1970 Mg Midget Convertible. Just Restored! New Car Smell! on 2040-cars

VIN: GAN5UA81781G Year: 1970
Number of Cylinders: 4
Make: MG
Model: Midget
Trim: Base
Warranty: Vehicle does NOT have an existing warranty
Drive Type: U/K
Options: Convertible
Mileage: 58,670
Exterior Color: British Racing Green
Interior Color: Autumn Leaf

Condition: Used: A vehicle is considered used if it has been registered and issued a title. Used vehicles have had at least one previous owner. The condition of the exterior, interior and engine can vary depending on the vehicle's history. See the seller's listing for full details and description of any imperfections. ... 

History: I purchased this 1970 MG Midget from an older gentleman named George who was about 60% finished with the restoration when he was diagnosed with a heart condition requiring surgery that was going to prevent him from working on cars in the future. I would definitely describe George as a real enthusiast as he had restored three other Fiats and an Opel GT that he still had. So far George had done the body prep work along with the first coat of paint, overhauled the engine with new rings and gaskets, honed the cylinders, relined the gas tank, installed a new three piece clutch kit, and replaced the ignition lock. It was up to me to finish the paint work, redo the interior, and assemble the rest of the engine bay to get the car running as well as countless small items.

My Auction: I will attempt to describe this fine automobile to the best of my ability. All used cars have flaws, even 43 year old restored ones so please be realistic in your expectations. I will point out anything that stands out as I believe anyone who doesn't isn't being thorough with their auction. Please ask all questions before you bid. Please view the link to all of the additional pictures I have posted on flickr.com before you bid, some of them have captions and I want you to know exactly what you are getting. Please read my entire auction carefully before you bid. Also please be respectful of my auction, these cost real money that I have to work hard for just like you do. Please make sure you have the money in place BEFORE you bid and that you have asked your significant other or whoever you need permission from to buy a car BEFORE you bid. I will not cancel your bid for any excuse you try to give me so if you are one of those guys please just leave my auction alone. Please make sure you are able to follow through with the purchase BEFORE you bid. Thanks and good luck!

Link to over 150 more pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/99203533@N08/?details=1.  The pictures come out much better on this website then they do on Ebay. First please view all of the nine pages in the tab format, it will show the captions this way. After that you can click on the pictures to make them larger. Then drag your mouse over the picture and a magnifying glass will appear. If you click the picture again you will be able to supersize it. You can now use the left and right arrows on either side of the page to move from supersized picture to supersized picture but remember you can't see the captions in this mode. Look very closely at the pictures of this car, the God is in the details!

The Restoration: I go to car shows all of the time. It seems like whenever I see a Midget or a MGB they are restored to a very low standard. I wanted my car to be restored to a very high standard. I took my time doing things the right way, and didn't cut any corners because cost was going to be an issue. I wanted the car to appear stock but I made a few upgrades that either enhanced the appearance of the car, longevity of the car, or drivability of the car. Some parts on the car were refinished and rebuilt, some parts were replace altogether, and some parts were simply cleaned and reused. Every part I bought was from a reputable source and some parts I obtained from England. In other words no cheap China reproductions. I accomplished my goal with the restoration. While I will not make the outrageous claim that this is a 100 point show car that should be on the lawn at the Pebble Beach concours d'elegance I will say that you would be proud to show it at an MG Club event and have one of the best cars there if not the best car there.

Exterior: The exterior of this Midget is finished in stunning original British Racing Green. All MG's really should be British Racing Green. If you are local and know anything about Arnie's Body and Paint supply in Joliet you will know about the quality of the products they sell there as well as the advice they give. Bill has been mentoring me for years and has taught me everything I know about painting. When Bill tells you how to do something you follow his instruction verbatim and you will get amazing results like I did. The MG has been wet sanded starting with 800, onto 1000, 1500 , and finally 2000 grit sand paper. Then it was machine polished with 3M buffing compounds followed by a hand glaze. I professional body man may find a few tiny flaws in the finish but everyone else will tell you how awesome it looks. I am very picky and I would say that of all the cars in my collection the MG has the best paint job. This includes high end Jaguars, a Rolls-Royce (very close) and a Corvette. There is nothing like a hand rubbed finish that a production car can not match. The paint is as smooth as glass and shines like a mirror, the car is over restored in this sense because MG's never looked this good from the factory. During the painting process the windsheild was removed as well as all of the exterior trim except the door handles. Before any of the trim, windows or lights were put back on every exterior rubber gasket was replaced with new ones. One area that I deviated from stock is that I painted the wheel wells and the entire undercarriage with a heavy oil based paint. I did this mainly for the clean appearance but I also wanted the car to last forever. This was a rust free car too by the way. I could never understand why someone would try to restore a rust bucket. This car never had any rust underneath, none of the panels have been replaced or welded in and it has never been in an accident. What amazed me was that every nut and bolt that I turned just unscrewed. I didn't have to use PB Blaster on anything and that made this car a real pleasure to work on from that respect. All of the chrome is in excellent shape, I kept all of it. The only place the car can reasonably be faulted is it has a stone chip in the windshield that happened after the restoration. All of the lights and lenses are in perfect shape and the back up lenses are new. The convertible top is also brand new and the top frame has been restored. If you look closely at the pictures with the top up you can see how well done it is. A lot of guys can't get it right and leave sags on the material. Mine is stretched properly and the top is always kept up when the car is not in use to prevent wrinkles in the top.

