we’ve got a midget, lots and lots of fun, get a roadster and buy a hardtop if you must. Then yuve got the option of some toppless fun in the summer. The handling wont suffer as they were rubbish to start with. The GT was suposed to handle better but only because of the extra weight.
Dont get hung up on wire wheels (they make the handling worse and take a lot of polishing) an chrome bumpers (they cant cope with speed bumps).
things to look out for:
usual engine, gearbox, drivetrain noises and problems, all parts are available and theyr fairly easy to work on with th eright tools.
Rust, everywhere, usualy in places you cant see, check everywhere you can see, then check the do/body gap, you should be able to run a poud coin down it with consistent clearence the whole way, if not the chassis has sagged as the sills rotted away. if you can find oe get a re-shelled one, its as close to uying anew car as you’ll get. Just beware a £4000 re shelled car may not be as reliable as a £4000 car with a rotten chassis but a new engine.
Have a ood look at 5 or 6 to get an idea what the money gets you, a wreck for £500 and a concours winner for £15K will look very similar form a distance.
If your a student I’d wait till you have space, a garage, tools and the time to work on one. i’ve already got 1st dibs on the midget when it comes up for sale 🙂