1975 MG Midget with 1.8 Tuned K-Series

Anyone who’s been around the car industry for a while will know that the very best way to get your hands on a bargain is to let someone else do all the heavy lifting; while buying a project car and rebuilding it in your own image is enormous fun, it doesn’t half get expensive quickly, as the previous owner of this delightful little MG Midget found out…

With a build cost in excess of £40,000, this wealthy enthusiast spared no expense in commissioning Frontline Developments to build the car of his dreams to compete in the odd sprint and hillclimb.

And what a job they did. While we’ll list the components in detail later in the advert, the build reads like a discerning enthusiast’s fast road/weekend competition wish list. Having only covered around 3,400 miles since being completed in 2008, it’s essentially just run-in and ready to serve its new owner in whatever capacity he/she desires. It is possibly the ultimate Midget.

The de-bumpered bodyshell is utterly solid and completely free of rot and corrosion. However, while the paint has been laid on good, and the finish is excellent, there are a handful of age-related blemishes (please see photographs). 

That said, if you’re looking for a solid, working vehicle then this Midget will fit the bill perfectly; the fact that it has been so heavily modified means that those looking for a concours, standard-specification example will be better off looking elsewhere anyway…

Minor defects aside, we think the finished car looks amazing; with the roof down and its café racer stance, absence of bumpers, side and bonnet vents, front and rear towing straps, bonnet pins, and two huge Hella spotlights, it reminds us irresistibly of a miniature AC Cobra!

The black folding roof is nearly new, being as wind- and water-tight as any MG Midget roof, which is to say that while it’s better than having nothing there at all it doesn’t come close to the fit and finish of something like the Mazda MX-5 roof, for example. Still, it’s as good as you’re ever likely to find on a car of this type bar one missing popper on the nearside bottom edge.

The car sits on genuine 5.5” x 14” Minilite wheels and matching Avon Turbospeed tyres. Regular readers will be tired of reading about our obsession with matching tyres but we think that they are one of the very best indicators that a vehicle has been built and maintained to the very highest standards. And, tired of reading it or not, it’s as true now as it’s ever been and this car is further proof of that.

The twin slimline black Cobra racing seats (fitted two years ago, and barely sat on), complete with contrasting red Willans’ four-point safety harnesses look fabulous and add a feeling of security that was completely absent with the original MG items. That they look terrific is merely the icing on an already attractive cake.

A full Safety Devices roll-cage has been professionally installed to add an even greater reserve of passive safety, while a tiny, suede Momo steering wheel, cranked gearchange lever, auxiliary hydraulic handbrake lever, drilled door pulls and window winders, and navigator’s footrest and LED map light further fuel the competitive nature of the car’s interior. 

A modern(ish) Sony radio/cassette player and speakers have also been fitted. 

The boot is as spartan as you might expect given the Midget’s sporting bias, but it’s clean, free of rot, and contains the spare wheel, which is a matching Minilite. Really, you couldn’t ask for more, could you?

The only fault we can find is a speedometer which recently has become unreliable at best, and downright incalcitrant at worst. Oh, and a couple of extraneous holes in the dashboard.

This MG Midget has had its standard engine binned in favour of a Rover K-Series. And, because Frontline Developments do things properly or not at all, the 1.8 engine has been tweaked with Omega pistons, BP285H Piper ‘Ultimate Road’ camshafts, a set of Vernier pulleys, and VSSk valve springs and caps. It is fueled via 42mm Jenvey throttle bodies and controlled via an Emerald K3 engine management system. On a more prosaic level, the car leaves no ‘messages’ on the garage floor.

A huge Bosch battery is fitted, which should keep the car turning over in even the coldest weather and the engine bay is as clean and neat as we’ve come to expect with any car built by Frontline Developments.

The exhaust gases are channeled to the rear via a 4-2-1 exhaust and the engine is cooled by an alloy radiator and high power cooling fan. We estimate the power output is in the region 185 bhp, which makes for a very lively drive indeed!

The transmission has been assembled using all the good stuff too, which means a 200mm uprated clutch set, a double bearing axle kit, ‘ultimate spec’ fine spline half shafts, a limited slip differential, and a Ford Type 9 close-ratio 5-speed gearbox complete with a quick shift gear lever.

The braking system is similarly impressive, comprising Wilwood four-pot calipers on the front, a disc conversion on the rear, vented brake discs, braided hoses, and an upgraded brake master cylinder and remote servo.

Suspension comes courtesy of uprated and lowered (340lbs and a one inch drop) coil springs, a Frontline Developments front and rear suspension kit, a rear traction control link, and poly bushes all round. A hydraulic handbrake is fitted too, which makes handbrake turns a doddle and adds an extra layer of cool to an already sub-zero miniature sportscar.

The online MOT history shows nothing of concern whatsoever, having gained a clean sheet for the past six years and only minor problems before that. The website also confirms the car’s low mileage. At the moment we have not received the invoices for the works, but if they do turn up, they will be displayed in this listing.

The MOT certificate itself runs out in May of this year.

With £40,000 invested to bring it to the condition you see today, the owner reluctantly accepts that he will see only a fraction of this sum back when the car sells. Because, despite being one of the fastest and best-sorted road-going Midgets you are ever going to see, we expect it to sell for between £12,000 and £18,000, at which price it represents an extraordinarily cheap way of going very quickly indeed, whether on the road or the track.

We can see this extraordinary car selling to someone who wants the ultimate dual-purpose sportscar, capable of pottering around on a Sunday and then dominating everything in sight on a track day. Of course, with some minor tweaking, it could be optimised for either role but the owner has struck such a perfect balance that we don’t think that any further tinkering is needed; the integrity and thoroughness of the upgrades mean that you can just jump in and enjoy the car as it is.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car can be seen here at Patina 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.