Thanks Mike, at last you`re fully legal! Although this is a bumper

“discrepancy”. Once again I approached the Swansea
telephone system, this time however with more confidence,
as I was becoming something of an expert now. “No
problem Sir. All we want to do is confirm your chassis and
engine number”. “On your letter you say I have to bring
the vehicle on a trailer if it is not Taxed or Licensed. Can I
tow it on an A Frame as I do not have a trailer?” “Certainly
not, it must be on a trailer” was the reply and I decided
not to challenge this in any way in case they stuck to their
guns and did not inspect the vehicle, so trailer it was.
The due day arrived in early December and I set off,
arriving 15 minutes late due to a miscalculation about the
amount of traffic on the road at that time of day and fully
expecting to be told to come back another time. But NO, a
minion came out, gave the chassis plate a rudimentary
check and said they would be in touch. No question about
checking the engine number even when I asked and, to be
frank, the chassis plate was a repro item; hand etched with
the chassis number so could have been anything.
Half expecting to get a ‘Due to a discrepancy in our
records’ letter I was pleasantly surprised to get, dated the
15th December, a nice new V5 listing my vehicle as a JC
Midge, only about six and a half months after I started
the process.
So, essentially, changing details in the V5 should not
present problems if everything goes as it should do. I am
now the proud owner of a ‘real’ JC Midge, the Log Book
says so!!!
Car Shows for 2007
I have received details of Autojumbles and Classic Vehicle
Shows from Mark Woodward Classic Events. Mark has
taken over from Andrew Greenwood in organising a number
of shows. There are too many to list here. For more details
check out www.markwoodwardclassicevents.com or phone
01253 407779
A list of major National Shows is given below, so now
there’s no excuse for leaving your Midge in the garage
when you could be attending a show in the company of
fellow enthusiasts!
Thanks Mike, at last you’re fully legal!
11 February
Triumph Show
& Spares Day
NAC,
Stoneleigh,
17 - 18 February
Bristol Classic
Car Show
Royal Bath &
West
Showground,
25 February
MG Show &
Spares Day
NAC,
Stoneleigh,
24 - 25 February
London Classic
Car Show
Alexandra
Palace,
11 March
Spring
Restoration
Show
NAC,
Stoneleigh,
23 - 25 March
Int. Historic
Motorsport
Show
NAC,
Stoneleigh,
14 - 15 April
6 - 7 May
National Kit
Car Show
NAC,
Stoneleigh,
26 - 28 May
Enfield Pageant
of Motoring
Enfield,
17 - 18 June
Newark Kit Car Newark & Notts
Show
Showground
24 June
Bromley
Pageant of
Motoring
Norman Park
7 - 8 Sept
Beaulieu
International
Autojumble
National Motor
Museum,
16 Sept
Here we have the most unusual Midge I have yet seen.
Steven Greenslade is the proud owner of this unique
vehicle which appears to have a Midge body with a Locust
bonnet. Perhaps it should be called a ‘Lidge’ or a ‘Mocust’.
Would anyone like to suggest a suitable name??
Although this is a bumper issue of the Newsletter, I
have been unable to include articles from Simon Bates
and Pat McCarthy. These will be published in our next
Newsletter, along with Nigel Auker’s experiences in
building his Gentry, and how this differs from the
Midge. Please keep your articles coming. I can only
include what I’m given, and it’s YOUR Newsletter after
all!
6
European Kit & Kent Agricultural
Car Builder
Showground
Show
Detling,
Vintage and
Tredegar House,
Specialist Rally
Newport
15 - 16 Sept
The National
Kit Car Show
Donington Park,
28 October
National
Restoration
Show
NAC,
Stoneleigh,
9 - 11 November
International
Classic Motor
Show
NEC,
Birmingham
17 - 18 Nov
Exeter Kit &
Car Builder
Show
Exeter
various engines, both petrol and diesel ranging from a four
cylinder 115BHP engine up to a straight six 2.5 L BMWsourced turbo-diesel giving 130BHP. If you are using your
Midge for trials and other competitions and want even
more power you could use the engine from a post-1994
SAAB 900 (the B204 I think it's called) or early 9-3
combined as that bolts directly to the Omega gearbox (get
a gearbox from a diesel car so it can handle the 185 BHP of
the turbo engine). The SAAB engine is a development of
the old Triumph slant-4 so it's not without pedigree either.
