SiC

Minis definitely still can be had for semi reasonable prices. I watched this one till the end expecting it to shoot up. I resisted bidding as after the Midget debacle, buying a random car site unseen has made it much less appetising proposition. But from the photos this looked pretty decent. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224965853126 I also desperately want this. First appeared on my local FB marketplace search, then on Mini groups I'm on and now finally eBay. Wouldn't be surprised if it sells not too soon as I don't think it's too far off the mark for such an early one. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115371729449

That's a great question and one I'm looking forward to finding out. I was put off getting a Midget when I had the BGT as often said why get two alike cars. Part of the reason why I went down the road of getting the Moggie as that is different enough. However reading more into actual driving, there is a lot of difference between the two. Too early for me to properly judge. Not least my BGT is pretty much fully sorted and the Midget has a long way before then. However off the bat I reckon they serve different purposes and can easily justify both. The MGB always has been more of a Grand Touring type of vehicle. Fun to drive, big boot to store luggage but also comfortable to cover long distance. Think as a modern example like a Porsche Cayman. You'd go in it for somewhere on holiday quite a distance away. Whereas the Midget is small, light and very nimble. Much better to throw around, more involved but less practical and not as comfortable. Think as a modern example like a Lotus Elise. You'd go for a early morning/evening blast around country lanes to have a bit of fun. So much so, I'm tempted to not even bother fixing the roof of it. Take it out on a nice day and go to a car meet or just a spirited drive. Then park it back into the garage overnight. Maybe possibly even get a full length tonneau cover. I quite like the look of convertibles when they have no hood at all on the back. I think a harder choice would be a classic Mini Vs a Spridget.

Possibly not worth it for yours then if your dizzy is in good condition. Distributor Doctor wanted £280 to fix my knackered MGB dizzy. 123ignition was about 50quid more but I do eventually intend to get the head worked on and then a Dyno run to get the best power out of it. So made complete sense for me to go 123ign.

Complete new dizzy designed specifically for electronic ignition. Cap and rotor are Bosch or Beru items, so made by manufacturers who actually know how to make these things properly. Go for the Tune/Tune+ then the dizzy curve can be altered on the fly. A decent Dyno place that knows how to tune classic engines should be able to work one. The problem with many Lucas dizzys is the vac advance capsules usually are dead, springs worn out and shaft wobbling all over the place.

Personally if I can get one for a car, I much prefer 123 ignition than these modules. Most dizzys are knackered by now and the cost of repairing them you can get a 123ignition.

Yeah I re-read your OP and I wouldn't have thought EML and such would be from the UCH being at fault. Unless it was interrupting power to it. Does the F4RT nom the injectors as much as the F4R on the 1*2 does? Pulsing could be reluctor rings? Again a common thing on them. Possibly a whole bunch of issues that are coinciding together.

My mate had an R26 F1 that he bought when it was only a few years old. He looks like this everytime I mention it to this day. The final straw for him was when the headlights failed and the dealer quoted £1k for a new headlight unit as the ballast had failed from water ingress.

I have a vague recollection that it's upside down too, so water spraying up can easily get into the fuses and connectors. Great bit of French Engineering. Probably was absolutely fine when the R&D test drives was done between vineyards on the south coast of France. 😆 https://www.meganeownersclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8855 "Symptoms electrical failures and poor running seemingly unrelated to each other.... windows going down instead of up, auto lights not working...battery discharging itself...wipers not working etc etc Possible Cause missing cover in the nearside wheel arch (for changing the headlight bulbs)..and water entering the UCH electrical unite ensure the cover is not missing and is well sealed..can be expensive if the UCH is corroded by water damage basically water & electrics don't mix."

It's on the nearside iirc. But yes it's prone to water ingress and corrosion. Happens if the liner isn't put back into place properly especially. Often because whoever changed a light bulb on the awkward access to them, in a hurry don't bother to reassemble it correctly! It's called the UPC but sometimes UCH in Renault speak. Iirc the Mégane II is UPC.

This is the mechanism on the Moggie which is pretty much identical. This is your Toledo's carb when I last saw it: Not as good photo but still can see the same mechanism with the screw in the jet and the bit of metal that pulls the jet down. The carb looked spotlessly clean and the new jet+other bits makes me think it's been rebuilt at some point reasonably recently. Even the needle valve looked clean and almost new. I moved the choke clevis (?) across to give more pull on the choke with less pull inside. This should make it move but the slack in the mechanism may stop that happening too. Timing wise, it was set to what the workshop manual specified. However with fuel being very different to the 70s, it wouldn't surprise me if it needed tweaking to suit modern fuels. Are you running it on 95 or 98+ octane? It may appreciate 98+ octane as that's closer to old 4 star.

The carb has the same mechanism as my Moggie. I remember @PhilA mentioning that, the design of that generation of choke is crap as it looks. Pulling the choke brings the idle up but doesn't always bring the jet assembly down. So don't get the richer mixture it needs. It ran really well once warmed up a tad, just that cold start could be a right pain in the arse.

Fusebox and it's integrated computer in the wheel arch is a common source of Mégane II troubles. It can get wet and cause all sorts of weirdness as it's a main body control module too.

Might be another rattle can job then! Need to get a heavier power feed to the garage sorted so I can run my 150l belt drive compressor.

