Description
** Many more pictures available via our website - RMC Classics Ltd - please see the link below. The car must be viewed and inspected before purchase. Please email, or try to call and leave a voicemail or text message if you are interested and I will get back to you as soon as I have a free moment!**
This stunning little Midget was subject to a comprehensive professional Heritage Bodyshell restoration in the mid-to-late 1990s. It represents excellent value for money – a new shell is £12500, unpainted – meaning to build a car to this spec today would cost in excess of £25k in parts alone. These cars regularly sell for much more so don’t hesitate to contact us to arrange a viewing. The car remains in very nice condition – it is NOT a concours show pony but a car to use, enjoy and tinker with as you please.
Purchased from an enthusiast owner who was only swapping to an MGB due to aged knees! Since being built to a very good standard in the mid 1990s, the car has had much ongoing maintenance to ensure reliability. Before him, the car was looked after by Beech Hill garage, another MG specialist, where the car was looked after and lots of work undertaken.
Works over recent years includes:
• Reconditioned back axle fitted due to the original being slightly noisy
• New fuel tank and hoses throughout.
• New rear brake shoes and wheel cylinders and stainless braided brake hoses, new front brake caliper and master cylinder.
• New cooling hose set and coolant backflush
• New rear springs, front king pin top bushes replaced with polyurethane equivalents
• New rocker shaft
• …and much, much more!
The bodywork remains very good indeed, the wing-top seams and A panels are all bubble-free and the paint finish is good – of course, it’s 20+ years since the car was built onto the shell so please do not expect it to be concours – however it was obviously done very well and still looks great. There are a few VERY minor cosmetic bits here and there but as you can see the car presents very well indeed! The panelwork all fits very nicely and the doors shut with a satisfying clunk. The chromework is in good, original condition, with some minor pitting. The Rostyle wheels are in very nice order. The engine bay is clean and tidy indeed - some further detailing here would make an excellent and rewarding project for the next owner to enjoy, if that’s your thing! Structurally, the car is exactly as you’d expect and has been kept in good condition since the car was built onto the new shell.
Mechanically, the car appears to be in fine fettle. Of course, the vast majority of the running gear was replaced or rebuilt, including all of the suspension, brakes, wiring loom, the list is just endless! The engine starts readily and runs well, ticking over at around 800rpm, just as it should. It ticks over smoothly, sounds very sweet and pulls strongly throughout the rev-range. Exhaust note is lovely and the car pulls and drives very well (for a Midget!). Oil pressure is just as it should be (hot and cold), and the car does not overheat – nor does it appear to use any excess oil or water. The oil is very clean, as is the coolant. A compression test revealed good, even results – around 130psi when hot. Electrically, everything works just as it should. The gear selection is really nice and slick, with no synchromesh issues, and the car stops in a straight line, just as you’d expect, and rides well with no nasty knocks or bangs. Front suspension has no excess play and the wheel bearings are all good. They’re excellent fun to drive!
The interior is in very nice order indeed – original seats are free from damage. Door cards, dashboard and carpets are all present and correct, and in good order – although probably 15-20 years old now. The vinyl soft top is in very good order, with some minor splits here and there between the side windows and the vinyl – easily plastic-welded up should you so wish. Most people don’t ever put the roof up!! The hood frame is in very good order - also included in the sale is a full tonneau cover.
The car is, of course, tax and MOT exempt but has been through an MOT this year, passing without advisories. The current MOT expires in July 2025 and the MOT history is nice and clean, with nothing untoward. There is some service history which includes records of parts bought over the past few years along with printed reports of when Beech Hill Garage looked after the car for 10 years or so. The bodyshell has its Heritage number located in the usual place on the front edge of the NS inner wing.
All in all, this is an absolutely stunning little car that is absolutely ready to be used and enjoyed. No, it’s not a concourse-condition show winner - after all, it was built 20 years ago now - but it’s a car that has been restored very well indeed and presents excellently, and I’m sure that you won’t find another Heritage Bodyshell car of this quality, for this price anywhere.
