The Hobbit

Today, in my haste to scratch an itch of owning a little British car, I had no idea I’d be buying the absolute wrong car in most every way.

After selling my last project car (2013 Volkswagen CC), I got the urge for something a little older and British. I always liked Triumphs and had a soft spot for chrome bumper (and bumperless) MGs. The Midget was an inexpensive option so on the hunt I went.

After Facebook Marketplace wasn’t turning up the right fit, I turned to Craigslist where I came upon an MG that was “95% complete”. The car, a 1978 rubber bumper MG Midget, was clearly the car for me and the grainy, low-resolution pics were confirmation (sarcasm). After a couple conversations with the owner, I was picking up a trailer at U-Haul and was on my way three hours to a coastal Virginia town.

On arrival, the car looked “fine”, so I took it for a spin. It started right up, was rev happy, and was a joy to drive. I could foresee many smiles per gallon. I looked briefly underneath, tapped around the bodywork noting body filler, and made an offer which the seller gladly accepted. After a little paperwork we were carefully loading it up on the trailer — a foregone conclusion.

When you rent a U-Haul trailer, they ask you for details about the towing vehicle as well as the vehicle being towed. I couldn’t get the website to accept MG Midget, so I entered MGB. There couldn’t be that much difference between the two, right? We’ll yeah, apparently about four inches. The MG is too narrow for the tracks on the trailer so it winds up tightroping the inner lips of the ramps and tracks.

The old girl made it home safely but unloading made my wife too squeamish about it potentially falling off the ramps so I as to get a buddy to come over and coax the car off the trailer. It was then time to see what I had.