Interior: The interior on this Midget looks like a brand new car and Autumn Leaf is the best color with the British Racing Green exterior and black top! With everything that is new it actually has the new car smell! The carpets are new and I went with a cut pile carpet. I think it looks so much plusher and classier then the factory black loop carpet. It was hard to find but I also found a company that made a cut pile carpet for the trunk. I have a matching spare tire cover in there as well. All of the black vinyl was redyed with Leatherique products and as a result is perfect. Google it, it is good stuff. I replaced the chrome bezels around the fan blower motor switch, the headlight switch, and the hazard light switch. Everything else was restored and in perfect condition. It has the original BMC radio that works and is pretty cool. All of the door gaskets are new and the door jambs are all painted and look new.  Here are some of the areas I deviated from stock on the interior:

1. I did the door caps in black instead of the stock Autumn Leaf color. I felt this gave the doors a nice contrast.

2. As mentioned I went with cut pile carpet instead of loop style carpet. The trunk is carpeted too, usually they are not.

3. I added some nice chrome door sill plates that say "MG Midget."

4. I painted the normally body color strip black instead of leaving it green that is right under the convertible top behind the seats. This looks so much better!

5. I added new 3 point seat belts for safety, normally they are two point.

Mechanically: This MG Midget runs and drives great! It is an absolute blast to drive, I think this is the most fun you can have with your clothes on! And boy does it sound amazing! Since I had to put the car back together all of the fluids are fresh. The clutch engages smoothly and the car runs up through the gears nicely. I did not take the engine back apart to verify what George did so take that for what it is worth but it purrs so I believe him. Every single hose that has fluid in it or holds pressure was replaced. I kept a few hoses that carry air that are emissions related. There are no funny squeaks as the car goes down the road and it rides really nicely. Everything works on the car except the gas gauge. I have just put a new fuel sending unit in the tank so that's not the problem but I have not had time to track that issue down as we are now moving to a bigger house with a smaller garage. The gauge moves but only reads 1/8th of a tank even when it is full. Here are a few areas I deviated from stock on the mechanicals:

1. I converted it from a generator to an alternator. So yes, now you can drive with the lights on, the radio on, and the fan blower!

2. I converted the jets in the carburetor float bowl from the original needle style to the Grose Jet ball bearing style. These are not supposed to leak like the stock ones do, and so far so good.

3. I went with a solid state fuel pump and as a result I added a fuel pressure regulator.

4. I deleted the smog pump.

Here is a partial list of mechanical parts that I replaced with brand new ones.

1. New rear wheel cylinders on the brakes.

2. New brake master cylinder.

3. New clutch master cylinder.

4. New radiator cross over pipe.

5. New oil pan gasket.

6. New belts and other basic tune up items like spark plugs and wires.

7. New windshield washer motor.

8. New fuel pump.

9. New throttle cable.

10. New hood release cable.

11. New choke cable.

Additional Notes:

-My MG Midget is sold as-is with no warranty expressed or implied.

-I have a clean and clear Illinois title in my name.

-I have two keys for the car.

-The date was not set on my camera when I took the pictures, they were all taken on 7-19-13

-I have driven this car since the restoration to local car shows and around town. It is up to you if you want to fly in and drive home, I have not driven on that long of a trip but I don't see where that would be a problem. I live about 30 minutes from Chicago O'Hare and Chicago Midway.

-If you are having the car shipped I will assist your shipper with loading the car.

-Please don't contact me asking me the reserve price. It is unfair to other bidders. For the amount of money and time that went into this car I am giving it away and it s priced to sell so if you want it get in the game and bid and have some fun! That is what owning a MG Midget is all about: FUN FUN FUN! Also there is no "buy it now" price, I am letting the auction run it's coarse.

-You are more then welcome to come and inspect my MG and test drive it BEFORE you bid. Feel free to bring your mechanic, I am not one.

-By bidding on my MG you are entering into a contract to purchase an automobile. This is not the first right of refusal.

-I require a $200 deposit via Paypal within 48 hours of auction close. You can pay the balance in one of two ways within 7 day: If you are picking up the car you can pay me CASH. This means you will be counting out greenbacks and I will be handing you the keys and the title. If you are having the car shipped you can pay the balance with a bank to bank wire transfer. I will not accept any checks of any kind. You CANNOT pay the entire amount with Paypal, this is only for the deposit.

-If you have zero or negative feedback please contact me before you bid or I will be forced to cancel your bid. Also if you have a good feedback percentage but have not gotten any of those feedbacks in the last year please contact me before you bid.

-It only costs $34 per year for me with Hagerty for insurance on this car!

-You can have all the fun you want with this beautiful MG and not use much gas, it gets about 30 m.p.g. on the highway.

-If you have any questions about the car please feel free to e-mail me on Ebay or feel free to call me at 630-334-6974. I will be happy to talk to you about the car. My name is Joe.

-By next week you could be styling and smiling in this classic convertible!!! Good luck bidding!!!