here - Midge Owners` and Builders` Club

Midge Owners and Builders Club
Autumn 2013
Secretary: John Bircumshaw,
15 Westminster Drive, Burbage, Hinckley LE10 2HA
Email: johnbirc@btinternet.com
Dear Members,
What a great summer it has been for using our
Midges. I’ve been in touch with many members over
the last three months and I’m delighted to say that
enthusiasm for our cars is still as great as ever.
Newly-rebuilt Midges seem to hit the road quite
regularly. I’m also delighted to be able to give you
the first details of the Midge Mk2 which John
Cowperthwaite has been working on for some time.
Why do we need a Mk2 when the Mk1 has been so
successful? To those of you who may not be familiar
with the current legislation, it is simply that any
alterations made to the chassis of a car when it is
being re-bodied mean that the ‘new’ vehicle has to
be subject to an SVA (single vehicle approval) test
having parameters that are difficult to meet by
private car builders.
If you’re building a vehicle which is intended simply
for its entertainment value on private roads this
magazine shows you how to do that, and the
ingenuity of Keith Oldfield really has to be seen to
be believed! Keith has not only built unique cars but
two wheeled transport as well. It’s important to
enjoy what we do and let the practical side of our
nature take over as we labour away in our garages
to produce a unique piece of craftsmanship, and
that eventually we can stand back, admire, and say
to any enquirer “I made that”.
Long may our creative natures continue.
John
The Black Box on the dashboard of Richard
Hazelgrove’s Midge is from a 1944 Avenger
Dive Bomber. Looks impressive!
Find us on Facebook
We now have a Facebook Group where a variety of
topics are debated and some light hearted banter
may be found. If you haven’t been to the site then
you’re missing something. Search for MIDGE
OWNERS AND BUILDERS CLUB. Why not post a
picture of your Midge or perhaps start a thread for
discussion – it’s all free!
THE MIDGE MK2
It’s here at last. John Cowperthwaite gives us
details of the new Midge, and there are also some
pictures so that you will see what it looks like!
The plans should be available by the end of
September, and there are at least 13 AO sheets of
patterns, rather than the original eight sheets for
the original Midge, where the side panels were not
duplicated but required the builder to cut two of
each. This has increased the printing cost and the
plans will be priced at around £99 a set.
On the up side the car can be built for around
£1000 plus the donor. I have estimated the
material costs of plywood, aluminium, fabrication,
windscreen, seats, headlights etc to be under
£1000 and an average Suzuki SJ donor can be
bought for £500.
The car can only be built on the SJ413 Samurai
(Not SJ410) although I intend to develop it to fit
later models like the Vitara and Jiminy if the
chassis plan is similar enough. Everything is reused
from the donor car and there are no chassis
modifications whatsoever. The radiator is spaced
over to one side by an inch as it was not central.
The pedal assembly is refitted in its entirety but
the pedals themselves are cut and re-welded in a
different form. The lower shaft of the steering
column is cut and extended about 12" by sleeving
with tube before welding up. The instrument cluster
is simply remounted complete.
I made the seats which are bespoke upholstered on
plywood squabs and back panels as I found no
conventional seats to fit. There are simple patterns
available separately to cut the seat panels which
are easy to upholster or have upholstered.
Obviously after-market lights are needed all round.
The inertia reel seat belts are refitted and
changing the steering wheel is just for cosmetic
purposes.
There was insufficient room to move the engine
back but I think it looks OK where it is. The gear
change has a simply made remote shift and
instructions are provided to make this.
The side steps are designed to cover the chassis
leg extensions that jut out in front of the rear
mudguards. I do not know if chopping these legs off
would contravene the regs but the steps are most
useful especially if off-roading where lower
mounted running boards may not give adequate
ground clearance.
The mudguards are commercial polyethylene and
very cheap although the same wings are available in
steel. You can build a very cheap Midge with these
mudguards or fit steel ones if you are going to the
expense of a spray painted finish.
The front wings are tandem trailer wings with the
back part of the arch trimmed off. Many MKI
builders have utilised them in this way.
The wheels are standard SJ and come with the
donor.
Drawings are included for all the fabricated bits
like wing stays, headlamp mounts, gear extension
etc but we will also be able to supply a complete kit
of these parts ready-made, including the
windscreen frame.
