What to get though - that was the question? I looked at the options in kit cars but this area seems to be dominated by Lotus seven look-alikes, and these really don't appeal. What about building a car from scratch? That seemed a possibility, but as I investigated it became very apparent that the day of unsophisticated home-builts was long gone as the new testing process for such cars with a modified standard chassis, or a bespoke one, was a nightmare. I then stumbled on a homebuilt called the JC MIdge. This is a car built from plans on the modified chassis of a Triumph Herald, Spitfire, or Vitesse. The new testing process ruled out building one from scratch, but buying an existing one that required a bit of TLC seemed the best option. The trick was to make sure that the car had been re-registered as a Midge after the initial build.
The Midge uses the slightly modified chassis of the standard cars and then has a new 1930s style body, made from the plans supplied, using plywood skinned with aluminium - exactly how cars were made pre-war.
I joined the Midge owners club and asked to be advised of any cars being offered for sale. From looking at the gallery of photos of MÃdges there were all shapes and sizes, presumably as different interpretations of the plans had produced variations in style. Some I liked, others looked less than ideal to me. One thing was for sure - any Midge I bought would need to have 15" wire wheels, and ideally Brooklands style aero screens as this seemed to create the most realistic looking cars.
Within a matter of days I heard that a car was for sale in Aylesbury, a relatively short distance away. I checked the photo gallery and found it ticked the boxes - 15" wire wheels, aero screens - but just looked "right". Having arranged to view the car I toddled over to Aylesbury and, well, had to have it. Although the owner was a "concours" specialist in bubble cars, the Midge had been his escape from detailed restoration. In other words it has rather been neglected! Having sat outside, although under a cover, the car had started to be affected by the weather, the true extent of which I would find out later. Deal done there and then, but the only problem was the car had a "personalised" number plate that the owner wanted to retain. Not sure why he didn't put it on retention as soon as he decided to sell the car, but he didn't. So, I would have to wait until the DVLA had done their worst.
A sheep in wolf's clothing - The Midge
What had I bought then? The car is based on a 1965 Triumph Herald 12/50 - 1147cc of raw power - nominally 50 BHP (less than half of the A40's power), but a pretty looking car. The wire wheels are from either a TR4, or Jaguar Mark II, and pretty much everthing else mechanical is from the Herald, except the petrol tank which is Minivan (?). The design pushes the two front seats back somewhat from their original position. This impacts two essential components - the position of the gear lever and the handbrake. To overcome the gearlever being out of reach, an extension had been welded on and a flatish "S" shape created. The net result is a very sloppy gearchange. The handbrake had been moved to the passenger side floor, under the dash making it difficult to reach. Both needed urgent thought once I actually owned the car.
Three weeks passed and after several calls to the owner I was advised that the paperwork was through. Better still, the car would be trailered over to me. Thinking only that such largesse was unusual, but very welcome these days, a contingent of the Brookvale folk appeared to welcome the car on its low loader.
The new project was here!
