Reluctantly I am selling my 1965 MG Midget MKII with no reserve. My wife and I purchased an investment property so I few of the toys have to go for immediate cash flow. I had a few plans for the Midget that I never got to, but overall it is in very good running order.

First off, it has the 1275cc engine. My understanding is this is the most desirable engine for this car. It also is the more desirable “chrome bumper” and metal dashboard MKII generation. So it has the roll-up windows which work perfectly and a few other improvements over the MKI. But I’m assuming most people reading this would know what they are looking at so I’ll leave the generation opinions up to you.

The car starts right up and drives great. The steering is ridiculously tight seeing as it is one of the first adapters of rack and pinion steering and the car does not pull. The brakes work well and have a newly rebuilt master cylinder and calipers/cylinders. Both the front and rear brakes grab properly as well as the emergency brake. The clutch works perfectly, as do all of the 4 forward and reverse gears. As should be expected with a straight-cut non-synchronized first gear, first whines quite a bit upon takeoff. But this is perfectly normal from the factory so if you are unfamiliar with this and do want to take a look at it before bidding, please do your homework before stopping by and thinking something is wrong with it.

I made a quick video of the car starting and driving off to show it really is road worthy and in good running condition: http://youtu.be/ltiWj-m83_Q

The car has a long history of receipts dating back to the early 90’s. The engine was completely rebuilt in the mid-90’s along with plenty of other work. I changed the oil with synthetic and it doesn’t leak or burn a bit of oil and it stays clean for quite some time. So I know the engine is in great shape inside. The oil pressure gauge is also fully functional and shows great pressure. The same can be said for the coolant temperature.

The tires are nearly brand new and have less than 200 miles on them. It also has a functional spare.

The speedometer, odometer, and fuel gauge work properly. An aftermarket radio/CD/MP3 player is installed and works properly. A custom panel between the trunk completely hides the rear speakers from view.

The car has been converted to negative ground and has the very much appreciated Saturn alternator conversion. I do still have the generator if you’d like to reinstall it but the Saturn alternator is a remarkable improvement for the vehicle due to the added electrical components that modern driving mandates.

Speaking of which, it has been rewired with proper fuses to handle the additional electric components and avoid any problematic wiring nuisances. It has been converted from points to electronic ignition for worry-free starts. It also has an electric fuel pump with hidden kill switch for added security.

In my opinion the two biggest issues with the vehicle are the paint and the driver’s side door. The bottom hinge on the driver’s side door is rusted where it connects to the vehicle, as well as a bit on the outside which you can see in the pics. I know this is a trouble spot for MG’s but I’m a bit surprised with this one since overall I think the body is fairly rust free for the year. I’ve had several classic 60’s cars and I was amazed at how little this one is rusted out. The frame is in great shape and the passenger door is dead-on straight with no sagging. I’m not sure why this just happened to the driver’s door, but that’s the reality. The door is still useable; you just have to lift it a bit when closing it.

I’m not a body expert, but I think the paint is original. I could not find any evidence of overspray, a color change, etc. So that’s probably why after nearly 50 years, it needs a paint job! I think the bigger issue is that in the mid-90’s the previous owner paid a crazy amount of money to add the racing stripes on top of the old paint. Go figure that the paint is in the worst condition where the racing stripes were placed. But it seems keeping the “patina” of the old paints is all the rage nowadays so at least you can make your own decision there.

The convertible top is in fair condition- at least enough to leave you dry. It does have a few patches but overall the integrity is good. Honestly it’s been years since I even had it on because I leave it in my garage with the top off. If I was taking it for a longer trip, I would just put the top in the trunk in case it rained at some point. As you can see, I did a quick installation of the top just for the pictures but it’s such a pain to install I didn’t go through it perfectly.

The hood is not in the best of shape and is missing the bar to hold it up. The release lever does work properly. The good news is that I will include a spare hood that is in great shape and is pictured. I never installed the replacement hood because I was waiting for the paint job. I didn’t want to drive around with a primered hood that didn’t match the car.

The only other small negatives I can think of is that the heater knob and the tachometer do not work. I never got around to looking into it, but I’m fairly certain the tachometer is an easy fix that was not implemented after the negative ground conversion. This is an easy thing to lookup. And the heater cable broke one day and I did not get around to fixing it. There are 2 vents near the transmission tunnel that put out quite a bit of heat when open so unless you’re driving in freezing temperatures, you’ll probably be fine with this too. Otherwise this should be an easy fix, as the heater core is in fine shape.

Overall this is quite a good driver and is truly enjoyable zipping around on the back roads. It really has a go-cart feel that I will definitely miss but I do have to sell.

Please let me know if you have any questions or if you would like to take a look/ride in-person. The car is located in Woodstown, NJ – approximately 35 minutes from Philadelphia, 15 minutes from Wilmington, DE, 2 hours from New York City. Pickup will be your responsibility but I don’t mind working with a hauler if you arrange the details. Vehicle is listed for sale locally as well so I may end the auction early if there are no bids.

Thanks for your interest.