The SAAB engines are also very tuneable. People have
produced over both 700 and 800 hp with those engines.
Not that you'd ever need that much in a Midge.
The Long and Winding Road
A Tale of Frustration by Myke Pocock
The list of trials and tribulations when building a Midge,
not to mention keeping what is essentially a classic 37 year
old car on the road have now been added to by my dealings
with the DVLA concerning attempts to change details in
the V5. Another chapter in the saga of Midge ownership. I
shall elaborate!
I had come to the conclusion that something had to be
done about the fact that my Midge was described in the
Log Book as a ‘Triumph Vitesse Sports’. This originally came
about when I had completed my Midge build in 1996 and
legitimately informed DVLA of the change in body plan.
They then altered the Log Book by simply adding the word
‘Sports’ to Triumph Vitesse. I had, however, heard fairly
recently that the vehicle must be described in its Log Book
as exactly what it is and not what it was. In addition I
thought that if I was to sell the car in the future it may
cause problems and also if it was to be MOT’d at some
stage in the future (currently on SORN) the MOT
computer may throw a wobbly. My reason for delaying the
inevitable was that I had also heard that some vehicles had
been subject to an SVA Test under the same
circumstances. The tester wouldn’t have a form long
enough for all the failures (sharp edges, projections etc)
even with a vehicle such as mine that has been subject to
some very stringent MOT testing in the past.
Anyway I decided to bite the bullet and visited, on the 30th
May this year, my local DVLA Office to explain my request
and to be told to write a letter explaining this. Expecting
to go home and return with the letter at a later date I was
surprised to be given a piece of paper and pen and asked to
write the letter there and then, requesting the change of
the existing vehicle name to JC Midge. The front of the V5
was removed and retained and the back returned to me
duly stamped with their official date stamp. “I would be
hearing from them.”
By mid October this year I reasoned that them ‘Getting
back to me’ after nearly 5 months was stretching the
imagination a little so declared open combat on DVLA’s
phone system and eventually, by a process of elimination
and deciding that if I got through to the wrong person
they could redirect me, spoke to a real human being. “Your
request? We have no record here Sir. Write to us with all
the details and we will contact you. Anyway, you should
have heard from us within six weeks!” Mmmmm. So I wrote.
Seven weeks passed and still no reply so, remembering
their 6 week rule and having a few hours spare I decided
to negotiate their Telephone Menu System once again.
Remember I had been there before so forewarned was
forearmed. “We have just written to you Sir”. A likely
story but, sure enough, their letter turned up the next day
requesting photographic evidence of the build. I duly
scanned four representative photographs, lucky I had
some, and sent them off. This now took me to the 6th
November when I received a letter from Swansea
informing me that “……..due to a discrepancy in our records
your vehicle will have to be inspected before a Registration
Certificate can be issued” followed a day or so later with a
letter from my local office with an appointment. This date
I couldn’t make and I was also concerned about the
Grille and other parts
Sourcing a suitable grille (radiator surround) in Sweden
may also be a problem. Perhaps you could find a suitable
grille from a pre-war German car like the Adler, but
otherwise I think Mercedes up to the early 1970s may be a
fit (but then you'd almost have to use a Mercedes engine
too and something like the 1930s Mercedes-Benz 500K
roadster (you could do worse).
I have also considered the 1932 Ford coupé grille. It's
popular among hot rodders so replicas are available.
Another option would be to make your own grille or have
someone make it for you.
The dashboard top may be a problem, but since I was
planning on having a flat top (like the Lotus 7) rather then
the roller coaster style it not a major issue. A flat top can
quite easily be done with a piece of aluminium sheet.
