Well, I thought it would be good to post a few shots of the ZA prior to doing any actual work to it so...

Well the passenger side (right) came apart and went back together with difficulty but nothing like the "OhMyGod... IhadtouseasawzalltogeteverythingapartanditwasAWFUL" horror stories I was reading.
Then I started in on the driver side (left).

OHMYGOD ITISAWFUL HOWAMIGONNAFIXTHIS???

Just kidding.

It wasn't as nice as the passenger side, however.

In the first place, the inner bushes were fully and completely rotten to mush. The tabbed washers on the rear pin had actually rubbed a bright spot on the chassis in the (very) minor movement it had from the neighbor's driveway to mine.
Then, once I had it all apart (except for the a-arm to king-pin connection, of course) I found that the lower fulcrum pin was well and truely corroded to the king-pin. Also, in pulling off the swivel axle, I noted that the king-pin was a bit corroded at the bush contact area as well.

In attempting to get the lower fulcrum pin out I managed to mangle a number of impact points before I used a file to modify one to provide "shoulders" so it would fit more snugly. Back into the vice and FINALLY it came loose.

So I clean everything up and find that the lower a-arm was fractured. OHMYGOD WHATDOIDONOW????
Calm.
Deep breath.

OK.

So, after asking around and pondering I finally sent it off to Apple Hydraulics to be rebuilt. $95 plus shipping both ways (about another $25) and I have a useful a-arm (whew).

I provide photos for your enjoyment.

I must comment that the weld/braze job appears pretty crude. However they added some filler material for strength and it "looks" OK so I'll spray some black paint on it, mount 'er up and let you know what I think of it then.

Update: I squirted Brakleen on the a-arm to get grease off prepatory to painting and, sure enough, the silver-grey paint melted. Now I need to completely strip it and start over. At least I'll get a good look at the brazing!
So, my advice is to NOT handle the a-arm and just paint your top-coat on it (unless you are a little anal, like me).

July 25, 2009 - Day one.
3:00 pm Pacific: I poured a couple ounces of (previously open) DOT brake fluid in a regulation Planters Salted Roasted Cashew jar. This I followed by a couple ounces of DOT5 brake fluid.
The DOT5 clearly floats on top of the DOT3 and there is a distinct demarcation line...
Then I swirled them together (No violent shaking, please. This is a SERIOUS experiment!).
They mixed into a more or less uniform cloudy purpley grey mass that seems to be just as "fluid" as either was separately. Looks bad so far for the "imiscible" theory. Oh, my! I may need to eat my words as posted on the Forums :O
3:10 pm Pacific: After checking the regulation Planters Salted Roasted Cashew jar with great trepidation, I am relieved to find that the DOT3 and DOT5 fluids are separating! Which is which, I have no idea as both now seem to be tinted a greyish purple... perhaps the colorant in the DOT5 is happier in the DOT3 and is "turning coat." No "sludge" can be detected.
Tomorrow I will agitate and repeat and see if any "precipitates" have formed yet.
July 26, 2009 - Day two.
Noon: Again, after the agitation and a relatively short length of time the two fluids have separated.

Discussion on a couple threads has indicated I can do this until I die of old age and there will be no discernable difference. Also, the comments (heavily paraphrased) still range from "see, I told you so!" to "Well I got sludge, so there!"

Suggestions to make the "experiment" more interesting include: Cold; Heat; Water; bits of hydraulic system rubber; give up. These are to be added/used in varying combinations.

I am here to report that I will indeed use every one of the above listed suggestions, including the "give up" which will come at the end of the program

As an aside, the MG hydraulic systems operate "open to the environment" and are not entirely immune from well-intentioned monkeying about (or even ill-intentioned!). With this in mind, I must say that this little experiment will NOT be conclusive. What I mean is that there are nearly infinite means of boogering up a perfectly good brake system that I am not willing to spend time investigating.

My opinion is that the incidences of "bad" stuff happening with any type of brake fluid, much less mixing them, are highly subjective. Similarly, the actual "evidence" of trouble is subject to interpretation as well.

Update: December 30, 2009.
I'm tossing the experiment as it is exactly the same as it was when I started it. I did occasionally give the jar a nice shake once in awhile in the intervening time.
Perhaps I'll even take a photo if I can find my darned camera!

Other than the bother of doing a brake job in the first place, replacing the wheel cylinders is a big PITA, mostly due to the fact that they are retained by a spring clip instead of a screw.

I sourced new units frrom the B-hive. They were made in Italy and the factory obviously didn't look at the install to select the spring clip because it comes with a giant e-clip that is flat out impossible to fit.

In retrospect, the whole job would be much easier on a workbench or in the vise. However, I wasn't in the mood to pull the hubs to get it off.

The cylinder itself fits perfectly and to all appearances is identical to the original unit. The spring clip is another matter, entirely!

Instead of a cupped spring washer and e-clip (which is hard enough to deal with), the giant e-clip provided is flat impossible without modification.

After wrestling for a long time, I finally gave up and modified the clip.

The picture attached (poor as it is) shows what I did. The trouble is two-fold.
First, the ears of the clip are flat out too big (gap is too small) to get over the mounting post... no way, no how... so I ground them down (filed, really) until it would *just* be forced into place.
Second, the clip's OD was far too large for the space between the bleed and the axle housing. This was rectified by again taking material off the closed end of the clip (making a "flat" to clear the bleed. The open end of the clip could then be positioned toward the axle housing creating *just* sufficient clearance.

