MG-Cars.info

Welcome to our Site for MG, Triumph and Austin-Healey Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Villiers 2 stroke NMC...

...it's a Midget engine, Jim, but not as we know it...

I have been gifted a 1957 lawnmower with a Villiers " Midget" engine. The ignition system has been butchered but...inside the flywheel is a spring blade designed to hold a lubricating pad against the points operating cam...question is :- what is this pad made from, and what is a good lubricant? ...there might be some 2-stroke fans " out there".
Thanks. Dave
David Cox

Is this the engine https://oldlawnmowerclub.co.uk/sites/default/files/opmanual/Villiers%20Mk2%20Mk3%20Instructions.pdf , page 16 mentions a felt pad and oiling it. Looks like you'll have to copy and paste the link due to the embedded spaces or the page the link is on https://oldlawnmowerclub.co.uk/restore/engines/manuals/villiers-midget-mk2-mk3 .
David Billington

Thanks, David
In hindsight, and had l given it some thought, the inner steering column on my Midget is insulated from the outer by a wound felt pad!.. See...there IS some " Midget Content"...😁
David Cox

Some Lucas distributors had a felt pad, which fitted into a fork on the points base-plate and contacted the cam.

Some also had a felt pad underneath the rotor arm for lubricating the spindle.
Dave O'Neill 2

yep, felt i'd say---some/most lucas generators had a felt pad as well on the end of the rear bush, couple of drips of oil at service time and they last forever. When did you oil yours last.
William Revit

I remember those pads under distributor rotor arms too.

Never felt the need to keep them. 😉.

Seriously though, without oil, the spindle eventually freezes and advance won't work.

How often are you supposed to reload the felt with oil anyway? A drop of thin oil under the rotor arm, felt or not, does the job.






anamnesis

TBH the rest of the mower is passed it so the engine will become a stationary demo model...until l can find something for it to run. Just more old machinery to clog up the sheds and keep me off the streets...
David Cox

This thread was discussed between 19/08/2026 and 20/08/2026

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

This thread is from the archives. Join the live MG Midget and Sprite Technical BBS now