The headlights are a bit tricky, but sometimes suitable
items are sold as headlights for tractors. A low budget
alternative I heard about is the headlights and chrome
rims from a Volvo 140 combined with a pair of stainless
steel salad bowls from IKEA. Rear lights from a Land Rover
Defender look good and can be picked up almost
everywhere (i.e. where you would find Volvo parts since
they are both owned by Ford) at a low cost.
Merecedes Benz 500K roadster replica. A bit more
overstated than the Midge!
Member Myke Pocock has written about his experiences
in successfully getting his Midge registered correctly.
I’m sure the article will help others, so here goes……
5
New Members
We are delighted to welcome three new members who have
joined us since our last Newsletter
•
Patrick Nally lives in County Mayo, Eire, and has
bought the Midge previously owned by Stuart Davies
•
Eddie Lancaster from Oldbury in the West Midlands is
a man with a mission (and a Midge!) – see above
•
Staffan Vilcans from Spanga Sweden is a software
development engineer and a Midge enthusiast. The
article below tells about his ambitions in Midge
building.
Using an existing chassis
The traditional way of building a Midge as basically a body
change for a Triumph Spitfire/Herald would be qualify as a
rebuilt vehicle , but in Sweden donors are both rare and
expensive so that is not a viable option. Cars with a
separate ladder frame are not common and the best would
probably be the old Volvo Duett. The Duett went out of
production in 1969, but you can still find frames that still
have their identity. They are a popular choice as basis for
hot rods and emergency tractors (they are of course not
used as tractors, but a legal loophole allows 16 year olds to
drive something similar to a car). However the Duett
chassis isn't flat like the Triumph chassis, but you can
perhaps adapt the body for it. It is also quite long with a
2600 mm (102.362 inch) wheelbase so you'd end up with a
rather long Midge. You could of course import a suitable
Triumph chassis (perhaps with suspension) as junk and fit
it with locally sourced engine and gearbox. You wouldn't be
able to register as a rebuilt vehicle, but it may be cheaper
and simpler than building your own chassis from scratch.
Building a Midge in Sweden – Staffan Vilcans
Building a Midge in Sweden presents a few challenges
compared to building it in the UK. Let me start with telling
you about the SVA process in Sweden. In some ways it's
easier than in the UK (for instance is no demister required
on open cars), but in some ways it's harder (they check
welding and suspension harder). For a build you have two
options, either you make a "rebuilt vehicle". This means you
are allowed to change the bodywork, but have to keep the
chassis, suspension and drive line intact. This only requires
a single inspection. You could decide to make an "amateur
built vehicle". Then you are allowed to make everything
yourself if you wish. This requires no less than three
inspections. The first two inspections are done by a
member of SFRO, an organisation for car builders. They
also help you to build your car by offering guidance. The
first inspection is done when you have reached the rolling
chassis stage. You are not allowed to grind down any weld
seams or paint the chassis as they check the quality of
your welds. This means you have to take everything apart
again to grind down the seams and paint the chassis. They
also check the suspension, engine mounts, steering column
etc. The second inspection is done when our car is finished.
They check everything about it and does breaking and
noise tests. The third inspection is not done by SFRO, but
is an ordinary vehicle inspection (i.e. MoT).
You will probably notice that I mention Volvo parts quite
often. It's because here they are very available (it's often
said that you can pick up Volvo parts at any convenience
store and it's sometimes even true), mechanically simple
and reliable, although a bit heavy. Volvo is also very
conservative so they kept making cars with rear wheel
drive and a live axle for very long.
The Volvo Duett Chassis
Building your own chassis
The option with building a chassis and using parts from
Ford Escort and Ford Cortina (or rather the Ford Taunus
as it is called on the continent) is more viable, but finding a
mk1 or mk2 Escort is also getting quite hard. I tried to
find a rear axle a while ago and called a Ford specialist
junk yard and they basically laughed at me. Volvo parts on
the other hand are easy to find. The rear axle of a Volvo is
10 cm wider than the Escort rear axle so the chassis needs
to be widened. If you go for Volvo parts for the front
suspension too you have to find a Volvo 140 as it has double
wishbone suspension. If you are living in eastern Europe
the good old VAZ Lada (or Zhiguli as it was called in their
home market) can be very useful since it has both double
wishbone suspension, live rear axle and the dimensions are
almost exactly the same as the mk1 and mk2 Ford Escort.
