The Midget Project

The Midget project is something that knocked around my head for long enough that one day I just picked up a pad of paper and started designing a car. Then I picked up a wrench and started working. Let me explain....

Like most racers, I'm an inveterate tinkerer. Everyone thinks about what they'd do to "improve" the good designs of the old boys at Abingdon, and of course, I'm no different. So I had to finally undertake to do something about it. So the Midget Project was born out of an old 1970 Midget Mark III I've had for a few years and used to drive regularly before it really started to show its age. Another motivation is that I want a car to drive in road rallies and touring events, and my Bugeye isn't even remotely street legal, and is a bit low-slung for that kind of event.

So what am I going to do with this car? Well, maybe quite a bit. To begin with, here's the basic checklist:

Replace the square-arch fenders with round arches, for better tire clearance.

DONE! I found a donor rear-section from a '73, and a quick bit of surgery later, I have a 1970 round-arch Midget.

Replace the stock drivetrain with a mildly prepared Datsun A14, mated to a Datsun 5 speed transmission.

Partly done. I have the A14, and installation is a breeze, but it's waiting on the rest of the prepwork.
This was a difficult decision, but ultimately the greater power, reliability, and parts availability of the Datsun plant
proved persuasive. Besides, it'll be unusual, like the rest of the car.

Rewire and replumb the car.

Hey, 29 year old wiring is 29 year old wiring, right?

Replace the dash and steering wheel with custom parts and get some nifty seats.

Use nifty minilite-style centerlock wheels on wire-wheel hubs.

These are too beautiful to be believed. Pictures forthcoming.

Add a panhard bar to the rear, and possibly a larger sway bar up front. Otherwise, leave the suspension and steering relatively stock.

These cars handle so well anyway, hardly any improvement is necessary here. I purchased the sway bar, and the car's had a Winner's Circle (http://www.spridget.com) panhard bar for years.

Make a fairly groovy roll cage.

DONE! The car and a Sprite belonging to Miq Millman) now have matched cages. These pictures show three views of the wonderful cage built by Rex Solin's RR Racefab of Aloha, OR.

Use a fuel cell in place of the stock gas tank.

This is a no-brainer, really. I have an 8 gallon cell, and part of the car prep will be to cut a hole in the trunk floor and to build an aluminum box to fit in the hole to contain the cell. This will drop the weight of the fuel lower to improve traction.

More on this as the project progresses....

ETA on the finished car is at this point planned (hoped) for mid '99 or so.