I could not emulate the slab tank and vertical spare
of the MKI without heavy chassis mods so I had to
go with the sloping back and Morgan style spare
wheel mounting. The boot space is accessed from
inside the car via a drop down door. There are no
interior trim panels. The sides are trimmed with car
carpet, spray glued to the plywood and the top
edges gripped with the return lip of the aluminium
edge trims.
The door hinges and spare mount were re-used, the
only additions being an MX5 Mazda fuel neck, Mini
door locks and a Mini wiper motor and rack. A
further variation from the MK1 is that the body
panels can be skinned on the bench before assembly
and the body constructed on the chassis a panel at
a time. Once the major construction is completed
the car can be trailered by appointment to the local
DVLA office for its 8 point check to qualify it as a
body change on the original vehicle, before being
submitted for a standard MOT test elsewhere.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Keith Oldfield writes:I thought this might be of interest to our members.
I had lots of Triumph/Midge bits left over from
the cars I bought and built, including a Midge
chassis and front suspension etc. A friend in the
village was moving house and asked me if I would
take away an old Citroen 2CV from his garden which
had been there for 7 years after the Chassis broke.
The body & chassis had rusted away and were no
good at all, but the engine turned over and
suspension was OK.
I got all the bits laid out in my Barn and an idea
came to me to make a Citroen/Triumph/Midge
special which would have a rear engine and an old
style wooden body.
I stripped the gear box and turned the diff round
the other way so as to have the gears right,
otherwise I would have had 4 reverse gears and one
forward!!
I bought some marine ply and drew out the body
shapes, cut and screwed them together, made the
seats in red buttoned vinyl and found a 1920’s
windscreen in my junk which looks the part,
I drove it for the first time last week, it needs a
bag of cement in the front to balance it out, but
other than that it’s OK.
The car will only be used round my village, I will
take it to some car shows, but that will be a trailer
job; it puts a smile on people’s faces when they see
the car, but I built it for fun.
PS. I have some bits for free to anyone who wants
to come and get them, MK4 Spitfire rear hubs and
half shafts, Two short propshafts, a good Herald
rad, ideal for Midge, Herald rear hubs and shafts,
front drum brake uprights pair, and some useful
small bits, all free for collection from France!
Keith then goes on to say with undue modesty that
a local farmer gave him some old farm machine
wheels, and a couple of old bikes. He chopped them
up and constructed this penny farthing. They must
have been very difficult to ride in their day!
I cut the rear suspension off the Midge chassis and
bolted/welded the front suspension of the 2CV onto
the chassis the other way round. The engine sits in
the chassis with the cooling fan at the rear, [I
made another fan which looks like a propeller for a
laugh]
REMEMBER REG PARNELL? NOW THERE’S A
BLUE PLAQUE TO HIM IN DERBY
Reg was born in 1911 and his parents ran the Royal
Standard pub in Derby where a blue plaque was
recently erected. He took up motor racing following
the opening of Donington Park in 1931 and, from
1935, he competed there regularly. He became
Britain's leading racing driver in the 1940s and
early 1950s and his fearless driving style led to him
being nicknamed the Iron Man of Racing. One of his
greatest achievements was competing in the
inaugural British Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1950,
finishing third in an Alfa Romeo.
Reg died of peritonitis in 1964 aged just 52. Some
of his achievements included winning the F1 Daily
Express Trophy Race, the Goodwood Trophy three
years in a row and the New Zealand Grand Prix in
Auckland in 1957 – the year he retired from
competitive racing. Off the track, he was a manager
of F1 and sports car teams. He went on to manage
Aston Martin Sports Cars, which, under his
stewardship, won Le Mans in 1959, beating Ferrari,
Maserati and Porsche.
TERRY WETHERFIELD ON A
SUCCESSFULLY ACCOMPLISHED!
MISSION
–
A QUEST FOR LARGER LAMPS
When I decided to build a car I rather fancied a
TRAC Jaguar SS100 repro. I suppose I was
attracted by the curvaceous, swoopy wings and the
big, prominent headlamps. The only trouble was that
I could not afford the £20000 that it would cost
to build. So I decided to build a Midge instead.
I managed to fit my Midge with a set of curvaceous
and swoopy Burlington Berretta wings, which just
left me with the problem of obtaining a pair of
reasonably big, prominent headlamps.
When I started looking for lamps I found that it
was easy to buy Lucas or Wipac lamps for about
£100 per pair but the largest that they sold were
the standard 7" diameter units. I looked at autojumbles for a pair of vintage large lamps but found
that they were either much too expensive or
damaged or would never have provided the lighting
performance of modern lights.
