1975 MG MIDGET K-Series

Built by Trevor Broadbent, the well-known MG expert restorer, this utterly delightful MG Midget stands as a testament to a lifetime’s hard-won skills and experience.

Essentially a brand-new car, this is the Midget that MG would have been building in the noughties had it stayed in production. Fitted with a refurbished 1400cc fuel-injected K-Series engine, both the coachwork and the interior are streets ahead of anything the company produced in period in style and execution. 

It is, now we think about it, an MG Midget along the lines of Land Rover’s Range Rover Reborn programme; a bespoke restoration of one of the marque’s classic cars, brought bang up-to-date and benefitting from a number of subtle upgrades to make it even more useable and reliable. 

Just like your modern daily driver, this is a car that demands nothing from you other than fuel. And its purchase cost will be less than the depreciation on a modern, bland box, making it a shrewd, as well as a stylish, decision.

While most of us would just buy a Heritage bodyshell and be done with it, Trevor took the path less travelled and bought all the panels individually. And by ‘panels’, we don’t just mean a set of wings; we mean every single panel bar the bonnet, the firewall, the landing panel for the wipers, and one front wing. Everything else is brand new and meticulously fitted together to give a level of fit and finish that owners of the original car could only dream of.

Take, for example, the bonnet shutline. It is completely even along the entire length and as narrow as any we’ve seen. To get it so consistent is remarkable given the variations in the production bodyshells.

He judiciously reinforced the car at the rear too, giving extra strength to an area the Midget is infamous for failing at. He also fitted a modified front grille, upgraded front indicators, and added a bulge to the bonnet to clear the K-Series engine. 

Grey Minilite-style wheels, a beautiful mesh front grille, and a pair of period driving lamps finish the car off and help reinforce the Midget’s perfect stance.

The Harvest Gold coachwork is as good as the metalwork beneath it, as is the chromework, which is way better than we usually see. And the underside of the vehicle is just as well finished as the topside, being painted in the same colour as the body panels and sporting black, powdercoated components.

The spanking new hood, which you were surely expecting to be told about, fits extraordinarily well. 

The car is here with us at the Market HQ in the spiritual home of the MG, so why not make a pilgrimage down here to come and see how good the car is for yourself? We promise you won’t be disappointed!

The interior is new, too and while a pedant might query the wooden gearknob, everything else is perfectly judged and wonderfully understated. The seats, for example, with their fluted centre detail add a wonderfully retro modern touch, picking up a similar design in the door cards. 

Other nice touches include the Mountney steering wheel, the padded roll-over hoop, the edged and bound carpets, and the crackle-finish dashboard. All the seals, clips, screws and other miscellaneous bits and bobs that everyone else reuses have been replaced with new items, contributing to the ‘new car’ feel.

It really is a rather lovely place to be and brilliantly combines new fixtures and fittings within a traditional setting. That everything works perfectly goes without saying.

Work to do? Well, the interior is so beautifully done that we might be tempted to replace the gearknob with a plain black one. And, while we’re at it, the modern silver window winder handles might benefit from being replaced with something a bit less flashy too - or maybe we are being a tad harsh here.........

The fuel-injected Rover K-Series engine looks like it was born in there, so neatly has the installation been done. Again, it’s the little details that make such a big difference to the overall vehicle. Take the foam performance air filter, which has been bolted to the inner wing to prevent vibration. Or the heater box, which is usually removed to make space for the engine; Trevor wasn’t having that, so he modified it and refitted it at an angle, so the new owner will have a K-Series engine AND a working heater. Or the exhaust note, which is rorty but not intrusive. Or the hand-made engine loom that interfaces between the 1970s and the noughties. 

Trevor’s judgement is as impressive as his engineering know-how.

The engine was overhauled prior to being fitted. The work comprised new pistons and liners, a reconditioned cylinder head, and new ancillaries like the radiator, water pump, and oil cooler.

It feeds its power to the rear axle (which is located with a Panhard rod) via a Ford Capri type 9 five-speed gearbox. The springs and rear axle are standard, but the damping has been firmed up a bit. 

The brakes have also been mildly upgraded with EBC pads, a seven-inch servo and braided hoses. They “stand the car on its nose” according to Trevor. 

A stainless steel exhaust has also been fitted and the speedometer has been recalibrated to read accurately.

Because this is essentially a new car, the underbonnet area is as clean and tidy as any we’ve seen. The care that’s been invested in attempting to get every single little detail perfect is astonishing, and the result is verging on sensational. Yes, that’s right; we didn’t think we’d ever use the word ‘sensational’ when describing an MG Midget, either. 

The car gained a new MOT in May 2018. It didn’t warrant a single advisory. But then you’d guessed that, hadn’t you?

The only negative we can mention is that the car has only done 18 miles since completion, so a small amount of snagging may be required as the car beds itself in.

We think it would be prudent to drive a few short journeys before attempting the North Coast 500!!!

The online MOT history shows nothing of concern whatsoever and confirms the car’s low mileage. The car also comes with a current V5 registration document in the owner’s name, plus a number of invoices and bills to confirm the restoration work that was done to it.

It also comes with a large number of photographs that document it’s extensive restoration.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been restored to the very highest standard.

This is an extraordinarily rare opportunity to buy a bespoke, retro-modified MG Midget from one of the industry’s most respected restorers. 

It is literally like new. And we mean, brand new. Not good, or even very good, or even excellent. We mean exactly what we say. It’s a new car. And it’s got just eighteen miles on the odometer, so it’s not even run-in yet, which means you’ve got full control over that too.

And while a Range Rover Reborn will set you back £150,000, we don’t expect the Midget to sell for even a tenth of that: that’s right; this car could be yours for between £6,000 and £10,000, which is a staggeringly small sum to pay considering the work and love and years of experience that have gone into it.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car can be seen here at The Market HQ in Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.