Scooterotica

Hope this is useful stuff - I could put it on FB, but it'd just pass by and be lost in an instant, which is why I'm glad there's still a few forums out there where build threads are better placed. It takes a bit of effort to take pics and upload them and then paste them in, but I'm happy to do it. Hopefully if there's an old sage out there who can see I'm making a major screw up they'll shout up, or if someone else is thinking about doing the same thing they might learn something from seeing this. It isn't an ego trip...

This is my other toy - owned since 1992 or something, restored it least twice. 1972 MG Midget.

Not the best pic, but 210bhp K-series engine, self built and all the right stuff.

It's a weapon - I've worked out it's about equivalent to a 30+ BHP Lambretta on a power to weight ratio, but it's got a roof and won't fall over on bends...

................and the panels fit

It is 'bespoke' mate - they fit that car...

In original form it's about as well made (by a bunch of blokes in Oxford in the 1970's) as a load of militant Italians building Lambrettas a few years earlier...

We're just trying to make them perfect now - idiots!

Very tempted last weekend to just cut all of the struts off and weld them higher, but I'm sure it's just the side panels being short so carrying on with the packing approach. Made these up over last couple of evenings.

Plus front and rear ones I haven't got pics of yet.

Even though main crossmember was welded on on a jig, the welds had pullet it up a bit and so it wasn't level, so turned it upside down and cut a slot in the bottom and clamped it down and re-welded.

Filled the gap a bit at the front as well as reinforcing the main x-member welds from below - my welding is crap. It's a bit like spraying silly string...

But it's now spot on - front struts and rear stays are original as far as I can tell, hence not wanting to chop it about too much.

Also had a go at the naff cut-outs on the side panels - they're not that bad to be honest and are formed quite well, but they had these little annoying nicks out of each corner.

It isn't great with a silly-string MIG but managed to get something semi-decent on front and rear corners.