MG-Cars.info

Welcome to our Site for MG, Triumph and Austin-Healey Car Information.

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Midget Fuel Tank

Does anyone know if a larger fuel tank was ever produced for the MG Midget or Sprite when used in period or current motor sport?
Peter King

The racing chaps may chip in with their experiences but as far as I know, originally a 6 gallon tank was fitted to chrome bumper models and a 7 gallon one on rubber bumpers. I'm pretty sure they're interchangeable.
Jeremy MkIII

BMC homologated a long range tnk for Sebring back in the sixties. It was made by taking two tanks, slicing the top off one and the bottom off the other and welding them together. Must be about 10 or 11 gallons. The homologation forms from the period are all downloadable from the FIA website. Sorry, link not to hand as I'm in Greece...
David Smith

Jeremy,
just for your info, the later chrome bumper cars also originally had 7 UK gal tanks. Current tanks are 5.83 UK gal which is confusingly 7 US gal or there are 7 UK gal tanks for r/b cars. There will be a lot of interchangeability but the 7 UK gal tanks were/are(?) about £100+ more.
Nigel Atkins

Peter

Here's a link to the FIA Homologation Papers for the 1963 Sebring Sprite: http://historicdb.fia.com/sites/default/files/car_attachment/1486676401/homologation_form_number_62_group_gt.pdf

70 litres is a lot - but it doesn't show the actual tank.
As the standard tank is only 27.3 litres, it must be more that two 'bottoms' welded together.

I hope that's useful.

Do you think the photos were taken at the original Cape Road site in Warwick?

Colin
C Mee

Cheers Nigel :)
Jeremy MkIII

No problem.

I bought my present Midget expecting a 7 UK gal tank but it'd been replaced with a 5.83 UK gal and I replaced that tank with the same make and capacity last year hence my actually remembering about tank capacities.

I thought the Midget with a 7uk gal tank would be useful as my previous Spridget was an earlier model and the extra gallon would please my wife as I'd run out of petrol less often. A good few years before she told me she'd no longer push any car I owned. Where did all the love go.

I now get verbal warnings when the Midget needle goes below half, just because I've run out a few times over the years, and I'm always asked if the can is full and in the boot.

She stills tells the tale of the man who was cutting his grass with a petrol mower so we were able to borrow half a gallon to get to a petrol station and he couldn't believe my wife had helped pushed the Spridget about a quarter of a mile, or a bit more - it's a light car, it was on a flat road and I was helping - he sowed the seed of doubt though!
Nigel Atkins

“it was on a flat road and I was helping”

Steering?
Dave O'Neill 2

Your quite right Dave, I was doing the most work steering and a bit of pushing too.

About 15 years ago whilst pushing one of our cars I discovered that our road wasn't flat and actually had a very slight slope that I'd never noticed in all the years of pushing cars on it before, after that I tried to avoid pushing cars too.
Nigel Atkins

Thanks all for your help as usual,very grateful for the FIA papers.
Peter King

Peter

This has come up before - maybe even asked by you previously.

Some useful info on the Sebring Sprite website: http://sebringsprite.com/wer354.html and a pic elsewhere of a tank another car (but can't find it at the moment)

Thanks
Mike
M Wood

HA ha just responded to this on the other Peter King fuel tank thread
William Revit

This thread was discussed between 10/10/2018 and 17/10/2018

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

This thread is from the archives. Join the live MG Midget and Sprite Technical BBS now