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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Mystery Setscrews

What could these be for? I've found them only because I'm scraping off many coats of underseal beneath the sills, and came across two threaded shanks, about half an inch long.

This shot shows best where they are - the little flat-headed disc just outboard of the two chassis bolts, and the other one you can't see, four inches to the rear, because it's in the void behind the bulkhead. That'll be alongside the spring fixing.

Nearside has only the rear one, and no sign of the flat disk.

I is perplexed.

Nick and Cherry Scoop

You've got me!

I can't think what would be attached there.
Dave O'Neill 2

Flux capacitor attachment maybe?

This is Cherry?

We know she's had a life don't we?











Yes I is confoo too
Bill sdgpM

Ah, yes, it's Cherry Scoop. Maybe fixing points for some sort of inverted reverse Scoop to keep muck out of the spring housing.
GuyW

the threaded bits with flat disc heads look like the same studs that the fuel tank hangs on, and are designed to be fitted at manufacture. It would be quite difficult to fit them later I would have thought.
davidsmith

Here they are from underneath.
I will continue through the PO's diary, to see if he added aerodynamic fairings. The odd thing is, no flat disc on the nearside, though I can sort of see what looks like a cut-off stud below. Could be a bit of weld, though. I will discover later.

Nick and Cherry Scoop

Probably bread basket fixings.
An old guy I worked with when I was a 20 year old used to fix his car floors with bread baskets. (the thin metal ones we would call trays). That was late 50's, early sixties.
Just real cool and stroll on man.
Dave Squire

Nick - I believe these to be tie-down bolts which were apparently fitted to all frogeye underframes, probably for the journeys between factories. Their use is not at all obvious in the 'double-knocker' Commer pic below where the shells appear to be oddly levitating at the rear, though there must have been some kind of support frame (or were the bolts only used for Wolverhampton - Swindon??).

The unfamiliarity of these bolts is probably due to their being sited in such a rust-prone position – I only found out about them fairly recently myself. I suppose the Sprites we grew up with had already been repaired in this area from very early on with flat strips of washing machine, fridge, or even bread basket ...


Tom Coulthard

What a great photo!

I think the bodies will be supported in T shaped bearers sticking out sideways from a central column so each shell could be slotted in from the side for loading. You can make out these supports under the front wheel arch, and with a bit of squinting l think I can see them supporting the rear under the back axle hump, presumedly resting on the small square of reinforcing that serves as the rebound rubber contact point. Odd that the don't appear to be supported where one would expect, at the rear spring mounting points.
GuyW

What could these be for? I've found them only because I'm scraping off many coats of underseal beneath the sills, and came across two threaded shanks, about half an inch long.

This shot shows best where they are - the little flat-headed disc just outboard of the two chassis bolts, and the other one you can't see, four inches to the rear, because it's in the void behind the bulkhead. That'll be alongside the spring fixing.

Nearside has only the rear one, and no sign of the flat disk.

I is perplexed.

Nick and Cherry Scoop

You've got me!

I can't think what would be attached there.
Dave O'Neill 2

Flux capacitor attachment maybe?

This is Cherry?

We know she's had a life don't we?











Yes I is confoo too
Bill sdgpM

Ah, yes, it's Cherry Scoop. Maybe fixing points for some sort of inverted reverse Scoop to keep muck out of the spring housing.
GuyW

the threaded bits with flat disc heads look like the same studs that the fuel tank hangs on, and are designed to be fitted at manufacture. It would be quite difficult to fit them later I would have thought.
davidsmith

Here they are from underneath.
I will continue through the PO's diary, to see if he added aerodynamic fairings. The odd thing is, no flat disc on the nearside, though I can sort of see what looks like a cut-off stud below. Could be a bit of weld, though. I will discover later.

Nick and Cherry Scoop

Probably bread basket fixings.
An old guy I worked with when I was a 20 year old used to fix his car floors with bread baskets. (the thin metal ones we would call trays). That was late 50's, early sixties.
Just real cool and stroll on man.
Dave Squire

Nick - I believe these to be tie-down bolts which were apparently fitted to all frogeye underframes, probably for the journeys between factories. Their use is not at all obvious in the 'double-knocker' Commer pic below where the shells appear to be oddly levitating at the rear, though there must have been some kind of support frame (or were the bolts only used for Wolverhampton - Swindon??).

The unfamiliarity of these bolts is probably due to their being sited in such a rust-prone position – I only found out about them fairly recently myself. I suppose the Sprites we grew up with had already been repaired in this area from very early on with flat strips of washing machine, fridge, or even bread basket ...


Tom Coulthard

What a great photo!

I think the bodies will be supported in T shaped bearers sticking out sideways from a central column so each shell could be slotted in from the side for loading. You can make out these supports under the front wheel arch, and with a bit of squinting l think I can see them supporting the rear under the back axle hump, presumedly resting on the small square of reinforcing that serves as the rebound rubber contact point. Odd that the don't appear to be supported where one would expect, at the rear spring mounting points.
GuyW

Wow,what a picture! If only we could go back in time and steal one so we could compare all the measurements Guy! Or just fit all our components into one......

I remember British Road Services very well. According to Wikipedia it has now morphed into DHL.

Bill
W Bretherton

Tom - that's brilliant; thank you very much. I'd better preserve them for posterity, and I shall certainly now dig around a little for the nearside head. I bet it's there, under the underseal.

Womderful picture, too. What a treat.
Nick and Cherry Scoop

This thread was discussed between 09/02/2017 and 18/02/2017

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