MG Midget restoration

Auto Motor Klassiek » Practice and technology » MG Midget restoration
Purchasing classics there

With the precision of an F16

By: René Gruwel - Wilbers Taxaties (www.wilbers-taxaties.nl)

Henny Verheijen is no stranger to hard work. Take the restoration of his MG, for example, the hands are simply being rolled up. And this MG Midget is being tackled very drastically. Not because you have to, but because you can!

Owner Verheijen proudly showed how far he had already come. You soon look with open mouth to the quality, drive and tranquility with which the project is tackled. Every operation is handled with extreme precision. The conversion from right to left handlebars has been carried out to perfection. You won't find any fiber filler on the body. The entire body is made tight with lubrication. Henny Verheijen strives for perfection down to the smallest detail. Whether you see it or not. Every part, even if it is still so small, must be perfect. Repair or simply replace with new: for Henny no discussion. 

Together with his sons, the smallest details are carried out as personal custom work or in accordance with the specifications of the time. The entire brake system has just been renewed. What should be beautiful is polished until it shines.

Many MG enthusiasts carelessly mount a luggage rack on the tailgate? Nothing wrong with that, but Henny does it differently. He simply buys a second tailgate not to damage the original mounted. Coating; that is newly purchased in the original version, but to be sure it is also bought in red. You never know what is better. The engine and gearbox have been overhauled to perfection, leaving nothing to chance, as was the case with English cars at the time. 

It would not surprise us that with such attention to detail even Lucas, his nickname Prince of Darkness can finally shake off. Because unexpected electrics seem impossible to us here. One of Hennie Verheijen's sons works as a mechanic on F16s. That precision is also the norm for this restoration. 

Restoration at that level takes time, a lot of time. Much has been done about this creamy-white MG Midget and the end is in sight. The restoration will be completed according to plan in the coming year. 

Also curious about the outcome? Stay tuned for the story of the complete restoration ...

MG

The MG brand has a glorious history. As is known, the brand name came from  the abbreviation of Morris Garages. Really old MG people prefer to write the brand with dots. MG 

According to many people, every MG is a Midget, but the first Midget appeared in 1936 as a TA Midget. Those are very different cars than this one. The name was taken from the barn in the early 1960s for the MG Midget, and that was actually a more expensive version of the Austin Healey Sprite. MG Midget's have been built for no less than eighteen years (!), From 1961 to 1979. The latest version that appeared in the mid-1970s was called the MG Midget 1500. To meet the American safety requirements, they had received huge rubber bumpers and they stood a little higher on the wheels. Let's face it, it didn't get any nicer, but still ... the great thing was that you could buy it to 1980! 

The later types are often optically reconstructed to the earlier models. 

The production of all MG cars was discontinued in 1980. 

The value 

The current value of the MG Midget varies from € 2.000, - for a bodywork with license plate as a basis for restoration to around € 5.000, - for an item that urgently needs a restoration. If it concerns an older restoration or just a good drivable copy with some work, you can count on prices up to around € 9.000. In addition, you will find the Midgets recently restored or in good to very good condition for an amount of € 15.000. Exemplarily there are also (considerably) higher prices in Europe, often they have a special history and / or have been restored to a competitive condition!

This specimen was already valued by Wilbers Taxaties during the restoration. Whether that has. Yes, there is an article about it on the Wilbers Taxaties site. You can read that here

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