About to start building an XI

[wilksy]

[attachment=0]mg midget 2 compressed.jpg[/attachment][attachment=1]mg midget 1 compressed.jpg[/attachment]Decided a few months ago that I would like to build a XI so with that in mind I checked a few things out with Westfield Sportscars and then spent day after day looking for a suitable donor Midget.

My plans are to gather all the components I need, recondition or rebuild as required and then order the kit. I prefer to do things way so has not to get too stressed with deadlines - had far too many stressful issues with race cars and deadlines in the past.

I am going to build a reasonably high spec car, with a MED (or SC) 7 port head coupled with a 1380 engine on fuel injection, a straight cut 4 speed box, LSD with 4:22:1 ratio etc etc.

So last week I finally managed to find a donor car at the right price (and in the right condition!) in Salisbury and collected in this weekend. My car will have wire wheels and my donor has Cosmic wheels fitted, but I also found in a scrapyard very close to me a 1964 Midget on wires but no V5C unfortunately so I have bought the rear axle complete and the front uprights/hubs.

That's it for the time being, but intend to start the dismantling next weekend.

[Daggers-xi]

Welcome to the group.
Started mine at the start of December last year, great fun , I wish you good luck, I'm sure you will enjoy every minute of the build.
Daggers

[Westfield 129]

Just a suggestion:

Skip the 4:22 and go with a 3.9 final drive, especially if you are going to use 13" wheels. If you are going to run 15s, the 4.22 wont be as tight. It is really nice to be able to cruise at 80 mph with less than 4000 RPM. Much less wear and tear, and not much difference in acceleration.

If you have not driven the straight cut rib case 'box, stock up on ear plugs. Much noisier than the engine. Really, a 5 speed is a better bet (SP Components gets my business) with a CR gearset, and the ability to cruise at 80 at less than 3700 RPM. Sure, it is a bit heavier, and costs a little more, but the reduction of wear and the advantageous gear spacing (much as the CR straight cut BMC) with the longer 5th makes for a much more useful 11 when touring.

As for the wire wheels, note that the wire wheel axles are shorter, but you can get the stronger axles (and you need them with the LSD) for the longer disc wheel axle housing from Peter May. Plan to have these with the LSD, as the stock axles will fail in short order with a 120 HP 1380, and a couple of turns on the street. They twist in half...

The front uprights (spindles) are the same for the wire wheel or disc wheel hubs, which are not expensive to purchase.

Have fun stripping the good parts off your rusty donor...

I lucked out here, as there was somebody who actually wanted to pay me money for the left over carcass.

[11admire]

SC/CR 4 speed gearbox is a good choice, I Got a set from MED and had an experienced MG mechanic doing the rebuild. The gears are not that noisy and in 4th it is as silent as a normal gearbox. My diff has been rebuild with new bearings and seals plus a Quaife diff and the Peter May halfshafts. 3.9:1 and 15" wirewheels.
The 1380cc MED engine gives a lot of punch when opened up.
The Eleven is basicly a racecar so a silent cruiser is NOGO.
Happy building
Regards Jorn

[bobwhittaker]

WIRE WHEELS I have available five refurbed 13" wires with new 145 tyres / tubes / balanced , wheels were blasted and " BRIGHT " silver powder coated . The four that were on the car have done at most 1100 miles the fifth has never been fitted , all have good splines and no kerbing . Changed out due ground clearance on " B " roads around here and " Sleeping Policemen " . ( I don't do track days )
Now on 14" wires with 165 tyres , 3.9 diff and Type 9 gearbox , this gives 22.3 mph per 1000 revs in fifth which suits the use I give the car.

All the wheels came with my donor , the 13" were on the car and I had them refurbed , the five 14" were unused and fitted with unused
165 tyres

[bobwhittaker]

WIRE WHEELS I have available five refurbed 13" wires with new 145 tyres / tubes / balanced , wheels were blasted and " BRIGHT " silver powder coated . The four that were on the car have done at most 1100 miles the fifth has never been fitted , all have good splines and no kerbing . Changed out due ground clearance on " B " roads around here and " Sleeping Policemen " . ( I don't do track days )
Now on 14" wires with 165 tyres , 3.9 diff and Type 9 gearbox , this gives 22.3 mph per 1000 revs in fifth which suits the use I give the car.

All the wheels came with my donor , the 13" were on the car and I had them refurbed , the five 14" were unused and fitted with unused
165 tyres

[wilksy]

Thanks for your replies, I will certainly be looking at uprated halfshafts but haven't yet decided which way to go wheel size yet I need to see what the various options look like when fitted to the car.

I totally agree with you Jorn, the XI is a race car and as such it will have the "right noise" from the gearbox and induction. I am leaning towards the 4:22:1 diff for better acceleration as I may be tempted out of retirement and do a few sprints with the car.

Out of interest whilst I was looking at which bit to remove from the car first I noticed that the VIN plate is not quite the same as the V5C and almost certainly looks like an error at sometime in the past, the VIN Plate reads GAN/4 62494G whilst the V5C reads EAN462494G how do I get this corrected with the DVLA while I still have time.

I will be starting a website/blog as the build progresses.

[Westfield 129]

I had the ribcase BMC race box, straight cut, in my Lotus 7 Series 1. Great box!

However, in the real world, with a 4.22 final drive, you will find that you are turning 5000 RPM at 80, and wearing out your expensive MED engine way too quickly.

The 3.9 final drive is a better bet, especially with 15" wheels. I would not worry about the longer 1st gear, as the car is very light. With 13" wheels and 185/70 tires, you can get a reasonable 80 mph at 4000 RPM< maybe less.

My W11 was originally a 4 speed car, and I looked into getting another straight cut gearset, but my penchant for longer drives at high speeds finally led me to a Datsun 210 box, which shifts well, had a slightly shorter first, which I finally paired this with a 3.9 final drive, and soon, the 15" wheels and a 5.00X15 Dunlop vintage race tire i the rear. I am looking forward to the LeMans like gearing, and an engine saving 3500 RPM, 80 mph cruise in 5th. At the moment, I am getting about 3700 RPM at 80 with 185/70/13 tires on light alloy rims.

Building the car with a longer 3.9 or 3.7 final drive and the 4 speed will be far more practical, with no loss of performance. Especially if you like to tour with it.

See, if you do the suspension with the right setup, the thing is pretty comfortable on the road. Not a bad long distance cruiser.

And, again, without the expensive half shafts stuck into your LSD, your car will be stuck somewhere with a broken axle shortly after your first drive. I broke both left and rights standard axle shafts (TranX LSD), just driving around town. Very inconvenient. They break without warning, often when making a left turn or when parking... The left twisted the axle in half just south of the splines. The right twisted the axle right out of the drive plate. Fortunately, the race axles have both stronger drive plates (usually splined and bolted on) as well as stronger material in the axles. No, the LSD wont allow you to drive home on a broken axle. It slips just like a bad clutch. If that happens, check the axles FIRST. Don't take out the engine... Don't ask...

I have pictures if you want to see.

[bobwhittaker]

Regards the V5 / VIN plate / DVLA , it all depends what you put the car through and what you intend doing with it as regards use and ownership medium to long term . From experience and various sources the less contact with officialdom the better , " Don't rock the boat " .

[Splat]

Discovered two similar typos in the VIN on my V5 for the Lambo only a fortnight ago. Phoned Swansea to ask their advice and was told to return it with the error circled and a cover note detailing the correct VIN. In my case an S should be a 5 and an 8, a 3. Simple typos and apparently no problem to correct! Though, that said, I'm still waiting for the new V5 to arrive!