I started carrying a tape measure around with me
so that whenever I saw a car which appeared to
have larger sealed beam units I could measure them
up, but they always turned out to be the standard
7" lights, until one day I happened upon a Volvo 244
DL and found that this had lights ¾” larger than
other cars.
At the time (about 20 years ago) it was easy to get
second hand parts for the Volvo 244 DL so at my
next weekly visit to my local Midge stockist
(Medway Car Breakers) I picked up a pair of Volvo
sealed beam units for £10. By then I had the idea
of making my own GRP headlamp shells and finding
some suitable rims for fitting the light units. So I
was back to trawling the auto-jumbles, until I found
a cheap, dented headlamp shell and a pair of second
hand, ball ended base mounts to fit the GRP shells.
After knocking out or filling the dents in the old
headlamp, I pushed a plywood handling flange onto
it and used it as a pattern to make a GRP mould. I
still hadn't found suitable rims but while I was
laying up the pair of mouldings in my garage my eyes
suddenly lit upon the pair of stainless steel hub
caps left over from the Ford Escort Mk2 which I
had used as my donor car. Using the pressed recess
in the hub cap as a guide (which happened to be just
the right size for the Volvo units), I cut the centre
out of the hub cap, peened over the cut edge to
form a bead and I had my headlamp rims.
I trimmed down the GRP shells to match the rim
diameter, GRP-bonded into the shells a strip metal
mounting spigot to accept the rims, screwed on the
base mounts, fixed the sealed beam units into the
rims and made aluminium mounting clamps to slide
onto the badge bar. After spraying the headlamps,
I fitted wire guards as the finishing touch.
That was 20 years ago. They give a decent light and
I am still using the original Volvo units although
they would probably cost me considerably more
nowadays if I had to replace one. Perhaps the stone
guards have helped there.
OK . . . so my Midge still doesn't look like an SS100
but the larger lamps do give it a rather more
imposing face and anyway, who wants an SS100? You
can see an SS100 at any top class vintage car
exhibition . . . . whereas a MIDGE . . . . aaaahhh!
HERE’S AN UPDATE FROM JIM HEWLETT OUR
MAN
WITH
TWO
MIDGES.
I’M
DELIGHTED TO HEAR THAT BOTH CARS ARE
BEING USED TO FULL ADVANTAGE ON THE
SCOTTISH ROADS!
It’s been a busy few months, I finally got both
Midges up and running with MOT’s and insurance
and everything. Modern garage staff often look at
Midges, well mine anyway, with a sort of glazed,
stunned appearance, and you have to point out a few
bits that they recognize, like the exhaust, to make
them relax a bit. Otherwise the sight of a Herald
suspension system with its wheels dangling can make
them freeze up like a rabbit caught in the
headlights. One asked where the cat was and I had
to explain that she usually slept in the passenger
seat, but that there was a cat flap in the garage
door. He started glazing over again so I
demonstrated the indicators and brake lights to
calm him down.
Having passed both MOTs and insured both, (slight
discount for two from Classic Line) it was a real
pleasure to get out into the sunshine and admiring
public. We’ve got some great roads for country
touring in Scotland, though there are a few
potholes to be avoided.
Since the excellent summer seems to be coming to
an end, I finally got round to fitting the soft roof
to the Green (Triumph) Midge. The frame, a
converted garden chair seems to be working nicely;
I used a fair bit of Terry Wetherfield’s design
from the summer ‘13 Magazine, and will probably
add his tensioner when I’ve found out how well the
roof deals with wind and rain.
I’ve put a few words and pictures on
http://www.jimhewlett.com/Triumph-midgeroof.html
Other work on that car involves creating a glove
box and side screens, finding out why the
windscreen wipers don’t self-park, and reducing the
lift on the front suspension.
Checking the above web address reminded me to
ask, “Has anybody any spare side screens, and / or
quarter-lights or the plans thereof?” I’ve put that
on the Facebook site, it is becoming an effective
secondary forum. I’ve avoided Facebook and similar
until now, but it does seem to be the coming thing,
well done James D.
