Steering, Suspension, & Brakes

Does anyone know if the Sprite spindle is the same as the Morris Minor unit? Thanks

Jason, I don't think the complete spindle assembly is the same, but I know that Spridget disc brakes are swapped onto Minors quite often so the actual bearing part of the spindle is going to be close. As far as mounts for the calipers those would have to be fabricated as all the Minors I'm aware of came with drum brakes. I'd check with one of the Morris Minor clubs for details on the brake swap.

I actually found a disc brake kit for a Minor and was wondering if I could use it on the Bugeye. I have a minor as well so it would not be a total loss of it did not work on the bugeye. They are actually both '59's as well so that is why I thought they could work as well.

Jason, the most common way to upgrade the Bugeye to disc brakes is to swap the entire kinpin assembly from a later model Sprite or Midget. That's a true bolt on, only the front brake hoses need to be changed to match the disc brake fittings. Check around with the local MG or British car club, someone will probably have or know someone that has an old Midget that's being scrapped or have the suspension bits from one.

I found a '73 Midget tub with all the front suspension pieces to convert over to disc.

On another note is the frame structure on the midget the same as the Bugeye's? The tub is pretty solid and I would like to use it to get measurements off of to make sure the Bugeye structure isn't all jacked up.

The basic chassis is nearly the same, wheel base is identical and all the dimensions from the center crossmember forward are identical. The rear differs because the Bugeye used the quarter eliptic spring suspension instead of the later half eliptic as the Midget. Note, the front frame does point up. That's not accident damage, it's there to get the caster right. The Spridget chassis is a very tough piece and unless it shows obvious signs of severe damage or is badly rusted it's probably pretty straight. The rear area is very similar and since the trunk floor panel isn't available for the bugeye as a replacement Midget panels can be used with just a bit of trimming around the rear to match the rear panel contour so the actual dimensions are very close. The main difference is above the floor where the half eliptic cars have a "frame" of sorts made from sheet metal stampings running from the rear of the cockpit back to the rear spring hanger area to support the suspension, the bugeye didn't have that structure as it didn't need the rear spring support. Be aware that the steering rack design was changed in the early 70s, so use the tie rod ends from the bugeye, they will fit into the steering arms from the Midget.

I do know that the locations of the Minor and Spridget steering racks are on opposite sides of the front wheel centerline. A RHD Spridget rack is a LHD Minor rack.