MG Midget Madness (i.e. It was either this or kill it with fire)

[GySgtFrank]

Finished the fuel tank portion of the rear enclosure.

fuel enclosure welded in by Kevin Frank, on Flickr


... and with the top bolted on. I went with a bolt on top cover so That I would have easy access to the pump and lines in the future.


fuel enclosure with top by Kevin Frank, on Flickr


I did have a bit of a problem. When I built the enclosure I fitted it to the car, then removed it for final welding. Checked it by re-installing and everything was fine. Cut out the top piece, drilled all the holes, and welded the nuts on the bottom. Re-fitted, everything was fine. Welded the enclosure in without the top so I could reach the areas I needed to weld, prepped, and painted all the bare metal and places the paint bubbled. Put the top on (some of you know where this is going already) and Voila! none of the holes matched up anymore. It distorted enough that I couldn't put the bolts in. I had to break out the carbide bit and grind out each hole so that the bolts would go in. Sometimes I ain't the sharpest spine on the cactus.

I did add an extra vent to the fuel inlet pipe to try and prevent premature cutoff of the fuel station pump when filling up. I plan to run this together with the tank vent, then both to a rollover valve mounted where the original valve was at. It was located well above the new enclosure on an inside trunk brace, then routed to a bulkhead fitting in the side floor of the trunk area. The vent at the tank (and my new fittings) are all 1/2 inch inside diameter tubing. I believe this should be sufficient as it was what the stock setup was using.

I will need to coat all the weld areas in seam sealer, and undercoat all the exposed parts underneath, when completely finished. High density foam will be used around the top flange to seal the top cover, an aluminum plate will replace the heavy steel one eventually. I had planned to cover the trunk area in carpet to match the interior when done so that it has a nice finished look to it.


fuel enclosure pass throughs by Kevin Frank, on Flickr


Now on to the muffler enclosure directly behind this one. The metal plate at the back (the one with the ventilation holes in it) is only there as a heat shield to prevent heat transfer from the hot muffler to the fuel tank.

[chibikougan]

Holy bolts batman. Looks good it also looks like one of those times a bead roller would have come in very handy to make flush cutouts. I guess why have access to parts when you can have access to the whole thing EH!


Did you say you have an FC Fuse Box if not I found 3 today...

[GySgtFrank]

Originally Posted by chibikougan

Holy bolts batman. Looks good it also looks like one of those times a bead roller would have come in very handy to make flush cutouts. I guess why have access to parts when you can have access to the whole thing EH!


Did you say you have an FC Fuse Box if not I found 3 today...

A bead roller and a sheetmetal brake would have come in damn handy, instead of having to hand form and tab the pieces. Oh well, us broke asses just gotta deal with it I guess.

Yes I could use an entire s4 harness or any part thereof. Brian is looking around for me, but he hasn't found one yet. I hate to cut up the one in the SA just to finish this car.

[chibikougan]

Oh you got the FC fuse panel I was thinking of installed already..

Might be easier to build a harness. Although might save the building new for the SA not the Midge.

[GySgtFrank]

Originally Posted by chibikougan

Oh you got the FC fuse panel I was thinking of installed already..

Might be easier to build a harness. Although might save the building new for the SA not the Midge.

That's the one from the SA. It's not hooked to anything. I just used it for fitting purposes to figure out where all the major pieces had to go. Kind of like a large three dimensional jigsaw puzzle.

I am going to have to build most of a new harness for the SA as I plan to go with the Syvecs ECU, but the harness is integrated into the car and bits of the old harness. I didn't want to cut it up because I will forget where shit goes by the time I get back to it. Hell, I've forgotten where most of it goes since I built it a few years ago. I will do it if I have no other choice though.

[chibikougan]

Originally Posted by GySgtFrank

That's the one from the SA. It's not hooked to anything. I just used it for fitting purposes to figure out where all the major pieces had to go. Kind of like a large three dimensional jigsaw puzzle.

I am going to have to build most of a new harness for the SA as I plan to go with the Syvecs ECU, but the harness is integrated into the car and bits of the old harness. I didn't want to cut it up because I will forget where shit goes by the time I get back to it. Hell, I've forgotten where most of it goes since I built it a few years ago. I will do it if I have no other choice though.

Is an FC panel different? If so I will send ya one just PM me your address.

[GySgtFrank]

Originally Posted by chibikougan

Is an FC panel different? If so I will send ya one just PM me your address.

That is an FC panel. The entire wiring harness in the SA, front to rear, is from a 1987 GXL. The only thing left from the SA harnesses are the pigtails to things like the heater motor, some of the dash/interior lights, tail lights, and headlight bulbs/motors. I didn't like the FC climate control system and retained the original manual style climate controls. I have had enough trouble with the CPU. I really didn't need to deal with the logicon bundle of snakes.