MG Midget on Tail of the Dragon

[50caliberFistFK]

With the super charger can you get her up to 60 mph now?

[Motorfordtoyota]

My grandfather is working on a 75 Midget, what an awsome little car! lol. I needs a little interior work, but mainly cooling system work. I cant wait for him to get it finished, its gonna be fun on those Ellijay Georgia roads! lol

[tobykillz]

i bet that would be a great little car for a cruise/moderatly spiritted drive down the tail haha.

[mgman71]

man this is wicked, road trip time

[trogdorpontiac]

Love the idiot on one wheel approaching a blind corner at :16. That's why people get killed out there.

I bought a '99 Mazda Miata last September and I'll be out on that road for the first time this summer.

[donkmeister]

So.... the Tail of the Dragon is 11 miles long, you deleted the incriminating parts and the video is now just 5 minutes... I'm saying nothing except "Good job!" ;-)

I once did a 75 mile backroad route in 45 minutes in an MG TF160... That's 100mph average and there was room for improvement. I'm not saying which country I was in, but it's proof that a little car that handles well can return serious average speeds (when no-one is around to hold it up!)

[SpeedingStudent]

Trevorwj, please tell me how much you are making at the crank and at the wheels with the Supercharger on your 1275 motor? Any tricks to make more reliable power from the A-Series?

I'm buying a Midget this winter (round wheel arch '71-74, preferably), and want it ready to eat Gen 1 Miatas for breakfast! Help a fellow MG fan out, please. In high school, I had a '76 MGB that I adored, in spite of the ugly rubber bumpers.

I want to hunt Miatas, please help.

Please respond, thanks.

[1967norway]

@SpeedingStudent

I found videos by two guys (BYD1380 and betechmgrover) who put a 4A-GE Toyota engine, and a K16 Rover engine in their Midgets. I've also read about one with a Mazda RX-7 engine (0-60 in 4.2 seconds).

[ferrarifelon]

does the standard midget sound like that or is it due to the supercharger?

[trevorwj]

Honestly, I can not hear the SC. Several people said they like the SC sound, but my hearing is not good enough to notice it. These little cars can sound very different depending on the intake and carbs used.

[speakandleak]

great driving

really looks like those corners flow into one another

[bennybh]

Listen to that supercharger whine! Lovely =]

[barrylovesbrownsauce]

Hi Trevor - what a road - where is it? Presume USA somewhere?

[ftfisher4x4]

That is the Tail of the Dragon. It is an 11 mile stretch of US Highway 129 at the North Carolina / Tennessee border. It is an awesome ride on motorcycle, as well.

[artofwheels]

top car! 5 star

[trx450rlover]

dang tha man at 15 seconds just about got killed

[ftfisher4x4]

Yep. This road is no place to act like an idiot. I recently made this run twice on my Goldwing, two-up with my wife. It was amazing.

[vk2afl]

I've lost count of the number of times I've watched this video. Awesome, well done. Got any more please? I'm hoping to install the Moss kit into my Sprite engined '59 Morris Minor, just saving the fun tickets up to afford it. Cheers, Drew - Australia.

[speed0torque]

I believe the biker who passed you on the back wheel would disagree. But hey, I guess you can only go as fast as the car in front. That's probably you! Ha ha.

[trevorwj]

Nope, I pull off and let aggressive drivers pass. "they are a threat behind you, and entertainment when in front of you".

Track days are cheap when compared to the cost of a wreck/fine/license suspension that can come with road racing. I speak from experience.

[speed0torque]

I think I'll forget about fitting a supercharger if it makes me drive that slow. That was pathetic, a waste of a good car.

[trevorwj]

Thanks for the comment Mr. Troll. I'd usually delete such a comment, but if you might notice that I'm on a public road with a speed limit. Racing is for the track... and a different car. See ya there?

[iDalek]

Great car. Well done on the conversion!

[jfweaver2]

This is rte. 129 just outside of Maryville, TN which is itself just outside of Knoxville. This road is absolutely increadible. I believe there is a website for the "tail of the dragon".

[jnizzoh2]

OMG WHERE IS THIS ROAD???

[kdx80boy]

Looks like your driving on rails (the way MG's were designed to be driven).

[joness105639]

Mg midgets are a blast to drive. I love my 71 midget.  Its got a stock 1275cc engine and a datsun box. 20mpg city 44 mpg highway. Dont know much else except the more I fix her worn suspension the more fun it it.

[statiklingon]

Please post video of the car too! There's lots of MG die hards out here that like to see some safety fast.

[statiklingon]

Awesome! My little 1500 wont get out of its own way.

[trevorwj]

That was my initial drive up. I was more aggressive on the second run, but I still didn't press my luck. My Midget is a fun car at any speed, so I'm guessing a 1500 would be as well. I hope to have time to post some other videos at a later date.

[StefanBruegeman]

1500 is a biger engine with less power thanks to emissions controls, you possibly could pust a 1500 faster than a 1275-1380 but why do it when you are running the same rear end and a 4 speed? get a forced induction A aeries engine and a Datsun 210 trany and you have it all good on the drivetrain, add some gas shocks and the car kicks ass!!

I love this video and can not wait untill my 1275cc gets done, what pistons are you running?

cheers,

Stefan

[trevorwj]

I honestly do not remember the piston specs. I think they are omega units, but do not remember much else. My calculated compression ratio (after head work) ended up being 8.5:1. And... I am running the datsun tranny.

Thanks for the comment.

[StefanBruegeman]

who's supercharger are you using?

or did yoi build your own kit?

[trevorwj]

It is the kit from Moss. Eventually, I hope to swith to an EDIS and increase the boost.

[Alisterwolf66]

Whoops... I hit the spam button by mistake. Sorry, Stefan!

As I was going to post, the 1500 is actually more powerful than the previous 1275... but not by much: Perhaps five horsepower. As you stated, they do suffer from life-choking emissions control, in addition to a couple hundred pounds of extra weight (like the bumpers). I have a 1500, and can tell you they'll move right out once all the smog crap is removed, the carb swapped, and better exhaust fitted.