Ralph Hosier, Evo’s Engineer has been at it again this time writing about Stuart Gunn’s MG Midget.
Stuart Gunn did something remarkable; he set about creating this remarkable car in a remarkable way.
He sat down and thought about it, worked through the options, made templates and jigs and then went about welding it all together in a sensible logical well engineered way. Which is remarkable when the very idea of a V8 4?4 Midget is so splendidly mad.
The man and his dream machine
The basic concept was to take the drive train (gearbox, props, diffs and hubs) off a Sierra XR4x4, take a Rover V8 3.5 with a good road tune, add in the MG Midget and blend with a home made chassis and subtle body mods. The result is a beautiful looking car that is easy to drive and blisteringly quick, particularly off the line where the extra traction from the four wheel drive gives it one hell of an edge.
Stuart learned his craft over the years with a number of projects, which all started off a couple of decades ago as a yoof with a Morris Oxford with a jacked up rear, a flip front and side exhaust pipes. By trade Stuart is a panel beater, which shows in the skill with which the steel wheel arches are seamlessly blended in to the MG body.
