This video has made my day! I thought the little car looked like an absolute bargain but getting it at that price was the icing on the cake. Then, in the final clip, standing at the side of the road, bonnet up made me howl with laughter! I didn't laugh at you but with you. An absolute classic ending - thanks so much!

Speaking as a former MGB, Sprite and TR-6 owner, they're supposed to break (and leak!). I will say though, that if I had spent 11,000 Pounds on a restoration job; lift the bonnet and see what the engine compartment looks like,, I would have said no way. Poor people were totally ripped off.

Of course it broke, you would be lucky if you made it home from the dealer when it was new.

I dont think the previous owners were ripped off. 11 thousand pounds goes very fast doing rust repairs and refurbishing the interior. Labor is most of it and it's well earned and deserved when dealing with a professional shop. Great purchase! Congratulations!😊 well bought! You done great!

These things were thrown together with no PDI or rust proofing . Its quite astonishing that any of them remain, For the record ,they are terrible . Get it fixed and sell it ASAP. Nothing but low quality trouble .

Half the fun is tinkering, knowing you’re never done!

Lovely little cheeky restored Midget for very little money. Looks like a real bargain! I had my own problems with old petrol clogging the carbs, not a big deal at the end. Anyway, my compliments and have fun! Luv it.

As a sales rep one day while working in Pocahontas County in West Virginia here in States, I ran into 6 of the happiest old guys I ever met driving their MG’s MGB’s Triumphs on Route 219. They were wearing British tweed jackets and tweed caps. One of the cars had went bad and all hands were on deck for the repair. I’ve always been a fan of these little cars and would have loved to be traveling with them in my own lil Britt!

I have an MG Midget myself, also a rubber bumper 1500 and I have to say that I love it. It drives like an MX5 but you can have all your fun at 50 mph and on the Lincolnshire Wolds it is perfect on a summer day. These are still a cheap classic to buy and own and whilst the earlier chrome bumper models have the looks, these are far more affordable. I would suggest a lowering kit to bring the ride height back to the original level. I did this on a rubber bumper BGT and it improved both the handling and the looks. It's a cheap and easy improvement to make and it is something I plan to do on my Midget. Looking forward to more content on your new classic car.

Still got my 1500 Midget which I bought in 1982 as the second owner . Mine is one of the last 500 made ,they are mechanically so easy to work on there is nothing you can’t do yourself.

I have not checked this video but I can imagine its content. If you have no experience of classic cars it’s best to steer clear. Likewise if you can’t do at least basic mechanical repairs yourself. Buyers are often incredibly naive and evidently think that old cars are the same as newer ones but look quaint, ie they go forever even when neglected, and do not let water in, do not leak oil, do not leak coolant. This model is very simple to fix and virtually every single part can be Mail ordered, and cost is moderate. Mechanical jobs are not therefore expensive. Corrosion and collision damage are a different matter. In this case you can even get a complete new body shell, although rebuilding the car is beyond DIY. How good a “restored” car is? How long is a piece of string? Same difference.

Try the fuel pump under the floor behind the drivers seat I think! It is an electric pump that operates through a couple of contacts (like distributor points). When they get dirty or corroded it can stop working. If you listen carefully you should be able to hear it cllicking now and again. As my pump started to give trouble either bang the floor behind the seats, the vibrations can often get the pump to start again or alternatively keep the fuel tank pretty full say over half full should be enough to keep it running. Anyway that worked for me 45 years ago on my 1275 Midgets!

Really enjoyed this. Bought a Midget about 35 years ago. Whilst driving down the M5 the water pump fan detached itself and cut a hole through the radiator. Somehow or another got the car to an accessory shop in Droitwich. Was able to buy a new pump and radiator and fitted them outside the shop. The guy in the shop lent me the tools. Within 2 hours I was back on my way again. (Have to say the engine started playing up shortly afterwards., which was sorted when an ambulance ran into the back of it) Nice simple little car in its day.

No worries, clean the fuel tank, change the fuel filter, perhaps measure coil resistance just to be sure, and off you go. It is a beauty!

