# Planning an MG Midget Conversion...



## simondodd (Aug 19, 2017)

So having done a full restoration on my midget I am now thinking about future proofing it by doing an EV conversion...

Slowly building up my tool shop and should have a lathe, pillar drill and a few other essentials by this time next year and will buy others as I need them...

I'm not the best at everything but can get by with welding and fabrication and my electrical skills are pretty high...

My main first question after watching a few youtube videos is why do most people go clutchless on their conversions? Surely that is pretty bad for the gearbox you are using or am I missing something completely obvious here like the amount of torque in the motor is good enough to just leave the gearbox/tranny in top gear at all times?

Looking forward to learning a lot about this as I get it all planned out and started!  Thanks in advance for any advice as well!


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## simondodd (Aug 19, 2017)

Scratch the question about clutches, I've done some reading on here and understand it better now


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## Duncan (Dec 8, 2008)

Hi
welcome
It would help if you put your location on the CP - 

As far as clutch-less is concerned if you can go direct drive then you don't need a gearbox at all 
This means that you can put the motor where the gearbox used to be and you have the whole engine bay available for batteries


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

Although the clutch question has been handled, I'm sure there are still lots more! 

Quite a few people have worked on conversions of Triumph Spitfires, and a few have completed them and shared them in this forum. While the Spitfire and Midget are quite different mechanically, they have the same general layout and they're about the same size, so a look at those Spit projects might be useful in planning, such as for the size of suitable motors and batteries.

Go to the Garage and put in "Triumph" for Make and "Spitfire" for model, and you'll several.

Of course you can also look for the more directly applicable "MG" and "Midget", but there are only three of them, and only two are actually complete to the point of being driveable. Those two are very similar... and not the only way to do this type of car.


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

Duncan said:


> ... As far as clutch-less is concerned if you can go direct drive then you don't need a gearbox at all...


And by "direct drive", Duncan means connecting the motor to the final drive (diff) without any gearing between them... _not_ directly to the wheels. This isn't obvious to someone with automotive experience but not specifically in EVs.


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## galderdi (Nov 17, 2015)

I kept the clutch and gearbox for three reasons.

Firstly the gearbox gives me gearing options. So I can select a gear depending on what I am about to do. For example if I want blistering off the line launch and I don't expect to get over 60kmph/35mph then I'll stick it in first gear.

Secondly my car doesn't currently have an electric reverse. So I need the reverse gear provided by the gearbox.

Thirdly my car is a front wheel drive. The the built in diff is required to split the power out to the drive wheels and also provides the final gear ratio.

Good luck with that build. Done right a little Midget would make an awesome EV.....aside from the fact I could not fit in one.


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## fb_bf (Jul 6, 2011)

You might want to go to my website that shows my MG Midget conversion. I'm about to hit 18,000 miles on it after 6 years of driving it. I strongly recommend keeping the transmission and clutch. It is a sports car, and shifting is half the fun of driving it. Finding a motor that can give you good off the line performance and go 80 miles an hour, or even 60 miles an hour will be tricky without a gearbox. My car final weight was 2,000 lb, only 150 lbs of stock weight. I have 100 miles of range as well.


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

brian_ said:


> Go to the Garage ...
> 
> Of course you can also look for the more directly applicable "MG" and "Midget", but there are only three of them, and only two are actually complete to the point of being driveable.





fb_bf said:


> You might want to go to my website that shows my MG Midget conversion...


Frank's Midget is one of those two complete Midgets in the Garage.

I think Frank's flywheel lightening is an excellent idea, well illustrated. 
The electric motor simply doesn't need a flywheel at all (and its inertia is undesirable), so cutting it down to just what is needed to couple to the motor and mount the clutch assembly certainly seems like the way to go.


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