Lastly, prior to installing it, I whacked the cup side of the clip with a ball-pein hammer a few times to give it a little more curvature as it had lost a little tension in the modifications (and tinkering!).

Works. Not super happy, but it does work.

Brought home a '74 Midget this last summer. Wife bought it for, like $400 or so on the understanding that I could get it running easily (cheaply) and if it was unsuitable we could "flip" it for a profit. I do not fit in this car.
After the car was in the driveway a few days the son (Bryce, 18) asked if he could drive it if he helped out... OK.
Stupid. Better half was not in on the decision and was not pleased with rash decision regarding her car.
After a bit of discusison, all was worked out IF I could get it safe to drive...
Not "make it run" but safe to drive.
So now the repair list grows from clean up carbs and tune-up to render each and every system functional!
Sigh.
Son isn't terribly mechanically inclined either and requires constant supervision or else whatever he's doing will end up, well, it's a lot easier to disassemble an alarm clock than it is to put one back together. Being a teen limits him also since he isn;t real happy being "told what to do." But he doesn't start anything either without me being right at hand (thankfully). Most annoying part is his mechanic dad (I'm a step-father) who is great at diagnosing trouble but pretty much a bailing wire and duct tape repair-guy (cheap and functional but woe to the next person... I have met the infamous DPO!).
the MC is out for a rebuild and as of now it is the only lever I have on the car not being in the driveway one afternoon as I return from work.
Bryce, I love you dearly, but if you are reading this I have to call a duck a duck.
Tony, we can talk later!
To date the process is as such:
- drop gas tank and send to radiator shop for boil out and repair.
- Replace fuel sender and cut wire reinstalling tank.
- Replace awful aftermarket fuel pump with merely horrible aftermarket fuel pump (it was after this that it was decided that the car may stay in the family after all).
- Drop tank and repair sender wire and reinstall.
- Rebuild rear brakes with new cylinders and flex line. Cylinders a pip to install due to bad engineering of ding-dong e-clip, etc.
- Take third member to excellent driveline shop for new pinioin seal and once-over.
- Reinstall third memeber and discover paper gasket supplied is a very bad effort. Destroy seal in attempt to use anyway and use hylomar instead.
- Reassemble rear end and drop to replace spring pads and rear hanger bushes (urethane).
- Discover aftermarket tailpipe a little "too" straight and axle hangs up on it.
- Live with discovery for now and move on to engine.
- Rebuild carbs and reinstall on engine, check fluids and ignition settings, adjust valves and start.
- It runs!!!
- It leaks water!!!
- Bypass heater core (for now) and proceed to flush cooling system.
- Discover electrickal bug, won't start sometimes and "iffy" ancillary circuits. Finally traced to hot lead off start solenoid being loose and arcing.
- Clean fuses and fuse box.
- Son makes list of lights that need help. Go and get bulbs... they all work now!
- Some light housings sad and several lenses worse.
- Bled brakes and flushed system after rear end rebuild.
- Yup, MC now a leaker. Tore down (rebuildable, whew) and discovered the joy of the dual circuit MC retaining ring waaaay down in that bore!
- Removed all soaked and rotted interior, found several seat mount bolts rotted.
- HATE seats and got inexpensive "dune buggy" seat for time being. Determine roll-bar needs to be removed and reinstalled so that seat can actually go all the way back and recline.

Enough yet?
To do includes front-end rebuild, finish MC, redo clutch hydraulics, get heater core repaired, and reinstall welch plug (not very well installed in first place... remember the coolant flush? Well, I didn't put anti-freeze backk in before a 30-degree night popped the plug behind the alternator!), finish electrical repairs, tune-up the motor, mount a seat and ready for first drive!

Edit December 30, 2009.

Turned out the brake MC wasn't as rebuildable as I thought. I nearly wore out a hone trying to smooth out the rust spot near the top of the bore and ended up reassembling it anyway since I had the kit and I wanted to plug the hole in the car.
Not leakin' (yet).

Heater core and radiator were too much for local shop to attempt to repair to I bought new, along with the lower x-pipe which I *might* have been able to reuse but at what cost (pain and time later)?

Welch plug was a snap!

Holds water (and coolant/anti-freeze) now!

I tell ya, putting in the radiator certainly opened up my eyes to the extent of the (barely adequate) repairs to the front end... Now I understand why only two screws were hodling the radiator in up to this point!

Son bailed on project after attempting to remove roll-bar for a couple hours and finding out he wasn't getting the car after all (needs more wheel time and wife reminded us it was her car!).

Front-end rebuild went well but one A-arm was fractured requiring that it be sent to Apple Hydraulics for a repair.

I'm so close now, I could just spit!

I want to put a 1.8 in my Magnette so I peeked about and decided that an old 3-main I had about would be the perfect candidate. Not liking the wimpy wrist pins and the large pistons in the engine, I thought and investigated the possibility of having custom rods or pistons created for better reliability and/or driveability.
Cunningham was contacted (amongst others) as having the best deal... $1200 for a set of custom billet rods with the correct offset, late (18V) wrist pins and parallel big end split like the 18V rods.
Woof!