The Midge chassis is very simple and I would be able to use
the extensive knowledge about hot rod building that exists
in Sweden.
Engine and gearbox
For the engine and gearbox the Ford Sierra is perhaps the
obvious choice. The classic engine is the Pinto and it's a
large (even larger than the Volvo B20) and heavy engine.
The Sierra also came with the CVH engine and the Cologne
V6.
You could build using mostly parts from the Volvo 740 and
combine it with the M47 gearbox and the prop shaft from
the Volvo 240. HRG used a Volvo engines in some of their
cars so it wouldn't be unheard of. The Opel Omega
(Vauxhall Omega in the UK) is a rear wheel drive car with
The Volvo Duett – an unlikely donor for a Midge
4
underneath the spare wheel.
There isn’t any chrome work or bumpers apart from a pair
of chrome horns and several polished aluminium bits like
the radiator and windscreen surrounds plus a badge barcum “W” made out of an old roof rack. This last item is to
imitate the 30’s style Wolseley Hornet. The wheels are
16”x72 spoke with 5” rims fitted with “Dunlop Taxi” tyres.
The seats from the donor were reduced in all dimensions to
fit in the limited space and re-covered by me.
The hood was made by a local specialist. The sidescreens
built by myself, and hinged from the windscreen and
connected to the door with a bracket. The window is
Perspex 0.125” thick and mounted in the frame using a
rubber extrusion from “Vintage Supplies”.
Registration, Insurance and MOT.
As the car was registered in 1991 all I needed was a visit
from the local DVLC man from Reading who liked the car
checked all the numbers and let me keep the same
registration. Sadly the car is now called a Triumph Vitesse
though originally it was a Triumph Vitesse Sports on the
old V5. Currently I am trying to get this changed to
Triumph Midge or JC Midge.
Fitting Out:
The Vitesse pedal box was reused without any
modification, mounted on a 3mm stainless steel plate. I had
to mount the pedals as far forward as possible, and the
front bulkhead is cut away at this point to give more leg
room. If I should ever build another tub I would make it
about 2 inches longer (I was only 5’10” tall when I built it
but I am getting shorter so things are improving, I wish!)
I have used a modified Mini heater which is mounted
through a square hole and protrudes above the top of the
foot well by a couple of inches. This raised position is
necessary to allow room for the gearbox cover underneath.
The wipers are fitted at the top of the windscreen and
wiper unit was originally a 6 volt motor which I modified to
work on 12 volts.
The Spitfire petrol tank is mounted on two hanging
brackets made out of 6mm steel plate, and held in place
with lightweight brackets fixed to the tank flange at each
end. The original radiator used when the car was first put
on the road was a standard “Maxi” unit but this was never
adequate for the 1600 engine which overheated when
cruising at 3000 rpm and in traffic jams of course, even
with an electric fan connected. When the core finally gave
up it was replaced with a taller core, about 4”, and
increased the cooling pipe rows from 3 to 4. With the
Vitesse plastic cooling fan fitted instead of the original old
Brunel designed unit the engine has never overheated plus
the electric fan isn’t required even in traffic. When the
new core was fitted I also had the bottom hose spigot
moved from nearside to offside so the plumbing is pretty
much the same as on the original car.
Instruments and electrics
I reused all the Vitesse instruments plus an additional oil
pressure gauge. All the switches and lights were retained
but with extra switches for overdrive, main/dip and
indicator switch mounted on the dash panel. I couldn’t use
the column mounted switches because of lack of room in
the cockpit. The steering column is pushed as far forward
as possible to avoid having the steering wheel too close to
the chest.
You have a car to be proud of, Roy, and I’m sure many
members will envy your practical skills.
