Midget 1500

The article of the 14th June 1975 in Autocar asked big questions of the new Triumph-engined version of the MG Midget. "There is no doubt that the performance of the Midget has been greatly improved by its change of engine, and there is now a spread of torque which allows the car to driven sportingly or to be lugged along by a lazy or tired driver. At the same time the handling has suffered in some respects and the car is no longer as predictable or forgiving as it was." It goes on to conclude that, given that it shares the same engine as the Spitfire its future was difficult to justify.

To understand why this situation arose an understanding of where MG sat in the corporate monster that was British Leyland is needed. MG, based in Abingdon, had always operated as if a separate entity despite its merger with firstly BMC and then BL. It contributed massively to the export figures but had suffered badly from under-investment for years. Even as far back as the 1950s MG were denied the funding to create a serious update to the aging TD Midget and instead were forced to 'face-lift' the car into the TF. The TF has, over time, become a much desired model but at the time looked desperate in the face of competition from Triumph. A racing special of the TD had proved that MG were capable of producing modern styling but the proposal for the MGA would have to wait as, yet again, BMC denied them the chance as a deal had been struck with Healey to produce the Austin-Healey 3000. This, ironically, was to be built at Abingdon in the MG plant.

When corporate thoughts turned to producing a simple and cheap sports car it seemed natural that MG, with its world wide reputation for producing such cars, would be first choice but, no, the new design was sought again from Healey. The Austin-Healey Sprite 'Frogeye' was again built at the MG plant but not after the MG design team had corrected some serious safety problems with the car's structure. In particular the tendency of the rear round arches to crack.

When the time came to replace the Sprite finally MG had their chance. This time they were asked to restyle the rear and Healey were to do the front. A strange decision, particularly as the two teams were initially asked to work separately. Common sense eventually prevailed but you can still see the influence of the two companies in the, yet to be released, MGB-like tail and the Healey raised front wings still using the same curved-up front sill found on the Sprite.

The cars were initially sold as the Midget Mk1 and a virtually identical Sprite Mk2. Eventually the Sprite was dropped as corporate thinking moved away from partnership deals such as those with Healey and Cooper etc.

The Midget now went on alone, gradually evolving and becoming a mainstay of sports car export. Particularly to the States.

Between 1969 and 1974 a total of 77831 GAN5 midgets were made and 59835 went to the states. This gives some idea of the popularity of the car and the revenue it brought to MG. Lots of 'experts' have suggested that the 1500 wasn't as popular but between 1974 and 1979 72289 were built in total and 54442 went to the US. Hardly unpopular. In fact when the 1500 was launched sales rates increased. Quite remarkable considering that by the 70s the Midget was looking distinctly dated.

So why the change?

The Midget was nearly dropped in 1974 as it was felt by MG that it had reached the limit of what could be extracted from both the engine and the body. The 1275 engine couldn't be cleaned up enough for the American market and the cabin was just too small. But sales were still strong in the US so Harris Mann oversaw a team that created a front and rear bumper that met the new US 5mph crash laws in the style of the MGB. The new federalised law said that not only must it withstand a front but also front quarter impact and sustain no damage. There was also the requirement for all car bumpers to be at the same height and therefore in theory meet in a crash. Despite the obvious issue of cars diving under heavy braking and meeting the raised rear of a car that also might be braking the law came into effect. To address the height issue MG simply raised the Midget up. This had a terrible effect on the handling of the first 1974 cars. The raised height threw the centre of gravity higher and the car tended to lean in corners and caused significant 'lift off' oversteer which, for a racing driver can be good, but for the average driver made the car more unpredictable. MG added a thicker rollbar as standard but it never handled as well as the 1275.

The 1500 engine transplant also altered the personality of the car. Its longer stroke reduced its eagerness to rev and by cramming it into such a small engine bay made it more likely to overheat. What is forgotten though is that the new Triumph engine had a higher torque than the older car and a power rating that, although on paper, was the same as the old car, came in at much lower revs. This made the car much faster all through the rev range and gave a top speed of over 100 mph.

It is interesting to note that MG had developed an overhead cam version of the A series engine that they would have preferred to the 1500.

Whilst some say that these changes ruined the car the facts are that if they hadn't happened the Midget would have died in 1974 and with the MGB receiving the same treatment this may have meant the end of MG itself. There was no other MG car waiting in the wings to take over. Many prototypes had been worked on from a frontwheel drive design based on the Mini to a mid engine coupe but without the investment needed MG would have been lost. Work was even carried out to produce an MG badged TR7.

Today its easy to correct the problems that these changes brought. The car is easily lowered in an afternoon to its correct height and uprated springs, dampers and polybushes tighten the car back up, to give even better response than the 1275. With the 1500 tuned properly it gives good performance and pulls well in all gears. Overdrive and even 5 speed conversions are available if you want to take it further. The bumpers are a matter of taste but they are part of the history of the car and as such I think they should stay. If you want a chrome bumper car buy one....I'll wave as I sail past in the 1500.