The Midget is one of those classics which can offer something for everyone. In standard form it’s an ideal first classic with affordable (just) insurance for the younger driver and a size small enough to squeeze into the most cluttered garages. In modified form though, it can be everything from a fast road weekend plaything to a Caterham-baiting lightweight rocket: specialist Frontline Developments has completed road cars for customers packing over 240 bhp thanks to a K-Series engine transplant.

It’s sensible to start with the basics though and in the case of the Midget, just like its bigger brother the MGB, this means updating the suspension. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the basic set-up, which is just that: basic, using a live rear axle and leaf springs. It’s more the details which let it down, specifically the lever-arm dampers and the raised ride height on the rubber-bumpered 1500 cars.

The MkI Golf was the car which defined the hot hatch and although it was refined with age VW got the GTI pretty much right from the word go. One of the few things they did less than well though was the engineering of the brakes: a cross-linkage was used on right-hand drive cars to transfer the effort from the brake pedal on the right to the servo which remained on the left. Specialists suggest that keeping on top of the adjustment of the rear brakes and changing the fluid frequently will improve matters. On 13-inch wheels, you’re limited to 239 mm discs, so the sensible upgrade is simply a set of performance discs and pads with the original callipers.

There’s no better indication that times have changed for a particular model than the state of the tuning and modifying market. Where not so long ago it was hard to find a standard Mini, these days owners are tending to go for originality rather than giant-killing performance, especially in the case of the older ’60s and ’70s cars. As Mini sales specialist The Real Mini Company points out, modified cars tend to be based on the more humdrum Mayfair and City models from the ’80s rather than MkI or Cooper. Indeed, to heavily modify an early car could easily impact on its value, to the point where you won’t see the cost of those modifications again. For younger drivers where a tuned Mini used to be the weapon of choice, the cost of insurance means that modifications are generally more cosmetic than mechanical.

We don’t need to explain why you might want to consider an Escort as your modified classic. The car’s simple but tough mechanical layout, its DIY-friendly nature and the possiblity to mix and match from other Ford models all make it a no-brainer, on top of which there’s a competition history second to none.

There’s just one fly in the ointment: the fashion for all things retro and classic rallying in particular has seen the values of MkIs soaring to the point where they’re at the same level as some pretty exotic kit. This of course makes the MkII something of a bargain since under that square front end it’s essentially MkI running gear anyway. The real bargain in the MkII world is the four-door, since the upward trend in MkI values has had a knock-on effect on the two-door MkII. Don’t let that put you off though: even a brown 1600 Ghia complete with vinyl roof can still be turned into a capable little performance car.