DON’T BREAK THE BANK
Bid well when shopping for the ever-popular MG Midget and its Triumph Spitfire rival
Finding a classic that offers the right mixture of affordable fun, ease of ownership, good spares support and that indefinable ‘feelgood factor’ can be a tough call, but two small British sports cars continue to offer all those attributes, long after they went out of production.
Step forward the Triumph Spitfire and the MG Midget (and its Austin-Healey Sprite sibling), two compact, affordable and eminently usable classics that find favour both with long-term classic enthusiasts and those coming new to the hobby.
Midgets can be found at plenty of sales, Spitfires less so, although relatively large numbers of both have survived thanks to long production runs and that aforementioned popularity among enthusiasts.
Values, unsurprisingly, are all over the place. Immaculate, original cars and properly restored examples sell for big money – Bonhams’ unregistered, 35-milesfrom-new 1979 Midget made £28,750 at its Goodwood Festival of Speed sale, while Historics scored well last year with a 1965 Spitfire that had been in one family’s ownership and covered 10,000 miles from new. It sold for £22,400.
Such high prices shouldn’t put would-be buyers off, as a steady supply – Midgets in particular – keeps prices stable. A Condition 2 1972 Midget sold for £6270 at Brightwells in June and Morris Leslie sold a 1965 Spitfire for £4028.
For those with less cash but plenty of determination, there are scruffier cars (South West Vehicle Auctions’ 1964 Midget was bought for £2700 in April), but replacement panels are readily available and sensibly priced. And for those who lack the skills or time, plenty of one-make specialists can help. As an example of needing-work rarity, Anglia Car Auctions’ Condition 3 1966 MG Midget Ashley made £1785, meaning that with sensible budgeting this rarity could be restored without breaking the bank.
Because Spitfire supply is not as great as that for Midgets, prices can sometimes seem random : ACA’s 1975 model in Condition 2+ made £7560 while back down at SWVA a Condition 2/2+ 1977 Midget was bought for £3240.