000 rpm. Drive was to the rear wheels through a three speed non-synchromesh gearbox. The chassis was based on the one used in the 1928 Morris Minor with lowered suspension using half elliptic springs and Hartford friction shock absorbers with rigid front and rear axles and bolt on wire wheels. The car had a wheelbase of 78 inches (1980 mm) and a track of 42 inches (1067 mm).

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1930 brought a series of improvements to the car. The Morris rod brake system, with the handbrake working on the transmission, was replaced a cable system with cross shaft coupled to the handbrake and the transmission brake deleted. Engine output was increased to 27 bhp (20 kW) by improving the camshaft and a four speed gearbox was offered as an option. The doors became front hinged. A supercharged version could be ordered from 1932 raising the top speed to 80 mph (130 km/h).

The British Motor Corporation (BMC) Part 4

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The mid-sized Farinas were launched in 1958 with the Wolseley 15/60. Other members of the group included the Riley 4/68, Austin A55 Cambridge Mk II, MG Magnette Mk III, and Morris Oxford V. Later, the design was licensed in Argentina and produced as the Di Tella 1500/Traveller/Argenta. The mid-size cars used the B-Series straight-4 engine.

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Most of these cars lasted until 1961, though the Di Tellas remained until 1965. They were replaced with a new Farina body style and most were renamed. These were the Austin A60 Cambridge, MG Magnette Mk. IV, Morris Oxford VI, Riley 4/72, and Wolseley 16/60. These mostly remained in production until 1968, with no rear wheel drive replacement produced.

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Farina also designed a large car. Launched in 1959 as the Austin A99 Westminster, Vanden Plas Princess 3-Litre, and Wolseley 6/99, it used the large C-Series straight-6 engine. The large Farinas were updated in 1961 as the Austin A110 Westminster, Vanden Plas Princess 3-Litre Mk. II, and Wolseley 6/110. These remained in production until 1968.

The British Motor Corporation (BMC) Part 3

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In 1958, BMC hired Battista Farina to redesign its entire car line. This resulted in the creation of three "Farina" saloons, each of which was badge-engineered to fit the various BMC car lines.

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The compact Farina model bowed in 1958 with the Austin A40 Farina. This is considered by many to be the first mass produced hatchback car: a small estate version was produced with a horizontally split tailgate, its size and configuration would today be considered that of a small hatchback. A Mark II A40 Farina appeared in 1961 and was produced through 1967. These small cars used the A-Series engine.

The British Motor Corporation (BMC) Part 2

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BMC's headquarters were at the Austin plant at Longbridge, near Birmingham and Austin was the dominant partner in the group mainly because of the chairman. The use of Morris engine designs was dropped within 3 years and all new car designs were coded ADO from "Austin Drawing Office". The Longbridge plant was up to date, having been thoroughly modernised in 1951, and compared very favourably with Nuffield's 16 different and often old fashioned factories scattered over the English Midlands. Austin's management systems however, especially cost control and marketing were not as good as Nuffield's and as the market changed from a shortage of cars to competition this was to tell. The biggest selling car, the Mini, was famously analysed by Ford Motor Company who concluded that BMC must be losing £30 on every one sold. The result was that although volumes held up well throughout the BMC era, market share fell as did profitability and hence investment in new models, triggering the 1966 government sponsored merger with Jaguar to form British Motor Holdings (BMH), and three years later leading to the merger of BMH with Leyland Motor Corporation.

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At the time of the mergers, there was a well established dealership network for each of the marques. Among the car-buying British public there was a tendency of loyalty to a particular marque and marques appealed to different market segments. This meant that marques competed against each other in some areas, though some marques had a larger range than others. The Riley and Wolseley models were selling in very small numbers. Styling was also getting distinctly old fashioned and this caused Leonard Lord, in an unusual move for him, to call upon the services of an external stylist.

The British Motor Corporation (BMC) Part 1

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The British Motor Corporation (BMC) was a UK vehicle company, formed by the merger of the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Organisation (parent of the Morris car company, MG, Riley and Wolseley) in 1952. Basically, it was the predecessor of British Leyland.

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BMC was the largest British car company of its day, with (in 1952) 39 percent of British output, producing a wide range of cars under brand names including Austin, Morris, MG, Austin Healey, Wolseley as well as commercial vehicles and agricultural tractors. The first chairman was Lord Nuffield (William Morris) but he was replaced in August 1952 by Austin's Leonard Lord who continued in that role until his 65th birthday in 1961 but handing over, in theory at least, the managing director responsibilities to his deputy George Harriman in 1956.

The MG Midget in The Future

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A brand new Midget was announced in January 2003, to be based on the Tata Aria concept cars (Rover used another Tata as the basis of their Rover CityRover). The concept never made it into production and Tata Motors made it clear that they did not wish to share platforms if the MG Rover Group was bought up by another company.

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A small business in Cheshire also had similar ideas on the MG Midget Cars in 2007 but were withdrawn from bidding for the rights after lack of financial aid.

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Apparently the Smart Roadster was to be used as the basis for a new MG under Project Kimber however this has not come to fruition. The Smart went out of production in 2005.

The MG Midget UK 50th anniversary celebration

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The MG Midget in Today The End Part

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The Spridgets are also popular in the U.S. and elsewhere for vintage racing. All Sprites and earlier model Midgets are powered by the very common A-Series engine which is very tunable for higher output.