I travelled over to the Netherlands last year to buy a 45 year old classic car, I was so confident of it's reliability i drove it back to the uk, No issues. That car was a 1979 Opel Kadett C. I owned one of these car's 40 years ago and their engine's are bullet proof, never had a day's trouble with it. Hope your breakdown is not major. Thanks for the upload. Enjoy your Classic car.

Another great video. It is an easy and enjoyable watch of a Sunday morning . Well done I look forward to more

I used to work on these 35 years ago in a MG restoration place on a YTS. Good little cars to drive and you got this at a snip. So long as you check it over for rot creeping back in and make sure the engine's knocking on the bottom end (if I remember rightly), it's a Triumph unit in those ones and then you're onto a winner.

You got a real steal there. Pretty sure there won’t be much wrong with it. looking forward to the next episode Well done !

I have a 1979 car, totally restored on a changed body by an MG specialist and the cost was about 8K and my car looks like new out of the factory. The current market values are so cheap right now , but I dont think they will stay so low as they become rare. Many are being scrapped as in the current economic climate restoration is above the market values. They are great cars, that you wear more than drive and great enjoyable fun if only the UK weather was better.

Every classic car is a money pit. My old SD1 and Land Rover laugh at me when I try to use them at the weekend!

My father was a British Leland Jaguar dealer in the seventies and all these cars were all 😊plagued with temperamental mechanical and electrical problems. Although my dad drove the Jaguar XJ12 you talk about a beautiful car and they were hand made back then.

An example of what “ Hoovie” would be like in the UK .

It's a NON COMPUTER car. No matter what might go wrong with it, it will be easy to find and fix. When computer cars break down, and they do all the time, it can be a nightmare just trying to figure out what the problem is, even when you have all the computerized diagnostic equipment, and the repair is usually very expensive.

Great video, I bought a 1979 MG, it changed my life. After a year and constant Lucus electric and those carbs I about bought a bicycle! Love the looks but what a nightmare to own! Hope you enjoy yours! Beautiful car.

Speaking of rubber bumpers.... There was the American who was going to get the chrome bumper conversion for his MGB. Before that could happen, he was rear-ended and found himself bounced straight across an intersection! Miraculously, he didn't hit anything and his car was undamaged. The car that rear-ended him, however, was a write-off. He decided to keep the rubber bumpers...

£11,000 of plastic padding I should think. People forget how cars used to rust. I had a 68 Frog Eye Sprite. There weren't too many places where a magnet would stick on.

Wow, second I saw the engine compartment....no way in hell!!

My MG Midget was the worst car I ever bought. I changed it for a 1965 2Ltr Spitfire with Overdrive, no contest! I still have the Spitfire 36 years later.

I’ve had several MGBs two midgets loved them 🙌 but if you want the perfect two seater sports car it’s a no brainer buy an MX5 🤙it will get you to your destination and bring you home. bargain prices lots to choose from don’t be kidded into overpaying! Look underneath some suffer from corrosion if used all year round☝️

The joy of classic cars :) I’m sure it is nothing serious , just a learning curve

I am your age and I agree with that auctioneer on the bumpers. They were 'modern' and new when I was a kid. It just looks right to me. Enjoying the channel.

Bargain. Hope you get it sorted. First time I've watched a video of yours that isn't a "where are they now". Good presentation.

that auctioneer was laying it on thick. Hard to listen to.

If you think Midgets are money pits then classic cars are not for you.

I love midgets, having owned three: .63, 67, 76. When I drove the first one home my dad said “that looks good on you!” You really do feel as if you are wearing it rather than sitting in it.

Owned Austin Healey 3000 1965. My high school tech teacher said the English can't put 2 gears together and make it work. Boy he was right

You lucky man. I am sure the issue is easily fixed & it looks like you have a bargain of a classis. This article has brought back so many happy memories for me as my first car was a 1979 registered "Inca Gold" Midget which I owned from 1983- 85. Looking on the DVLA website its tax expired 1st January 1989 but is showing a VC5 issued 17 November 2005 so perhaps it was still intact & bought as a "project". Looking forward to the next episode on this one.

