Picture Of Mg Midget Cars

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.


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.

Picture Of Mg Midget Cars

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.


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.


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.

Picture Of Mg Midget Cars

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.


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.


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.

Picture Of Mg Midget Cars

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.


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.


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.


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.

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MG Midget MKII Cars

Externally the main changes were to the doors, which gained wind-up windows, swivelling quarter lights, external handles and separate locks. The windscreen also gained a (slight) curvature and was retained in a more substantial frame. The hood (US - top), though modified, continued to have a removable frame that had to be erected before the cover was put on. The rear springs were replaced by more conventional semi-elliptic types which gave a better ride. The engine block was strengthened and larger main bearings were fitted, allowing the power to increase to 59 hp (44 kW) at 5750 rpm and torque to 65 lbf·ft (88 Nm) at 3500 rpm. 26,601 were made. ~ MG Midget MKII

Related : MG Midget Mk1 ~ The MG Midget MkI (1961-1964)
Related : MG Midget ~ The Early Days of MG Midget Cars
Related : MG Midget Cars ~ The MG Midget Cars Design

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MG Midget MKI Cars

The first version was essentially a slightly more expensive badge engineered version of the Austin-Healey Sprite MKII and retained the quarter-elliptic sprung rear axle from the original Sprite. The engine was a 948 cc A-Series with twin SU carburettors producing 46 hp (34 kW) at 5500 rpm and 53 lbf·ft (72 Nm) at 3000 rpm. Brakes were 7 in (178 mm) drums all round. A hard top, heater, radio and luggage rack were available as factory fitted extras.

In October 1962 the engine was increased to 1098 cc raising the output to 56 hp (42 kW) at 5500 rpm and 62 lbf·ft (84 Nm) at 3250 rpm and disc brakes replaced the drums at the front. Wire-spoked wheels became available.

The doors had no external handles or locks and the windows were sliding Perspex side-screens. A heater was an optional extra.

A MG Midget MkI with the 948 cc engine was tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1962 and had a top speed of 87.9 mph (141.5 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 18.3 seconds. A fuel consumption of 40.2 miles per imperial gallon (7.03 L/100 km; 33.5 mpg-US) was recorded. The test car cost £689 including taxes on the UK market.

Related : MG Midget Mk1 ~ The MG Midget MkI (1961-1964)
Related : MG Midget ~ The Early Days of MG Midget Cars
Related : MG Midget Cars ~ The MG Midget Cars Design

Picture Of Mg Midget Cars

Picture Of 1966 Mg Midget Cars

The suspension was the same as the Austin upon which it was based, with double wishbones and coil springs where the upper wishbone was provided by the lever arms of the dampers. The Austin's steering was replaced by a rack and pinion set-up as used in the Morris Minor. The Minor was also the source for the hydraulically-operated rear brakes, although the rear axle was from the baby Austin. The axle was mounted on stiff quarter-elliptical springs controlled by lever arm dampers.

Picture Of 1974 Mg Midget Cars

The original Sprite's one piece front end had been dropped in favour of separate wings, front panel, and a pancake type rear-hinged bonnet. The headlamps had been moved to the forward corners of the front wings, while the indicators and side lights were mounted immediately below this. A full-width grille filled the gap between the front wings and lights.

Picture Of Mg Midget Cars

At the rear, the "square" styling theme was continued and was extended as far as the tops of the rear wheel arches being squared-off. The rear lights were fixed in the upper extremities of the rear wings, and there was a separate boot lid. The flat windscreen remained, as did the removable soft top and side-screens.