Midget vs. Spider

[Soundtrackzz]

Im interested in buying a older 2 seater roadster. As the title would suggest Im torn between the Mg Midget and the 124 spider. Is there anyone that has had both that could give a few pros or cons for one or the other? Price of parts, general reliability, availability of parts etc

Thanks
Zach

[joelittel]

Cannot answer your question directly but can offer an observation.

Every time I see an MG with a v8 in it I wonder if I made the right choice when I bought the FIAT.

Then I notice the lack of refinement with the MG and am reminded that I love my 124.

[Soundtrackzz]

I feel like the 124 is probably the more sophistcated car but I seem to have trouble finding one for around my $4500/$5000 budget that actually runs. There seem to be many more midgets for sale closer to where I am and for less money

[baltobernie]

That's a reasonable budget for a "driver". Tell us where you live and post details in the "Cars /Parts Wanted" section.

The Midget is a much smaller car than the Spider. Have you sat in one?

[Texsardo]

Helped restore a 50's Midget with college friend. Carbs were extremely hard to tune and the ride was like a stagecoach. But I agree. For ease of finding parts and cost to maintain, go Fiat Spider. Plus there is just a look of open road, top down that looks better than the 70's Midget. Just my honest opinion.

[Soundtrackzz]

That's a reasonable budget for a "driver". Tell us where you live and post details in the "Cars /Parts Wanted" section.

The Midget is a much smaller car than the Spider. Have you sat in one?

I live in Louisville KY. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll post tomorrow.

[TX82FIAT]

I've never met a stock MG that can hold a candle to a Fiat spider on the road. Two exceptions in power were the MG GTV8 and the MGRV8. If one of those two exception popped up I'd be hard pressed to chose a Fiat for the same money. However, size, room, style of the Fiat win out. Lucky that the V8 version of the MG is going to cost a lot more than the Fiat so I will not need to worry about that decision. Another odd consideration. I have found that once the bugs are worked out of the Fiat it will have minimal issues. However, I also owned and MG for about a year and it was a lemon.

[Nanonevol]

OP is asking about the MG Midget. You won't find many of those tiny cars with a V6 let alone a V8.

[spidernut]

I'm the head of a local Fiat club. I spoke with the head of the local MG club just last Saturday. He said with MGs, you are doing nothing but repairs nearly every time you drive the car. He had a gorgeous and fully restored car too. I asked his opinion of the MGBs (much closer in size to a Spider) and he said they are a lot of work to maintain. I tried to sit in an MG Midget and can't depress the clutch because it is way too small inside.

For comparison, here's my Spider repair history
- The 35 year old magnetic pick up wire broke (should have been replaced, but I hadn't done so yet)
- The 35 year old one-way check valve for the fuel vapors failed and damaged the rubber filler pipe (also a maintenance item that I had not replaced yet
- Replaced temp gauge
- Replaced coolant fan switch three times due to failures
- Re-glued vent wing latch (free at a local glass shop)
- Replaced hazard switch (it had the original in the car for about 30 years)

Everything else was general maintenance items (tune ups, carb adjustments, valve adjustment, brakes, timing belt, brakes, brake lines, shocks, bushings, guibo, u-joints, etc.)

[Warren]

Hello:
I bought a 1972 Midget in 1975 and it needed a lot of work, eventually rebuilt the engine. It always needed work and that is how I learned to work on cars. Gave it to my Dad and bought a new 1977 X1/9 when I got out of college. The Midget is very small inside even compared to the X1/9. The 1974 and earlier had the 1275 cc engine of which the crankshaft is old technology with only 3 main bearings; the 4 speed transmission has a straight cut non-synchronized first gear (which wears and is noisy) and also the clutch release bearing is a solid non-rotating bearing (wears quickly). To remove the transmission requires pulling the engine and transmission together as there is a welded crossmember which prevents lowering only the transmission. The 1975 and up had the 4 speed synchronized first gear transmission and 1500 cc engine(single carb) (Spitfire) but also had the larger higher level bumpers. All Midgets had front wheel disc brakes but the rears were drums which had to be manually adjusted. Lever shocks were also installed which wear out quickly. Convertible top has to be snapped from the outside so not as easy as the Fiat.

Better off with any Fiat versus any MG.

[johndemar]

When I was looking for a car in 1976, I looked at an MG, as well as the other 8-10 convertibles that were available new then.

I had plenty of leg room in the 124, not so much in the MG. Choice was easy, and I'm only 6 foot, or was in 76.

[geospider]

Our's are beautiful cars. The lines, the feel, the handling, and just enough power (can be debated by some). 124 looks better moving and still. No contest. it's quirks are part of it's allure.
Fiat 124 Amore!

Geo

[RRoller123]

The MG brand is a retro popularity play, and they have a much longer history in the US, since just after the 2nd WW, and with soldiers stationed in England, so it makes sense. I remember back in the early 80's, our Production Mgr was getting the usual psychodeviant midlife stuff, and he wanted a small sports car. I drove the X1/9, but it was too modern for him. A coworker had the 124. When he looked at it he was shocked at how much more advanced it was over the MGs, either B or Midget. But he went out and bought the Midget. It was all about retro and historical appeal. It is ok. To each his or her own.

[gjones1967]

I have owned an MGB for 6 years, restoring it during that time. Parts are readily available in the USA. I recently got a Spider to start a new project and then acquired a 2nd one. From the short time I drove it before pulling it apart I can tell that it is much more refined than the MG, and much comfier. MG is cramped so I would imagine the Midget to be worse.

[focodave]

I own and have completely refurbished, from the ground up, both a 1980 FIAT Spider and a 1970 MGB GT (not a midget).
I am 6'2" tall and weigh 175 pounds and I have more legroom in the MGB than I do the FIAT.
I will say this about comparing the MG to the FIAT -- both are a joy to drive for some very similar and some very different reasons. The MG feels a little more "agricultural" than the Spider. Both do very well in the scenic twisty canyon roads we are blessed to have here in Colorado, but the Fiat does handle the curves a little better than the MG -- not a whole lot better, but definitely a little better.
Both of my cars are attractive and in what I would call very very good driver quality condition and I keep them both impeccably clean.
Both have Pininfarina lineage -- yes, believe it or not, the top half of the MGB GT was designed by none other than Pininfarina.
I will say that I get many more thumbs up and comments on the MG than I do the Spider, when I take them out on the same roads and exposed to the same crowds. Perhaps it is because the FIAT had such a miserable reputation back in the day. I don't know. Maybe it is because the FIAT may actually look like a new car to the inexperienced, compared to the MG.
Maybe it is because when I am in the FIAT (top down) people can actually see how hideous I look and they avoid contact with me (let's be honest with ourselves -- no one really wants to see a white-haired 56 year-old in a convertible). Whatever the reason, I get many more comments on the MG.
Both are about equally reliable and parts are readily available for both from a handful of suppliers.
Now when we start talking about an MG Midget -- that is a whole different subject. They are very cramped for space and they are just not as visually appealing as the FIAT Spider. They are a lot of fun, but very different from the Spider IMHO. The Midget, to me, says to the world that you really have no shame and that you are out to have fun in your very little British car with the top down no matter what anyone thinks of it.
I personally like the earlier MG Midgets better than the later cars -- the earlier models have rounded rear wheel openings and chrome bumpers.