Current Red (Ford) Midge projects are finding out
where the oil leak from the back axle is, body
modifications so that a TR6 tonneau cover will fit,
and building a better looking Dashboard with nicer
instrumentation and a rationalized wiring loom. The
current loom is from an Escort, and I dream about
it after late night cheese sandwiches, I think the
only practical answer is to pull it all out and start
again, I would feel much happier to know what it
actually did and why. I was quite startled when
finding an odd relay and a matching socket, I rashly
plugged it in, and the hazard indicators started up!
Not a very bright move, when I tried that earlier
with the indicator relay, it melted.
I read in one of the old (paper) Midge Mags from
many years ago, that the original Ford conversion
chassis had a weakness in that the tube for the top
wishbone bolt might bend, so I have strengthened
that up by welding box section steel tube around it,
and made a little filler plate for the ugly gap in the
wishbone. There’s a picture at the bottom of
http://www.jimhewlett.com/Ford-midge.html
and
you can see the true wonderfulness of a running
Ford
Midge
on
a
u-tube
clip
at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwMU8azXRQ8&
feature=youtu.be
I would point out that it’s an advantage in having
two Midges: you can drive one while you fix the
other. I’m sure your wives will understand. Happy
motoring and keep up the excellent Magazine.
Yours, aye
Jim.
NEW MEMBERS
I’m delighted to welcome the new members who
have joined us since our summer issue and we give
them all a big welcome and hope they will enjoy
being part of our club
•
Thomas Freeman lives in Glasgow and has a
Midge based on a Triumph Herald 13/60 to
keep him occupied.
•
Peter Gardner of Winterton on Sea,
Norfolk has a Ford Escort based of which
he tells us more below………….
•
Roger England of Henlow, Bedfordshire has
recently purchased the Midge previously
owned by Lee Turnham which was sold
complete with Car port! Roger also tells us
about his automotive biography…………….
•
Ian Dunning of Anlaby, Hull hopes to find a
project Midge on which to construct a
‘special’ body.
•
Colin Funnell of Watlington, Oxford has
purchased a partly completed Midge which
is Triumph Herald 13/60 based.
We give a warm welcome to all our new members
and hope you will keep us informed of the progress
of your Midges with pictures and words for future
issues of the Magazine.
PETER GARDNER HAS GIVEN US THIS
BIOGRAPHY AND ALSO TELLS US ABOUT HIS
MIDGE
I grew up and lived most of my life in
Hertfordshire. Eight months ago I retired to the
East coast of Norfolk. I spent most of my working
life as a cartographer (drawing maps) but also had a
couple of years working as a Probation Service
Officer (boo, hiss ...etc) and the last few years
working for a Trade Association for funeral
directors. I learnt to drive way back in the hippie
era in a Triumph Herald and since then have had a
variety of cars including a Lada! I also drive a diesel
Focus and for the occasional buzz I have a Triumph
Bonneville. Being out in the sticks I found the need
for a second car for the times when management
wants the family saloon and it’s too cold for the
bike. Therefore I began looking for something that
was easy to maintain, cheap to run, not likely to
depreciate too much and most of all fun to drive.
After looking at a few Land Rovers and not finding
anything that took my fancy I turned my attention
to kit cars. I’ve always wanted to build one but
never ever got around to it. That’s when I
discovered the Midge, I had not heard of them
before. I was immediately taken by the look and by
the simplicity of the Herald mechanics with which I
was familiar, albeit 40+ years ago. The first Midge
for sale that took my fancy was a 1980 built Herald
based one. For better or for worse this one was
‘under offer’ before I actually got chance to go and
look at it. A few days later I spotted another Midge
for sale that was within about 40 miles of home so I
made a bee-line for it and after a quick inspection
and test drive to make sure that I could actually fit
in it, I left a down payment and collected her a
week later.
My Midge was built in 1989 using a Ford Escort
1300GT engine and gearbox on what appears to be a
White Rose 2+2 chassis. The front suspension is, I
believe, from a Mark 3 Cortina with disc brakes
(not servo assisted). I am not sure what the back
axle is but it has trailing arms, coil springs and a
Panhard rod. Currently I have crossply tyres on the
front and radials on the rear, this will be changed!
Radiator looks like it was once fitted to a British
Leyland Mini. The car is finished in British Racing
Green with black mudguards. All in all it seems
pretty sound and starts easily and runs well
although it could do with a little TLC.
Whilst I’m not sure that I would like to do a long
journey in the Midge, from the comfort point of
view, it is good fun to drive and gets lots of looks
from other road users, as well as friendly waves
from MGB drivers. I was also pleased with the cost
of classic car insurance being just over a hundred
quid fully comp – that’s about 40% cheaper than the
bike. I am hoping for many years of Midge
ownership, at least until the arthritis puts a stop to
it.