Typical classified ad for British cars back in the day, "Ran when parked". I once had a Triumph GT6, and after the inevitable rear differential failure I had the car jacked up in the driveway. Late one night I got dropped off at home and had forgotten my house key. No problem, I'll just sleep in the GT6 and sort it out in the morning. It had rained there was 4" of water in the front footwells (all British cars leak - oil, brake fluid, water in/water out, you name it). Long night trying to keep feet dry.

Obviously the auctioneer is going to say yes it's definitely worth buying - hilarious. It's a money toilet.

The auctioneer’s Jiminy Glick Glasses are triumphant! LOL!

Yes, the bumpers are hideous, I reckon the price you got it for, chrome bumpers would still make it a bargain.

If it hasn't been used in a while maybe the points faces just need a bit of a clean up/ scuff with sandpaper, as points faces do tend to develop a crusty residue on them when left for an extended period of time, just a thought. I hope you get it going again without too much of a headache. I've help restore a few of these when I was an apprentice & they do like to rot as they were designed with many water/condensation traps, a really wise investment would be to get all the cavities in the panel-work treated with wax-oil or a similar wax based rust inhibitor. Good luck with the car.

Having worked on and restored MGB’s, Austin’s, Etc….I replace the fuse panel with modern blade type boxes, and add relay’s …make sure all connections are clean and solid, and everything is properly grounded… 98% of your troubles are over….

MG with Rubber Bumpers is the big warning sign, they were thrown together with what ever was left over from previous models, with a just get it out the door pitch, they make a great garden Gnome.

What a lovely car for the money,I'm sure a certain classic car dealer would have it up at 10 k plus

it's true rubber bumper is not the most desirable.... but that is changing with each new generation. a clean body rubber bumper is far far more better purchase than a rusty chrome bumper. and as the auctioneer pointed out - rubber bumper cars are simply changed to chrome without much fuss. this purchase was a steel for that money.

Might not be worth much, but your breaking down on the way home gains you my subscription. Love the car!

Well done on buying such a lovely MG Midget, I’ m sure like you said the problem is a case of lack of use, time for some fettleing me thinks.

From a TR6 owner in the USA - Great buy!! That looks like a wonderful automobile. Fun to drive, enjoy!!

What possessed them to spend £11,000 on restoration 😳

There is a large auction house about 10 miles from my home. I used to go on Tues night to look at the cars and watch 3rd tier dealers and individuals bid for light entertainment. Decided then I'd never buy a car at auction. The dealers have a soecial relationship, the curbstoner flippers are going to pawn it of despite hidden surprises and the individuals are getting shafted. Individuals seldom outbid the dealers on a good car...and get the stuff that's glossy but dodgy. You can only start the car and run it in 1st gear around the parking lot. You can look at it and wiggle the wheels...but no jacking up or checking fuel flow or anything else requiring tools. For newer cars you can put a scanner on them, but every auction clears all the codes the day before auction....so you bettee have an expensive professional scanner.

Points! It's always the points.

Beautiful car absolute bargain

Had an MGB GT, enjoyed it but so unreliable. Never did solve the frequent electrical problem's over the 10 years I owned it. I was faced with stripping the whole wiring loom and replacing it to trace multiple 'earth shorts'. Gave up in the end. Bought a Mazda MX5 mk II....had it 17 years now, its 27 years old and changed one oil seal in all that time. Never looked back.

Love those wheels on it, they are perfect for the period. My first car was a 1098cc Sprite , a lot of fun but I yearned for a bit more grunt and went to a TR6. The six spoiled me, after that I had a GT6 and then a 240Z, with wheels that looked like a bigger version of those on this car, again perfect for the period. I got nostalgic for a Spridget at one stage, but getting in one again after the roomy cockpit of even the GT6 was a big shock! The Spridget would still out-handle both the Triumphs.

Can't argue with that purchase at all, that has got to be a good deal. The back story is all too common unfortunately. It should be pretty easy to fix, dead simple mechanics, loads of parts available.

They are homely...BUT...I ended up loving my rubber bumpered 1978 Midge (Pageant Blue). I feel like an idiot for selling it. My most favorite car out of all my LBC's...These midges just grow on you. Keep it forever. They are like a charm...So small you could keep it in your living room....