I had that with the underside of the MGB. Thought they were compatible too. There are some large cracks in the paint on the other side. Not like the fry-up above but large sections separated by cracks. My guess was filler contracting/expanding more than the paint did. Don't think I've got any photos on this phone to show. I think it's got a crap (DIY?) paint job that's been made worse by a car cover on it for years. Probably should have all the paint taken off and redone. Where it's got filler on, it appears to be mostly over solid metal. Almost been used to correct panel height differences. Might have to ask around and see how much it would be. I guess a couple of grand? Wouldn't be much paint though as it's a tiny car!

I wondered if it was a reaction from different types of paints with their solvents reacting with one and another.

Turds 'r us.

Came up with a to-do list but ran out of wipeboard. Rooting through the box of bits, I found these. Not sure why they are not in the engine. Hopefully it's because they weren't needed! Picking at more of the paint blisters found this weird paint effect under the main paint. I mean at least it's not rust but presumably this is from poor paint prep? @GingerNuttz

There is a card in the interior point out what each unlabeled switch does. Noticed last night there was additional text on the back. Very useful to know about the fuel gauge! As it's on quarter, it does at least mean there shouldn't be much fuel left in it. Probably find I was only a mile or two off from running out on the way home. 🤣 Not quite sure what pedal it's talking about though. I presume the dodgy accelerator pedal.

LOL 🤦

This is pulling a very healthy 60psi warm idle and ~75psi when revved! If this car ends up being a complete turd, the ~£1.5k going rate for a Midget 1275 engine, box and diff would pay back the £2850 delivered I paid for it.. 😬

I do like a good red, green or white Midget. Definitely prefer these bigger bumpered cars too. Tempting to repaint this in one of those colours. Out of the factory it was Red too.

Bodywork wise it's bad. Apart from the passenger A-pillar, the front wing I think I'll need to replace. I have a repair section for the rear of it but the front is super crunchy. Don't think it'll survive me removing the wing without it crumbling. Rear arch on the passenger side is bad. This was from a couple of love taps with my shoe. Drivers side isn't as bad. Most of that was from under this MOT style patch. Interior is all present. Seat foam is knackered and the driver's seat wobbles about. Weirdly the passenger seat is missing it's seat back lever. Hard top is missing the brackets at the rear. Again no idea why they aren't there. Accelerator cable is fubar. Explains why the idle is all over the place. Simple and easy to fix though. Wiring is a bit squiffy. Has a cigarette socket on the far left of the dash. This was fitted by a classic specialist garage. Can't say they did the tidiest job. Neither of this high beam light repairs either. Yeah it's not the best. Looks like a fair bit of bodywork too. Will have a go through and make a plan of what needs doing, what I need to order and the priority order. Le Si Sighs.

With the BGT serviced and its fuel pump electrical connection fixed, I took it back to storage. Decided it probably was time I bought this home and got it sorted. Packed a bunch of tools as if I did then sods law dictates that I'd more likely make it home without incident. Popped the bonnet for a quick check over. Made sure I had oil, topped up the dashpots and reconnected the battery. The Dynamo regulator looks a bit sketchy. I plan to convert this to an alternator system anyway. Evicted the several spiders calling it home. Checked the pedals worked and moved the organ style accelerator pedal under the arm. This is broken anyway and it's a really bad design organ pedal. I plan to possibly change it to the later 1500 pedal that is just a normal pedal. Either by fitting a replacement or welding on a flat piece. That fluid looked like water but I didn't bother checking exactly what it was. If it was brake fluid then I'd probably not want to drive it home. Better to not know right? Turned on the ignition to hear the reassuring clunk of the fuel pump priming. Pushed the car forward by hand so the Dolomite back seats didn't get blasted by oil. The thing at the very back is the knackered hood of this. Pumped up the tyres. These are modern tyres but all cracked. Something on the replacement list. It doesn't sound like it's particularly happy and not running on all four. I didn't do too much investigation as it did run and pull itself along. However the plugs look ancient and the leads are all stiff+brittle. No doubt it needs a tune-up. Fuel is likely at least 2018 vintage and maybe older, which almost certainly won't be helping things. Checked over the gauges and everything looked nominal. Did both a foot and hand brake check. With everything set to go, I left the choke set to 2k rpm. Off choke it would hesitate and try to stall - probably that crap fuel in there. With super fast idle, I could drive without really needing to use the accelerator pedal. Useful trick if you have an accelerator cable snap and you need to limp somewhere so you can get the idle adjusted higher. All ready to set off for the couple mile journey home! About 5 to 10 mins later I had the reassuring sight of the garage in front of me. Side by side, the Midget is nowhere near as good a condition as the Moggie. While the paint is tatty on the Moggie, it's completely solid and a fresh braking system. Midget needs a lot doing to it. [emoji53] Btw I checked that fluid in the driver's footwell when I was home. It's got that slippy feeling to it. So almost certainly brake fluid. Both masters look sketchy. I've got a brand new brake master but I think the clutch slave could do with rebuild/replacement too.

Forgot you still had this!

I started adding up just expenditure over a year recently. Excluding purchase price of vehicles, I got to five figures and decided I ought to stop. Definitely has made me re-evaluate having the cars I own and possibly reduce down a lot. Plus a spreadsheet makes the expenditure evidence too easily findable by your other half!