ROGER ENGLAND TELLS US ABOUT HIMSELF
AND HIS LIFELONG LOVE OF CARS
I’m 67 and retired 2 years ago following 45 years in
IT, latterly as CEO of my own company. I’ve been a
petrol head since I was 11, and have seen over 75
cars pass through my hands over the years.
My first “hobby” car was a GP Spyder (Porsche RSK
718 replica) with a 150 BHP engine – very quick
indeed. I had many pleasant outings in this car,
including a memorable trip to Laon for the weekend
thrash round the town, and the obligatory
pilgrimage to Le Mans. After 14 years of ownership
it was sold to an Italian who I believe exported it to
Italy.
My second foray into hobby cars was a 1972
Porsche 914 – an oddity in the Porsche ranks being
VW engine based. However, after a bit of fettling
and a few bob invested, the engine power was up to
170 BHP, and with suitable suspension and braking
mods, a really was a flyer. Highlight of ownership
was pride of place at the local Porsche dealer’s
launch of the new Boxster.
A return to my youth with this “hobby car” Vitesse
as I had owned two as a younger man. This came
into my possession as a rather tatty white car, but
ended up in fluorescent gunmetal and won awards
once restored. Sadly, it didn’t live up to my
expectations from a driving perspective and was
sold to a guy in New Zealand who loves it.
Since nearly buying a Matchless engined Morgan
many years ago, I have always been attracted to
the Morgan three wheeler type of vehicle. This
replica made by JZR seemed to fit the bill quite
well. Originally in red I restored this car over an 18
month period. Good fun, but the Honda engine was
becoming a bit of a problem to source spares for
and this found its way up North to a new owner
early last year (2012)
My latest and current “toy” is a 1966 Austin A40
Farina. I bought this in November 2011 as its
rather boy racer appearance and performance
appealed. However, despite its current MOT, all was
far from well with its body. The engine oil pressure
took a dive on a parade lap at Silverstone and I’ve
ended up fully restoring the whole car, including a
rebuilt engine and gearbox. Still, it’s just run-in
engine with 105 BHP on tap from its 1330 cc
capacity, it promises a quick ride.
I
now spend a day a week at Wansford on the Nene
Valley Railway, helping to restore a Southern Region
Bulleid locomotive number 34081 - 92 Squadron.
In addition to working on the steam engine, I also
volunteer at the Shuttleworth Collection where I
work in the vehicle section. Although there are a
number of cars dating from 1898 that I work on, my
main effort is on the renovation of a 1903 De
Dietrich – the only one of its type in the country,
seen here in better days.
Rob Garrett’s Midge – looking for a new owner at
a bargain price!
A REBUILD PROJECT FOR THE WINTER?…..
Many thanks to our new members for sharing
their interests with us. More biographies are
always welcome.
TONY ARNOLD’S MIDGE
Tony has sent in this picture of his boat-tailed
Midge. I could be wrong but it bears a definite
resemblance
to
a
Morris
Minor
bonnet!
Congratulations for a job well done.
This Midge is built on a 1971 Triumph Spitfire MK4
chassis with the 1296cc engine. It was last taxed in
1993 and is recorded on the DVLA database. It has
previously been on the road with a valid MOT. The
Midge has been stored in a dry garage since last
being used but will require some work to get it back
on the road. As a project, it would be very
rewarding as the car has all the specialised Midge
parts. It will require new tyres and battery.
The car is situated in Formby, Merseyside. Offers
around £1250 are invited. If you would enjoy the
challenge that the Midge offers, then please
contact Jacqui on 01704 380182 or 07889 432864,
email jacqui.conwayross@virginmedia.com
And finally another success story! This is Kevin
Carpenter’s Midge which is now on the road after
being restored.
MIDGES FOR SALE
Rob Garrett is looking for a customer for his Midge,
and has reduced the price to a very realistic £1750.
This car has a number of unique features
•
WRV grp radiator surround,
•
Marlin type grp front wings,
•
Spitfire chassis lengthened by 4-5 inches•
New red mohair hood and full tonneau
If you are interested, please contact Rob at
rob.garrett63@outlook.com for more details.
That’s all for this time. Enjoy the sunshine
and keep those articles and pictures coming!
John