Having bought a car blind at an online auction during the pandemic (hence the channel name) I know exactly that nervous feeling of driving your new car for the first time. On the bright side, given the amount of money that the car has cost in restoration it doesn’t look expensive at the price you paid!

My very first car was an M.G.B. and it made me a mechanic because it broke down every two weeks.

MG is a go kart. Figure out your electrical, fix the exhaust, look for a single Weber stromberg carb with manual choke. New fuel pump, and figure out heater control valve that isn’t cork.

Looks like a good buy. Knowing MGs, your snag will be an easy fix - one of mine did just this and it was muck from the tank pulled into the carbs and stopping the piston moving freely...

Breakdowns are never fun! At least not until it’s over and things have been sorted 😂 Really good looking little thing! I’m not so into them, but certainly made a good impression, visually 🤭 My first stop here, so if nothing else, the breakdown led to new viewers on your channel! 🇳🇴👋

Great car, not hard to push😂

The first rule of owning a classic car: What you have in it has nothing to do with what it is worth.

I am so jealous.... I think you have bought a really solid model. If I owned it I would be so happy

A work colleague of mine owned a second-hand MG Midget for 20 years (sold it 2005) and used it as a daily commute car between Oxford and Witney (26 miles a day). It never let him down but being a Toolmaker by trade he did look after it, periodically he'd take it off the road for a weekend and adjust the tappets, regrease the parts that needed regreasing, spray wash the underside and wings of salt and sh*t..... blah blah balh and it kept on going! Let us know if your was just dirty fuel, for what it's worth the Midget is a car that needs to be well maintained!

What a neat car. It is all part of our love of old car lovers! Carry On and get her fixed.

"I have no problem with rubber bumpers" says the bloke who drives a Range Rover😅

Bargain, really glad you won the auction. Even if you have to spend a few quid on it it will be worth it

After owning a 1976 TR7 there is absolutely no way I would ever buy a British car again.

I bought a '78 MGB back in 1982, looked real nice at the car lot but that thing stranded me just like this over and over. Lucas electrics the usual problem. One time it stalled right beside my girlfriends house so that worked out lol.

Old MGs can be bought for very little as they were shyte from new and went downhill as they aged. The tech was at least 20 years behind their contemporaries, like a Lancia Fulvia.

Great bargain. Enjoy the Summer ☀️🔧🪛. Maybe just tidy it up a bit and sell it at a profit 👍

One great thing is that this car is already done inside and out and seems to be all safe. That little motor is a tank and with a day or two of work you know he’ll have it running top knotch. As a spitfire owner I would have payed the money for it. Just for a toy

I like it and I'd like it better with an engine & trans swap. My neighbor had one long time ago and it didn't run right then it got stolen. I'm really surprised that the thieves didn't bring it back. 'Probably parted it out. Cheers!

The Midget is a wonderful road going go kart, bought mine in 1981 and never been able to put it back in in it's toybox..just too much fun. Have done 5000 miles doing Rt66 both ways plus a bit extra in one. Last year did 1500 miles in UK over 10 days in mine..but for goodness sake put the hood in the loft where it belongs.. more smiles per mile and buck than any other car 👍

I have 3 rubber bumper MGB roadsters in Canada. A 1978 older resto is a (seasonal) daily driver. It`s single Stromberg was replaced with a sidedraft Weber plus it has additional radiator from `76 parts car for added cooling. Both of those have 4 sp trans. Number 3 car is a `75 Anniversary Edition with 5 sp, title, and turns over but is project vehicle needing head gasket. They`re so much fun to drive except the windshield header bar is a pain in the ass at streetlights.

Now you know the real reason they got rid of it.

Growing up in the States in the 70s i loved the looks of the MG Midgets. To me they were exotic,imported, and i wanted one. UNTIL I saw a brand new Triumph TR6 my neighbor had bought a brand new 1976 model Dark Blue and he put on what he called 'sports exhaust' she sounded good too! I hope its only a few small issues that can be fixed cheaply and easily and you can have some fun with the MG

If you watched the recent episode of shed & buried they did a rubber bumper MG midget, what they did removing the bumpers made the car look a lot better than the poorly fitting plastic bumpers

I had a 72 one. Decided to drive it down the M6 at 90 mph and it seized solid. Then I discovered it took a hydraulic press to remove the gudgeon pins...

