Barry Agarand's 1971 Midget

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It was buried under a cover in the heat of the California desert.

John Hall and his friend had each bought a midget in Washington state, but John had decided to sell his, as he got into motorcycles. Selling his midget was something he always regretted.

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John purchased what was to become my car from his friend 1981, but when he went to register it in California it didn’t pass the smog and couldn’t be plated. It had 1981 plates on it from the original owner.  So for 20 years it would get a little once around the neighbourhood spin.  I first spotted it in 1993, and asked John to sell it to me every year for seven years. He kept saying he was going to get it running, and I would help him every so often, and determined it needed a fuel pump and he ordered one from Victoria British in Kansas City.  John at 84 years of age, made a deal with me that he would sell it on 2 conditions :

- 1st that I would restore it to its original. He didn’t want someone chopping it up and sticking in a V8

- 2nd that I would send him pictures once I had restored,

Both these conditions I honored.

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His kids convinced him to move to Washington where they could look after him.  So I drove to Palm Springs in the winter of 2001 with a step deck semi and tractor and hauled it back along with a 5th wheel trailer for a friend in BC.

I drove the mg midget for a couple years, doing the basics including replacing the fuel pump that was in the boot, and everything that was rubber or plastic which melted in the desert heat. and then In 2003 -2004 I did a full restoration with fun date nights.

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There was no rust, and the car was straight with only a few minor dings.

At the 46th annual Draggins car show upstairs at Sasktel centre she premiered and won second place best restored import, bested by an MGTD factory supercharged trailer queen from Calgary.  I’ve trailered our midget to California twice and sent John photos of it, keeping my part of the deal. Sadly John never got to ride in it as he’s passed away.  We’ve show her in the concourse d’elegance in Palm Springs and the Dr George car show Palm Desert as well as cruised el’ Paseo, in Palm Desert, where again we met and parked beside the MGTD trailer queen from Calgary.

 

We’ve been members of the Saskatchewan British car club Saskatoon branch since 2007 making life long friends, who are more like family.