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Today, many MG Midgets are being restored helped by the availability of parts with many being re-manufactured. 'British Motor Heritage', which owns many of the original press tools, makes body panels and complete body shells. In the UK, among other suppliers, 'Moss Europe' and 'MG World UK' supply many other parts both new and used.

The MG Midget in Today Part 1

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The car developed by Donald Healey that started as an Austin Healey Sprite, and which spawned the late-model MG Midget, has more recently been given the generic name Spridget. It really was a Healey, not an MG, but the generic name does not reflect this.

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From the late 1980s on, Spridgets became popular cars for inclusion in club racing in the UK, because they were readily available and the lack of development by the original manufacturer made them easy targets for performance tuning.

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The UK still has a race series dedicated to the MG Midget which is run by the MG Car Club. The MG Midget Challenge is a national race series for MG Midgets and Austin Healey Sprites (built 1956-1979). The championship is run at all major UK circuits, with the occasional visit to Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. It is a serious, professional but very friendly championship and has been running since 1977.

The MG Midget 1500 (1974-1980)

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In 1974 a new and, as it turned out, final version of the Midget arrived. It was known as the MG Midget 1500 Cars although it was officially still the Mark III. This car was equipped with the 1493cc, four-cylinder, pushrod, OHV engine from its rival the Spitfire, which also provided the transmission. As with many large groups, rationalisation was now the name of the game for British Leyland. Furthermore, it was becoming increasingly difficult to make the A-series engine meet the required exhaust emission standards and still develop enough power, whereas this was easier with the larger-capacity Triumph unit. The bigger engine, capable of producing 66bhp, improved the Midgets performance significantly, making a top speed in excess of 100mph easily attainable.

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Along with the new engine and transmission came what many saw as less desirable changes. One of these was the introduction of the "rubber-bumpers" which were designed to meet US crash test legislations. These added considerably to the weight of the car, but were sculpted such that the car was still instantly recognisable as a Midget.

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Furthermore, to ensure that the bumpers were at the correct height, it was necessary to raise the ride height of the car by a couple of inches. This obviously had the effect of reducing the roll stiffness at the rear, but contrary to popular belief the cars handling was not really impaired by these modifications.

The MG Midget Mk III(1966-1974)

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The Midget Mk II Cars had continued to sell until late 1966, when the Mk III model was introduced. Once again, the engine had been enlarged - this time it had the 1275cc A-series unit developed from the one used in the Mini Cooper S. This produced 65bhp and could propel the little car to speeds in the mid 90's.

Picture Of 1970 Mg Midget Cars

Although there were no really obvious changes to the appearance of the car, there were minor ones. Perhaps one of the most important of these was the addition of a folding soft top, which replaced the one which had to be fully removed to be stowed.

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In 1970, the Sprite version of the Midget Mk III Cars (a Sprite MK IV) was dropped from the range leaving the Midget to continue along, which it did for some years. The 1275 Midget continued to sell well and had generated a loyal following, but since its nearest competitior was the Triumph Spitfire, many expected one of the cars to be dropped but neither were to get the chop - yet.

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In 1972, the Midget received further styling changes, among them a new style of sculpted steel wheel, known as Rostyles. Also, at this point the rear wheel arches lost their squared off tops, becoming fully radiused. It was at this time that MG was facing increased work load to ensure that the cars met the increasingly strict environmental and safety regulations that were being implemented in the export markets, and in particular the USA. This work was such that it severely restricted the resources available for the development of new models. In the long term it was to be the eventual downfall of the MG.

MG Midget MKII

The MG Midget MkII (1964-1966)

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MG Midget MKII Cars

MG Midget MK2

MG Midget MK2 Parts 1

MG Midget MKI

The MG Midget MkI (1964-1966)

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MG Midget MKI Cars

MG Midget MK1

MG Midget MK1 Parts 1

Picture Of 1961 Austin Healey Sprite

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Picture Of 1971 Mg Midget Cars

Picture Of 1964 Mg Midget MKII Cars

The MG Midget Cars Design

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From the outset, the Sprite had been designed to be of unitary construction, with the floorpan and body being built as one strong, rigid structure. Stiffness was provided by box-like sections sills and crossmembers, a deep transmission tunnel, the scuttle, and the box shaped boot. At the front, the crossmember for the suspension and steering was carried on a pair of chassis legs which projected forwards from the scuttle bulkhead.

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Picture Of 1974 Mg Midget Cars

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The Early Days of MG Midget Cars

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Back in the 1920's, the M-Type Midget had been developed from the baby Morris Minor. The result was a basic, cheap, fun two-seater, with sporting pretensions which triggered a whole dynasty of Midgets. It was the Midget series which had established MG as a manufacturer of sports cars with an excellent reputation in motor sport.

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In the late 1950's, yet another basic, cheap, fun two-seater was developed from a "baby" car. This time, the more modern equivalent of the old Austin Seven was used, the A30/35. This new two-seater car was the Austin Healey Sprite, which appeared in 1959 and was built at Abingdon. The Sprite was powered by an engine and transmission which had come straight from the Austin, and was a 948cc pushrod, overhead valve, four-cylinder A-series unit. In the Sprite however, it had been given twin SU carburettors and developed around 42bhp, which was sufficient to propel the little car to around 80mph. This car became known as the "Frogeye" Sprite due to its headlamps being set into the front of the one-piece front end, with a mouth-like grille being mounted on the front edge.

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Picture Austin Healey Sprite Mark II Cars

In this form, the car was known as the Austin Healey Sprite Mark II, but shortly after a De Luxe version was announced. It had been re-badged to become known as the MG Midget.