Eddie (the eager) Lancaster runs a most interesting
company which goes by the name of Classic Capsule. Do
check this out on www.classiccapsule.co.uk where you will
see all sorts of goodies related to classic car motoring. As
an example Eddie has produced key fobs suitable for the
Club, as shown below.
The clean lines of the recessed dashboard
These would grace the dashboard of any Midge and are
available at £5 + p&p from Eddie via the Website, phone
0780 558 6906 or write to him at Classic Capsule, PO
BOX 13666, Oldbury, West Midlands. B69 9BG
If anyone would be interested in purchasing Club regalia
please let me know what to buy and I’ll send in a bulk order!
The front lights are “Mini” sealed beam units with
combined side lights mounted in grp pods Indicator and
rear lights are Land Rover style. The indicators at the
front are mounted in a pair of chrome Harley Davidson
indicator pods and the rear lights mounted on a bar
3
Suspension, Steering and Brakes
The donor front suspension with custom made springs was
used to give the correct ride height. The rear springs are
standard Dolomite rear springs with a rate of 140 lbs/in
but with 1” spacers to give the correct ride height. The
rear suspension is trailing arm with panhard rod, plus an
anti roll bar is fitted to the front to give a reasonably
comfortable ride. An anti roll bar also helped to reduce
body roll at the rear end. The steering uses all standard
parts from Herald/Vitesse extended in length with a TR6
steering joint to negotiate the engine mount. The front
calipers were seized after 11 years of storage outside but
they were dismantled and refurbished. The rear brakes
needed just a new set of rubbers and a single hydraulic
layout was made up using copper pipes. The original master
cylinder was reused with a new set of rubbers. I decided
to use silicon fluid to reduced corrosion in the system and
after 15 years on the road I haven’t had any problems at
all which is surprising considering the limited use the car
gets.
Bodywork
The body is the two seat version in order to make room for
the engine. In the original plans the doors are too small to
be of any use other than for midgets so I extended the
opening rearwards by a couple of inches, a decision which I
would regret when I fitted the 16” wheels some years
later. The tub construction is different from the plans in
order to get larger rounded corners at the rear, plus the
axle cut-outs are much smaller as I did not have to
accommodate the Triumph Vitesse transverse rear
spring/axle. The finished tub was painted with etch primer
and cellulose using an old vacuum cleaner with a spray gun.
The rolling chassis was completed with everything fitted
ready for the body to be lowered on to it. Fitting the body
was done using an “A” frame and one of those old Halfords
lots-of-pulleys-and-string hoists and a helping hand from
my wife to position the body on the chassis. The cycle
mudguards at the front steer with the wheels and the rear
mudguards have three point fixings to the body tub,
installation of these being done after the body was fitted.
The fibre glass scuttle supplied by Mr Cowperthwaite
needed strengthening and the dash panel is recessed about
two inches to make a little more room in the cockpit.
Roy’s Midge
is a really
good looking
vehicle
I built a kit car because work was very negative at the
time so I wanted to do something constructive and
challenging. The Midge was the least expensive investment
and therefore the least risk should I never complete it. I
have no idea how long it really took to build my Midge. It
was done at weekends and an occasional evening for about
2½ years. I was out of commission for 6 months or so with
a frozen shoulder so all I did then was sit and contemplate
the project and try to plan the next steps. The Midge is
not a ‘bolt the bits together’ job and because my car has
the Vitesse engine there are many changes necessary to
the standard build instructions and plans. At least half of
the build period was spent thinking about how to do it. I
don’t know the total cost, but at a guess it would probably
be around £1000
A composite picture showing the Midge in its early build
The donor vehicle was a 1965 Triumph Vitesse 1600 bought
through the local freebie paper for £70 and £30 getting it
delivered. The car had been laid up for 11 years in the open
after the chassis had failed the MOT. I am the second
registered owner. Dismantling the donor didn’t take very
long as it was very rusty everywhere, the main chassis was
so thin that a junior hacksaw was sufficient to cut it up
into manageable pieces for the local tip. The previous
owner was a builder so the underside of the car had
suffered badly as a result of the building site environment.
