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MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Volvo B22 engine

Is this engine an option as an upgrade for a Sprite >> 150 HP :-).

These engines were mounted in de Amazone >> plenty of parts available

a.o. arnold

There are a few different engines options for Spridgets. But the rules for historic, and re-registration have changed.

8 point rules.

If all you change is the engine, you only lose 1 point, but if you alter the chassis to take the modern engine you lose 5 points, and the transmission change will cost you another 2 points.

I'm guessing K Spridgets must be sailing a bit close to the wind.
anamnesis

I don't know how easy or difficult they would be to fit in a Sprite but I know they'll easily outlast the rest of the car! I had a Volvo 240 with a B21 and a 740 with a B23 (both fuel injected but can be carburettor versions I think). Both superb "redblock" engines imv and I presume the B22 is similar.
Bill Bretherton

Got to be diminishing returns for embarking on any petrol engine conversion now, surely? I'm hoping that a budget EV will yield the next drivetrain for mine.
AdrianR

Adrian, me too.
I think it was Guy who suggested transferring all the 'oily' bits from a Nissan Leaf. Maybe get 70 miles between charges, plenty enough for most use.
Jeremy MkIII

Anything will fit with a big enough crow bar, angle grinder and a welder :-)
Malcolm

I would agree with Malcolm, but with the proviso that some are easier than others - ie K series, Zetec, Duratec and possibly other old BL lumps. As to the EV conversion, I too think a Nissan Leaf swop would be interesting, but then again if you feel the urge for a deeply uninvolving EV then why not er...a Nissan Leaf?
Oggers

I have my doubts about using a Leaf as a donor car for an E-Spridget; a Leaf is one of the few cars that's slower than me up Loton Park's hill! Plus he had a long wait at Asda to get enough charge to get him back home to Birmingham.
C Mee

There is a guy from the USA that posts on our FB page who has a Volvo 5 cylinder engine and inline gearbox in a midget. A rather large bonnet bulge as well.
Rob
MG Moneypit

Many moons ago I helped my dad pull the engine out of an Amazon and put it back.
Don't know if it was a B22 (maybe B18???) but I seem to remember it was a heavy brute.

Personally I've been wondering if the slant four sohc engine from a Dolomite would settle in a Midget shell. With the O/D Dolly gearbox of course.
I have a feeling the cambox might hit the side of the engine bay though.
Greybeard

Greybeard,

Brain Wheeler had a frogeye with the Dolomite Sprint engine in it and a rather large and IMO not pretty bonnet bulge. I didn't see under the bonnet so I don't know if any chassis mods were made.
David Billington

All sorts of engines will fit in a Sprite/Midget (I once saw an Essex V6 in a Frogeye) and have more power than an A-series. But, if they are also a lot heavier they won't be a great driving experience. The big advantage the K-Series has (discounting MG on the cam cover) is it's a light engine, also lighter then the Zetec.
Daniel

The 1.6 / 2l Alfa engine is a really nice bit of engineering and I wonder if that could be made to fit. It's very light and compact but may be a bit tall.
GuyW

I've certainly seen a few FIAT twin cam engines in spridgets and that's a more compact unit and IMO the better engine although heavier. I even considered it for a now abandoned project with a mate along with 4x4 running gear.
David Billington

Greybeard - the great Brian Wheeler put a Dolomite Sprint engine (and o/d box) into his Brian Archer Sebring Sprite replica ...

It was exremely quick, but did have a penchant for going through hedges backwards.

Tom

(PDF from Martin Ingall's Sebring Sprite website)
Tom Coulthard

Try again - the PDF:
Tom Coulthard

Tom,

I wonder if Brian's frogeye I saw with the Dolomite Sprint engine in it became that car.
David Billington

Back in period, I remember it was possible to purchase a Triumph Herald with the 1216 Coventry Climax engine fitted. This is the engine that was used in various states of tune for the original Lotus Elite and other low volume producers. Has anyone fitted this to a Spridget?
Ray Rowsell

“ Has anyone fitted this to a Spridget?”

Yes, Jack Brabham, I believe.
Dave O'Neill 2

Dave,

Thanks for the memory prompt. IIRC the Herald I referred to was known as the "Brabham Herald". I don't remember the Brabham Midget. That was quite an engine, again from memory; c1960, 1216cc, c100BHP, 7000RPM. Although, with its fire pump origins, did it have a propensity to burn oil?

I had a youthful dream of owning a Lotus Elite but it was probably a good, certainly less expensive and more reliable, decision to go for open air motoring provided by a Midget. Coming up to 25 years with the Midget and it still makes me and my neighbours smile every time I take it out.
Ray
Ray Rowsell

Paul Webb put a Coventry Climax into a Mk2 Sprite and it looks factory original but to a concours standard and most impressive.
Daniel

Oggers,

the Nissan Leaf produces 107bhp in its least powerful version, about 40bhp more than a good A series.

There was/is an option to have a fast charge socket on a Leaf so hanging around in Asda car parks isn't compulsory while it charges.

The biggest issue I suspect is weight. There is a lot to remove from the Midget and the Leaf batteries are passively cooled but there will still be a lot of weight going back in. An interesting challenge - although a complete ignoramus when it comes to electrickery, I'd be very interested in a kit with full instructions.

Jeremy MkIII

I fitted a Climax in my Sebring a couple of years ago after reading of Paul Webb's conversion.





D.J. Stewart

Wow, D. J.! That is a thing of considerable loveliness. It's just a shame that Sprite people were on the whole too church-mice-ish to be able to afford one.

Mind you, Sebring Sprite folks shelling out for the W&P 'alternative coachwork' were already paying the price of a brand new E-type ...





Tom Coulthard

Jeremy

My Zetec powered Midget was about 150 standard, probably more with the bike carbs fitted. If you want considerably more power from a Midget I believe fitting a larger ICE is still the most cost effective method.

However, that is not to disparage an EV conversion, but for me it would defeat the point of owning a Midget. Personally if I wanted an EV, then I would simply buy a stock EV.
Oggers

Oggers,

agreed - for more power in a Midget, the simplest way to go atm, is a bigger ICE.
My comment was as a response to your suggestion that a Leaf powered Midget would be a deeply uninvolving experience.
Not so sure it would be.
Loss of exhaust note and changing gears are negatives but instant torque, more linear power delivery are positives plus you'll have the chance to hear all the rattles and squeaks previously masked by the piston engine.
A different type of driving experience maybe but not an uninvolving one.
Jeremy MkIII

Jeremy

....and my comment was that if you desire the things you mention then why not buy the Nissan Leaf itself rather than faff about putting batteries and drivetrain into a Midget - or any other classic for that matter?

Classic cars are frankly one of life's little luxuries and the way things are going, so are the ICEs that power them. Enjoy them while you can.
Oggers

Same argument would go for installing a Ford Zetec 2.0 standard about(?) 150(?) hp engine.

I'm not against either electric or heavy Ford engine, I have a heavy Ford (slow, saloon) gearbox in mine (nowhere nice as original Spridget box but does have synchro on 1st and a 5th gear) but the engine swaps do make a considerable difference to the feel of the car, I'd imagine.

I say imagine as I've never driven a Spridget with a different engine but I have driven and owned other 16v engine cars including light(-ish) sportscars with the 1.8 Zetec engine (and MT75 g/box) and have passenger'd in a RHD Tesla Roadster and all felt different to the A-series in various states of tune.
Nigel Atkins

This thread was discussed between 19/08/2021 and 22/08/2021

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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