Rotary Car Club - View Single Post - MG Midget Madness (i.e. It was either this or kill it with fire)

GySgtFrank · 08-08-2015, 04:05 PM

More or less finished with the rear enclosure. Once the seam sealer dries I will coat the entire under side with black undercoating. I figured you already know what that looks like and it's easier to see with just the paint and sealer.

For those of you that haven't been following along, and are wondering exactly what kind of lunacy I'm up to, I raised the trunk (boot) floor to provide room for a 1987 FC RX7 fuel tank and a separate area behind it so I could fit a full size muffler. The RX7 tank is longer wider and taller than the original necessitating a little bit of modification for it to fit. It will fit between the rails with about three inches of clearance on the left side for exhaust pipe routing and still have enough room behind it for a muffler.

rear enclosure - painted and sealed 1 by Kevin Frank, on Flickr

It doesn't look like much, but it took a lot of time and work to get it built and welded in. I used seam sealer on all welds that could leak if there are any pinholes that I may have missed. The top lids are removable for servicing the fuel system and muffler (not shown). I installed cross braces in the muffler box to provide solid mounting points for the muffler without hanging them from the top cover. That would be a real inconvenience when I remove the cover. I will get it sprayed with undercoating and re-install the tank (again), then take a few more pictures with it installed.

For anyone contemplating this swap, all this rigamarole is not absolutely necessary. You could use an external high pressure pump with the original tank and small mufflers that fit in the existing space. Unfortunately then you are stuck with the tiny fuel capacity, a noisy pump, and it will probably be louder than you would like for street use. I decided to address these issues ahead of time with the in tank pump/16 gallon tank and large muffler.

more pictures from different angles.

rear enclosure - painted and sealed 2 by Kevin Frank, on Flickr

rear enclosure - painted and sealed 3 by Kevin Frank, on Flickr

rear enclosure - painted and sealed 4 by Kevin Frank, on Flickr

and a picture of the vents exiting the original holes for the back up lights.

rear enclosure - muffler 4 - vents by Kevin Frank, on Flickr

They still need to be sealed to the body with some caulking and covered with wire mesh and finished off with bezels. I plan to build a rear bumper later and incorporate the back up lights into that.

08-08-2015, 04:05 PM	#131
GySgtFrank Professional Stick Poker Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Stafford, Ks. Posts: 1,012 Rep Power: 16	More or less finished with the rear enclosure. Once the seam sealer dries I will coat the entire under side with black undercoating. I figured you already know what that looks like and it's easier to see with just the paint and sealer. For those of you that haven't been following along, and are wondering exactly what kind of lunacy I'm up to, I raised the trunk (boot) floor to provide room for a 1987 FC RX7 fuel tank and a separate area behind it so I could fit a full size muffler. The RX7 tank is longer wider and taller than the original necessitating a little bit of modification for it to fit. It will fit between the rails with about three inches of clearance on the left side for exhaust pipe routing and still have enough room behind it for a muffler. rear enclosure - painted and sealed 1 by Kevin Frank, on Flickr It doesn't look like much, but it took a lot of time and work to get it built and welded in. I used seam sealer on all welds that could leak if there are any pinholes that I may have missed. The top lids are removable for servicing the fuel system and muffler (not shown). I installed cross braces in the muffler box to provide solid mounting points for the muffler without hanging them from the top cover. That would be a real inconvenience when I remove the cover. I will get it sprayed with undercoating and re-install the tank (again), then take a few more pictures with it installed. For anyone contemplating this swap, all this rigamarole is not absolutely necessary. You could use an external high pressure pump with the original tank and small mufflers that fit in the existing space. Unfortunately then you are stuck with the tiny fuel capacity, a noisy pump, and it will probably be louder than you would like for street use. I decided to address these issues ahead of time with the in tank pump/16 gallon tank and large muffler. more pictures from different angles. rear enclosure - painted and sealed 2 by Kevin Frank, on Flickr rear enclosure - painted and sealed 3 by Kevin Frank, on Flickr rear enclosure - painted and sealed 4 by Kevin Frank, on Flickr and a picture of the vents exiting the original holes for the back up lights. rear enclosure - muffler 4 - vents by Kevin Frank, on Flickr They still need to be sealed to the body with some caulking and covered with wire mesh and finished off with bezels. I plan to build a rear bumper later and incorporate the back up lights into that. __________________ 1988 N/A SE 2+2, dead stock and staying that way. 1979 SA22C stock? Not so much. http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...ad.php?t=15585 Last edited by GySgtFrank; 08-08-2015 at 04:08 PM.