I obtained a new box section chassis designed to use
Triumph front suspension and trailing arm rear suspension
using coil springs and Triumph Toledo/Dolomite rear axle.
A second hand Vitesse mk2 gearbox with overdrive was
acquired, stripped down and refurbished with new input
bearing on the gearbox and new clutch assembly. I also put
a second hand planet carrier assembly in the overdrive.
It’s all coming together now
2
Midge Owners and Builders Club
Newsletter – February 2007
Editor:-John Bircumshaw, 7 Llys Dedwydd, Rhos on Sea, Colwyn Bay, LL28 4BG.
Tel: 01492 548904
email [email protected]
Most Newsletters have an ‘Agony Aunt’ these days, and
I’m pleased to say that Colin Grant has volunteered to
be our ‘Agony Uncle’ and deal with problems we may not
know we have. This month he tells about making the
Herald Chassis fit for constructing a Midge
Dear Members,
May I first of all wish you a Happy New Year, even though
it’s now into February. Those of you who have read the
Editorial in the December issue (and I hope that is
everyone!) will probably be surprised to receive this
Newsletter so early, but I’m delighted to say that I’ve had
more free time this month, and much more material for the
Newsletter so I’m able to produce this copy. It is after all
much easier to sit at a computer and press a few keys than
it is to crawl under a car in a cold garage and wield a few
spanners.
If you read Kit Car magazine you may have seen my letter
confirming that the MOBC is alive and well. The Editor Ian
Hyne has said that he will do an article about our Club, so I
hope that he keeps his word. I’ve a good supply of
photographs and enthusiasts who would be delighted to
help! I’m also pleased to report that Jim Yallop one of our
longstanding members who was not able to complete his car
for health reasons has sold all the bits and pieces and
there is a very good chance his car may be built after all
[If you’re reading this, Stuart, do let me have your
Registration Form asap] Jim’s wife, Margaret wrote to
thank me for making the contact, and she also helps Jim to
read the Newsletter due to his failing eyesight.
Altering the Triumph Herald/Spitfire chassis for your
Midge build – Colin Grant
During the repairs that had to be made to my own Herald
Chassis, I noticed that no attempt had been made to box in
the ends where the chassis had been shortened. This would
leave the box section much weaker than the original – but
just how much weaker was quite alarming. At the front end,
the anti roll bar brackets were out of line once the bar
itself was removed. Straightening was carried out easily
with an adjustable spanner, used to lever the brackets into
line, the whole box section twisting diagonally.
The brackets were set straight and braced with a piece of
flat bar, drilled and fitted in place of the anti roll bar for
welding purposes. I then made up two pieces of 16swg plate
and welded them to close in the chassis box section ends.
After removing the piece of bar, another attempt was
made to move the anti roll bar brackets, but there was no
way they were going to twist! The whole chassis including
the tub could be lifted with the anti roll bar bracket, so
boxing in the ends really does make a big difference and
also keeps out unwanted rainwater.
Thanks for this, Colin. We look forward to more pearls
of wisdom in a future newsletter.
Life Members of the MOBC
The Club has a number of Life Members who were so
elected when they rescued the Midge copyright from
White Rose Vehicles after that company had gone into
receivership. This involved considerable expenditure on
their part, so we’re thankful for their initiative.
The life members are Tony Reagan, Alan Wynne, Dave
Everall, Keith Warren, Alasdair MacDonald and John
Bircumshaw. In my case it’s more like a life sentence than a
life membership, but I’m enjoying every minute!!
I’m sure you’ll let me know if there any names have
been omitted
This period
photograph of
Webmaster
Neil Russell
fits in well
with the
period
advertisement
opposite
If you were each asked why you built your Midge, the
answers would be many and varied. It may have been
the seductive advertising (although I doubt it!) or
perhaps an outlet for your practical skills. This is the
story of the build of a JC Midge (from 1988 to 1991)
by Roy Tingay, one of the club’s earliest members. It
was first published in the TSSC news and is reproduced
here without their permission, but with Roy’s approval!
1