1978 MG Midget

1978 MG Midget Description

This 1978 MG Midget is a two owner car with a great story behind it. It’s an incredibly clean, very original car that has just over 14,000 original miles since new.

Here is the backstory on the Midget, per the second owner:

“I grew up in Kansas City and my neighbor, Terry, purchased the car new in 1978. I was in 8th grade in 1978. My Dad was an MG guy, had a '53 TD at that time, and he and Terry were good friends. They enjoyed getting their cars out on the weekends and being MG owners together. I was also friends with Terry, mowed his grass, waxed his cars… he took good care of me. Terry did not have any sons, just one daughter, and as I grew up and began to drive he would let me take the MG out and "exercise" it. He trusted me because I was always driving my Dads '53 MG around town. I'm pretty sure I was driving that car when I was 16 or 17 years old. Terry never drove the car much, took amazing care of it and kept it in his garage. I left for college in 1983 and did not return to Kansas City. I lost track of Terry and his MG, although my parents were still friends and I knew he never sold the car. Terry passed away in 2009 and I received a call from his daughter who wanted to give me the first opportunity to buy the car as I had driven the car more the she ever had and she knew that would make Terry happy. Plus she is 6 feet tall and her husband in 6' 7". Not a good size for an MG Midget.

So I went back to KC and to Terry's house and in the garage was the MG, dusty and not driven in three years. My Dad was with me and I asked "Did Terry ever drive the MG more over the years, especially since he was retired"? My Dad said " I don't think so" just about the time I was looking at the odometer and saw a reading of 12,500 miles (or something close). We looked at each other and said "Nope he never really drove the car". It was a nice "garage find".

So I purchased the car from the daughter, spent about $2,000 and thoroughly went through the car to make sure it would be a safe and reliable daily driver. The car has new radial tires otherwise it is an all original car.”

After thoroughly reviewing the condition of the Midget, it would be hard to find a nicer example. We cannot find a spot of rust damage on the car, and there has never been any rust repair on the the car. All of the original spot welds are present and upon putting a paint meter on the body, there has never been any body work or filler added to the car. We’ve been all over the rockers and wheel lips and they are mint. The floors are as they came from the factory with no rust issues present.

These cars had very thin paint from the factory that measures around 2.5 to 3 mils. Most of the car reads as having original paint, while the a few areas on the front are around 5.5 or 6. Whether this was a factory QC repair, or dealer repair, there has never been any accident damage to the body and the paint is the same type and color.

The interior on the car is all original, and in excellent condition. The seats have a slight fade, however, they are remarkable well preserved, The same goes for the dash and carpeting. The car has never been exposed to bad weather conditions, and was never stored outdoors. Under the dash is the same. Totally unmodified and just as she came from the factory. All of the glass is original, and the windshield is mint.

Anybody can restore a car, but cream puff originals are few and far between. The opportunity to buy an MG Midget this nice may not present itself again in the near future.