5k Flash: 1979 MG Midget; Mustard Yellow
The MG Midget was a diminutive little runabout from Morris Garage that shared mechanical parts with the odd looking Bugeye Sprite from
Triumph Austin-Healey (its hard to keep all of these defunct British auto companies straight!). The Midget was a roadster that harkened back to MG’s early days with its 80 inch wheelbase being less than the width of a modern F-150 pickup. This 1979 MG Midget proudly wears its original mustard yellow paint, has a claimed original 25k miles on the odometer and is offered for a paltry sum of $3700 in Lake Elsinore, CA via craigslist.
This MkIV Midget was refereed to as the Midget 1500 because it shared a power plant with the Triumph spitfire instead of the 948-1275cc engines of the earlier years. The MkIV also featured a black plastic front bumper that could be swapped out for a pre-1973 chrome piece if desired and has squared off rear wheel arches – apparently done because the early rounded wheel arches were known to buckle under cornering forces created by the 165mm section width tires.
Motivating the Midget is a 1.5 liter inline 4 cylinder engine borrowed from the Triumph Spitfire putting out 71 horsepower and 82 ft-lbs of torque. Performance is Zamboniesque with the 1600 lb curb weight; this Oompa-Loompa will hobble from 0-60 mph in 12 seconds.
Overall this Midget looks to be in decent shape to drive every day – the low miles on this car won’t keep you from driving it and we think a more optimistic ebay dealer/car flipper would use some ‘Back-to-Black’ on those bumpers and easily ask 2X this sellers price. We aren’t experts at the stock market, but we’d put this MG in the strong buy catagory.
See another munchkin with a yellow brick paint job? email us here: tips@dailyturismo.com
Just a small piece of info; the Sprite, was from Austin-Healey, not Triumph.
~ they're just keeping us on our toes.
Oops – yeah, this is what you get when proof reading after a third round of Jameson's finest. Literally 'proof' reading…
Ust
~ i took one on trade on an Audi Quattro years ago. my 13DD feet prevented me from ever enjoying driving the little slug. i was very happy to see it go away.
. i don'l know why or how but a gentleman my younger brother worked with at a machine shop in Morris, Il. managed to shoe-horn a big block Chevy into the re-engineered nose of a Spriget. i never saw it running but i'm told it was a handful… or three.
Hell of a deal.
Nice deal if you want a little sports car just to fool around with. Sadly, the engine was loaded with emission controls that greatly limited power.