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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Lock Plate, brake hose

Hi there. I am reassembling the front brakes on my 1974 1275 midget and have reached a confusing point - for me anyway!

I cant work out which way round the the lock plate for the brake hose (part no's BTA792 and 3) ,that the studs to the caliper go through, goes. Does anyone have a picture of the correct configuration?

Many thanks

Andy
Andy Davies

As you know they're are handed.

You bolt it on with the caliper retaining bolts, so that the hose sits in the middle.

If nobody else has a pic', I'll get one for you later tonight. Dinner now though. :)
Lawrence Slater

Does this help?

I've swung the lock tab away for clarity.



Lawrence Slater

Thanks Lawrence - thats just what I needed. Cheers

Andy
Andy Davies

Lawrence

It was very good of you to dismantle your car to take the photo, but I don't think you should have cut through the brake hose ;o)
Dave O'Neill2

Glad to assist :)

Yup cutting that hose was a bit rash of me, but not as rash as trying to drive the car without an offside front wheel ;)

I'll take this opportunity to have a rant, just for fun.

That is one part, of one side, of both sides of a full suspension set I bought very cheap on ebay. I took a flier, and it came up trumps. I got double grease point wishbones(almost zero play in screwed fulcrum/bush), complete with shocks, calippers, discs, stub axles, and hubs. No play in the wheel bearings, which have turned out to be original RHPs, and the king pins and bushes are in fantastic no play condition too. Only the discs are trash, as the owner ran the pads to the steel :(.

However, you'll notice how cruddy that stub/calipper is. Everything looked like that. It's as cruddy as that, because some fool(mechanic or previous owner?), decided it would be a good idea to cover the whole of the front suspension,-- anything that moved or didn't move -- , in thick black semi-solified, sticky wax type underseal, that half of england had then stuck to, that's really messy and time consuming to remove. Petrol disolves it, but makes a mess.

Why not just use paint? It makes life much easier when taking things apart, and all that crap wouldn't have stuck to it. Why do people underseal moving mechanical parts anyway?

Anyway, I shouldn't complain, as that would be hypocritical, since I've said previously, what previous owners do with their cars is their prerogative

Bloody annoying though.
Lawrence Slater

looks like the perfect oppertunity for me to show off a bit of my rebuild! :-)

Photo taken on my phone so not great quality.

I feel your pain with the underseal Lawrence. Horrid stuff! Get it off and paint those calipers red, gives you and extra 10 horsepower at least ;-)

Cheers,
Malcolm




Malcolm Le Chevalier

Very nice Malcolm.

I was wondering what colour to paint mine, now I know to avoid red lol.

Seriously though, what brand of paint? I was thinking hammerite, but it's way more expensive than it used to be. There must be a cheaper equivalent these days.
Lawrence Slater

I used metallic red plastikote enamel from B and Q.

http://www.diy.com/nav/decor/paint/specialist-paints/craft_paint/Plasti-kote-Fast-Dry-Enamel-Brush-On-Red-Metallic-59ml-10817688

Hopefully it lasts OK, someone said you dont really need the high temperature brake specific stuff, and old paint will do.

Wish I had painted the hubs uprights and steering arms whilst everything was apart. Might get back round to it one day.

Malcolm


Malcolm Le Chevalier

Snap Malcolm... I'm actually not a big fan of the red on the calipers, but I had it sitting on the shelf - specific brake caliper paint - and the rest of the car is black and red, so it got used. Horrible runny stuff. On another note, I agree 100% with Lawrence regarding paint. Such a pleasure to work on parts that are painted and reasonably clean, rather than greasy and filthy!


Andrew F

Hi Andrew.
Another red one. Maybe it'll catch on. Maybe I'll find a cheap pot of red and join you.

It's not the grease and filth that I mind cleaning off, it's scraping off the semi cured underseal.

Yup a nice clean painted surface, is not only more pleasant to work on, you can also see things much better.

I'm thinking of painting the whole of the suspension smooth white. Bit like a dentists advert. When the MOT guy gets underneath, he'll be dazzled by the glow LOL.


Lawrence Slater

You need high temp stuff Lawrence. hammerite would just bubble off.

Red is for chavs! You're all chavs, the lot of you!

I'd go black, one it doesn't look garish, 2 I'm cheap and just use the same as my engine paint cos I have it on my shelf.

C L Carter

Hammerite bubble off?

I used yellow Hammerite smoothrite on my calipers ten years ago, have used, misused and abused my car since then. This is including 100+ mph to 20 mph braking to take hairpins turns on trackdays and have had no such bubbling

ok

Maybe yellow is better, I certainly preferred it to red :(

It does get dusty dirty though, but washes off with carb cleaner usually
Bill1

I have used red Hammerite on Maserati brakes calipers - and it didn't bubble and melt.
Guy

I had calipers come loose after the paint on the mating face melted, be warned!

Carl
C Bintcliffe

Why were your callipers so hot?
Lawrence Slater

I haven't any paint on mating surfaces or under bolt mounting faces

Doesn't sound like a good idea, where do you actually mean Carl?
Bill1

Yes Bill, my mistake for having paint on the mating surface :( Lawrence, you simply aren't trying hard enough!!
C Bintcliffe

Ah, I see what you mean Carl.

On one of my trips across the Alps in the Sprite many years ago , I took the scenic route, aka the cheap route, avoiding the paid motorway pass. It was a very steep ascent. It was an even steeper descent. So steep in fact, that I was unable to stop. :) I had the car in 1st, handbrake on, and foot hard on the brake pedal. Smoke billowing from the arches, back and front. In the end, I ran the car into a grassy/muddy bank to stop. The discs were glowing so much I could have lit my roll up on them.

When I got back to the UK, I decided I would fit new discs, as the heating had warped them so much.

When I removed the disc bolts, which were pretty loose, I noticed that all four threaded holes had cracks in them. I reckon I was trying hard that day. :)
Lawrence Slater

This thread was discussed between 30/03/2012 and 04/04/2012

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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