I had one of those and had to spend a lot to rebuild the inner rear wings.Turned to dust. The engine is ok but things like sticking carb floats,and the usual old engine problems are a pain.However everything can be fixed relatively easily but sometimes they can turn expensive.Good luck.

It may be a money pit, but at least is about as shallow a pit as you can find. (MGBGT and Spitfire owner) Good Luck! You'll be on the road in no time. You don't even need a hoist to lift the engine, a couple of friends can do the job.

Good video, excellent restoration. This MG midget is not exempt from ULEZ or congestion charge. I am not sure if it will run on E10 petrol. These cars are full of nostalgia but with Lucas electrics. I suggest you have the fuel tank flushed and fuel lines. These cars are sluggish and under powered. The coolant should be changed regularly.

We've all been there - best laugh of the week !

I used to work with a lad who ACTUALLY parted with his hard-earned and bought one .......nothing but bother with it . If it wasn't in the garage for repair it was either on his driveway (waiting to be repaired ) or it was leaking . I honestly cannot understand why oh why anybody would want to own one , they don't even drive that well from what he said . Ludicrous .

Bad luck fella. It wont be much be assured, these midgets were great little sports cars and the days of these mgs and Triumph cars were absolutely magical

I owned a 1979 (T Reg) carmine red (same as yours) MG Midget about 35 years ago. I spent so much on it it makes me cry now just to think about it. And yup it was really unreliable as well. That triumph 1500 engine is all wrong for those cars. If I was ever going to get one again I'd buy a chrome bumper 1275 round wheel arch version. Those rubber bumpers weigh a tonne and ruin the handling as they are like pendulums at either end. And to make it even worse they raised the ride height just to comply with US crash regulations. For the record I now own 5 classic minis. Much better in my opinion. 16:31

Great video! Trigger's broom comes to mind LOL

To be fair .. that White Cortina mk5 at 1:22 looks stunning ..and would have been my choice .. (I am a bit too tall for a MG Midget)

good luck finding parts !! ... even members of the MG club are paying ridiculous prices

Toe in the water...? Here comes the shark....

That’s about what it’s worth. Looks like not much has been done to the engine. If it had a V8 and wire wheels it would be more interesting. I picked up a 1999 SAAB 93 Cabriolet 2.0L auto with only 73,000 miles on the clock for less than £1,000. A lot more car for half the price. However, it’s only doing 20mpg and costs £325 in road tax! Swings and roundabouts.

Thank you for being you. You have saved history. The one thing that is in my mind is to get the use of the day that will inherit this automobile in tune with history. It will be a road of interest. Money has no value whatsoever. It’s what you leave behind when they talk on the Internet he was a billionaire and he died. He died a pauper, because we still have MND breast cancer and many other aspects of life skills we have to contain regards from down under

Don't forget to check the coil if getting very hot resistance......coil breaking down......?new coil plus points condenser jobs a good one

Thanks another great video. I grew up on MG's loved them had many! Im looking forward to seeing more of this one on your channel!

I live in Pennsylvania and own a 74 midget..fun to drive in the fall and gets second and third looks.

Joking aside (see my previous comment), sort out a "get me home kit". That's spair coil, points, rotor & cap. All water hoses & clips, tools to cut the old ones off if necessary, spare spark plugs, container for coolant. Spare bulbs, right gage of wire if you need to connect the fuel pump & coil direct to battery. Check where your jack locations are & if you can undo all your wheel nuts. Allways listen to your car, it will usually tell you if something going wrong. Do the fluid checks including the gearbox & back axle oil levels. Good luck & don't be too surprised if the midget starts becoming your daily driver.

Great video - time for a Haynes Manual Trevor!

"Fully restored" That's hilarious. The engine bay looked like a dogs breakfast. You got it for peanuts. Have fun re "restoring it" 🤣